(OSV News) — In anticipation of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. bishops will consecrate the country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus June 11 during their spring plenary assembly in Orlando, Florida.
The act of consecration is a significant matter. But what does it really mean to consecrate a place — such as an entire country?
Not ‘some sort of magic’
For Timothy O’Malley, explaining what a consecration is includes making clear what it is not.
“It is not some sort of magic,” said O’Malley, a theology professor at the University of Notre Dame, where he is also associate director for research at its McGrath Institute for Church Life. “A consecration is actually to make something sacred, quite literally, to bring it to God. And typically there are periods of preparation for various consecrations, to order something toward God.”
R. Jared Staudt, a Catholic educator, also said consecration “orders something to God, to help it to realize its purpose.”
“The purpose of everything is to give God glory. We see that Adam is actually given a priestly mission in the garden (of Eden), when he is meant to cultivate and protect. And those are words that were later drawn into the Israelite priesthood: ‘abad’ and ‘shamar,” he said, using Hebrew words that mean “to serve, and protect and defend.”
“And so Adam was placed inside the garden, to order it to God as his temple,” explained Staudt, who oversees content at Exodus 90, a Catholic app that guides men in living out their faith.
“One of the main tasks of humanity is to ensure that everything within creation reaches its ultimate purpose, which is to give glory to God,” he said. “So, when you order something, you are directing it to that ultimate end.”
And this, the theologians said, is what the bishops will be doing once they consecrate the United States.
‘A sacred act’ rooted in covenant
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines “consecration” as “the dedication of a thing or person to divine service by a prayer or blessing.”
“Consecration is something that is first and foremost a sacred act,” said Scott Hahn, a biblical scholar at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. “Secondly, it relates our whole life to our Lord and to the communion of saints. And so it also is something that is rooted and grounded in the notion of covenant. And this is what I think is often overlooked, but highly significant.”
“It seems to me that we’ve got to recover the notion of covenant in terms of the sacred kinship bonds that unite us to God, not just as our creator, but as our father,” he added, saying the concept of “covenant” is significantly different from making a “social contract.”
Hahn pointed to 2 Chronicles 15 for biblical references on consecrating a location, in which the king of Judah turned his land back to God, removing idols and pagan practices.
“King Asa consecrates all of the people of God. … With trumpets, with music and with proclamation, they swear an oath,” he said. “I mean, who would associate a juridical act of oathswearing with consecration, with celebration?”
Consecration gives something to God
Catholics may be most familiar with consecration in the Mass, when a priest consecrates the Eucharist through the Holy Spirit by reciting a prayer formula that transubstantiates bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. But the theologians distinguished between consecrating the Eucharist and consecrating a location, in which there is not a specifically worded prayer.
A consecration is distinct from a dedication or a blessing, the theologians emphasized.
Staudt said dedication designates something for a divine purpose, while a blessing asks “God to pour out his favor upon someone or something.” Consecration, he and the other theologians said, is something given to God. It is also more formal than the other two, according to O’Malley. Hahn said all three are “actions of the covenant.”
Consecration affects all, believer or not
They also said consecration of a people matters — whether for believers, nonbelievers or those not fully aware of its significance.
“In the midst of a really perilous political situation operative right now, in the midst of war and violence and the terrors of AI, the Church thinks about existing in a particular country, existing in the United States. Her members now should really dedicate themselves anew to the merciful love of Christ,” said O’Malley.
“Any proper act that we perform, with regard to a relationship to God in Christ through his Sacred Heart, is going to have a ripple effect,” said Hahn. “It’s going to impact our own families, our parishes, our neighborhoods, our towns, our cities, our states, more than we can perceive.
“So we do what is right because it’s right,” he continued. “And then we leave in God’s hands the consequences of it, trusting that he’s going to probably bring about greater good than what we could possibly intend or realize.”
Staudt reminded the faithful that “the Church is not a sect” and that it acts for the good of everyone, no matter their beliefs.
“The Church exists to glorify God and to sanctify the world for him. So both the sacrifice of the Mass and other acts of prayer, such as these consecrations, are done on behalf of all, in a way that does benefit them and bless them, even if they’re unaware, unconcerned or even opposed to those acts,” he said.
Simone Orendain is an OSV News correspondent. She writes from Chicago.
The post Consecration 101: What the bishops’ upcoming consecration of the US to the Sacred Heart means first appeared on OSV News.