祝圣 consecration

天主教经常会听到 consecration 这个词，大意是“祝圣于天主”。consecration 的字根是 sacred，中文翻译为“圣”。但这里的“圣”是献祭（sacrifice）的圣，而不是 holy 的圣。holy 的圣，是“完全”（wholly）的圣。因此，我们说 Holy God（至圣天主），而不说 sacred God。

但是，耶稣的心是献祭的心，所以我们称之为 Most Sacred Heart（至圣圣心）。

天主教的教导是，我们只祭献于天主，而弥撒就是这祭献最崇高的方式。这里有个重点：我们虽然敬礼圣母，但不崇拜圣母，因此我们不向圣母献祭。

不过，我们也会听到“consecrate oneself to Mother Mary”（将自己祝圣于圣母玛利亚）。这里必须理解，这并不是要我们向圣母献上牺牲，而是指将自己完全托付（entrust）给圣母玛利亚。

也许有人会问：“为什么要托付自己给玛利亚？” 理由很简单。作为基督徒，你是跟随耶稣的信徒吗？那请问耶稣是怎么做的？耶稣难道不是将自己托付给了玛利亚吗？他不是由一位女人所生，并吸吮过玛利亚的乳房吗？天主子甘愿降生成人，将自己托付于玛利亚，身为基督徒的我们，难道不应该做同样的事吗？

Catholics often hear the word consecration, which broadly means “to make holy” or “to set apart for God.” The root of consecration is sacred. This also refers to the holiness of a sacrifice, not the holiness of being holy itself. “Holy” comes from “wholly,” meaning “complete” or “entirely.” That’s why we say Holy God and not sacred God.

However, Jesus’s heart is a sacrificial heart, which is why we call it the Most Sacred Heart.

Catholic teaching states that we offer sacrifice only to God, and the Mass is the highest form of this sacrifice. An important point to remember is that while we venerate the Blessed Mother, we do not worship her. Therefore, we do not offer sacrifice to her.

Nevertheless, we will hear people say “consecrate oneself to Mother Mary.” It’s essential to understand that this does not mean we are offering ourselves as a sacrifice to the Mother of God, but rather that we are completely entrusting ourselves to her.

One might ask, “Why should we entrust ourselves to Mary?” The reason is simple. As a Christian, are you a follower of Jesus? Then ask yourself, what did Jesus do? Did he not entrust himself to Mary? Was he not born of a woman and suckled at her breast? The Son of God willingly took on human flesh and entrusted himself to Mary, so as Christians, shouldn’t we do the same?