Mexican Bishops Consecrate Nation to the Holy Spirit

MEXICO CITY (Zenit) - Faced to recent violence and crisis, the Mexican bishops' conference announced a special Mass in which the prelates will gather to consecrate the country to the Holy Spirit.

The Mass, scheduled for April 20 in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, will renew the consecration first carried out during the National Eucharistic Congress in 1924, ratified on a diocesan level on Pentecost the following year.

In a communiqué published Friday, Bishop José Leopoldo González, the conference's secretary general, stated that the prelates planned this initiative "given the gravity of the moment we are living through, marked by the economic crisis, generalized violence, the invasion of drug trafficking, the kidnappings and the loss of human values."

The note stated: "This consecration is an act of faith and hope with which we manifest our firm confidence in Jesus Christ, Lord of history, who guides our steps with the wisdom and strength of his Spirit, in these times of harsh trials."

The conference points out that the country's consecration to the Holy Spirit is not just a pious act but "becoming aware that God has chosen us for himself, for his service and to bear fruits of holiness."

Therefore, the bishops invite the faithful to present themselves before God with humility, "recognizing that we are in need of being saved, insisting on a prayer full of confidence and ready to ratify our commitment with actions."

The prelates also remind Catholics that "we were already consecrated by him in Baptism and Confirmation, and the commitment we now wish to reiterate means accepting consciously and freely the consecration of which we were then the object."