Consecrate Your Parish to the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary (I)

The parish of Notre Dame of Victories, located in the business center of Paris, near the Stock Exchange, is surrounded by theatres and nightclubs and had become the central point for political demonstrations, agitating Paris for many years. The parish had seen almost all feeling and religious inclination die out in its midst; its church was deserted, even on days of important solemnities; sacraments and other religious practices had been given up, and nothing seemed able to put an end to this deplorable state of affairs, which had existed for more than ten years. On December 3, 1836, the feast day of Saint Francis Xavier at 9:00 a.m., I began Holy Mass at the foot of the altar of the Blessed Virgin; I was reciting the first verse of the psalm, when terrible thoughts assailed my mind. I started thinking about the uselessness of my ministry in that parish; it was not unusual for me to have these thoughts, I had had so many different occasions to notice and remind myself of the fact. I felt that I had failed in my ministry and I wanted to resign my functions at Notre Dame of Victories. Despite all my efforts to dispel these unhappy thoughts, I was so overwhelmed that my mental faculties were boggled; I began reading and reciting the prayers without understanding what I was saying. After reciting the Sanctus, I stopped for a moment, seeking to recollect myself; so frightened had I become by my strange state of mind, I said to myself, "Dear God, what is happening to my mind? How can I offer the Divine Sacrifice? My mind is not in a normal state to consecrate. Oh my God, deliver me from this unhappy distraction!" Hardly had I uttered this prayer in my heart when I very distinctly heard these words spoken to me in a clear and solemn way, "Consecrate your parish to the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary."