Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 2: Part One: Understand the Meaning of Dedication
• Method 2 of 2: Part Two: Dedicate Yourself to God
• Tips

Initiation is an important spiritual act, but even if you have already heard this term, but no one has explained it to you, you may not fully understand what it means. Take a few minutes to understand the meaning of this word and reflect on how you can practically use it in your life.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Part One: Understand the Meaning of Dedication

1. 1 Find a definition of the term "initiation." In a general sense, “dedication” means the act of dedicating oneself to achieving a specific goal or carrying out a specific intention. To “dedicate” oneself essentially means to surrender completely to something that has a great purpose.
   • In simple terms, the term "consecration" refers to the act of giving up one's own interests in favor of following a certain deity, and almost always the term refers to following the Christian God.
   • The term can also be used to mean ordination to the priesthood. For most believers, however, it primarily describes the act of personal dedication.
   • The act of “initiation” makes the object of initiation holy or sacred. In this sense, the act of personal consecration can also be defined as the act of one's own consecration.
2. 2 Reflect on the spiritual roots of this term. As a religious practice, initiation has its roots in Old Testament times. In fact, references to dedication can be found in the books of both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and this practice is often used by modern Christian communities as well.
   • One of the earliest references to the act of consecration can be found in Joshua 3: 5. After spending 40 years in the wilderness, the people of Israel received the commandment to be sanctified before entering the promised land. Having accepted and fulfilled this commandment, they also received the promise that God would work miracles through them and fulfill all the promises made to them.
   • The act of consecration is also mentioned in the New Testament at 2 Corinthians 6:17, where God instructs his followers “not to touch anything unclean” and promises to accept them in return. Likewise, in Romans 12: 1-2, Paul describes the need to view the body as a living sacrifice to God, meant to worship God rather than follow the sinful ways of the world.
3. 3 Realize the role of God in dedication. God is calling humanity to consecrate themselves to Him. The capacity for such a dedication is given by God himself, and the call for this comes from God himself.
   • All holiness comes from God, and all holiness manifested by a person is given to that person by God. Only God has the power to transform human life into something holy, that is, in other words, God sanctifies you - makes you holy - the moment you decide to dedicate yourself to Him.
   • As the Creator, God wants everyone to live in His image and likeness. That is why God wants to consecrate man to a holy life.

Method 2 of 2: Part Two: Dedicate Yourself to God

1. 1 Dedicate your heart to God. To consecrate oneself to God is to respond to God's call to spiritual consecration. It means making a conscious, voluntary choice to dedicate your soul, mind, and body to God.
   • This decision must be a decision of will, reason and emotion. Only you yourself can make the decision to dedicate yourself to God. Nobody can force you to do this.
2. 2 Reflect on your motives. Since dedication is something voluntary, you need to ask yourself if you are really ready to devote your whole life to God, or if you are just succumbing to some kind of external pressure.
   • Only God and you know your heart, so don't worry about how correct your motives will “look” to others.
   • You should view your commitment to Christ as your highest priority in life, not as an alternative or passive experience.
   • You need to feel gratitude and love for God in your heart.If your heart is ready to commit itself to God, it will experience love in response to God's love for you.
3. 3 Repent. Repentance is one of the first steps you need to take if you decide to dedicate yourself to God. The act of repentance involves confessing your sins and the need for the salvation offered by Christ.
   • Repentance is a personal experience, and quite frank. If you feel the need to repent, all you have to do is pray for forgiveness and ask God to help you deal with future temptations.
4. 4 Be baptized. Water baptism is the outer symbol of inner dedication. By being baptized, you gain new spiritual life and commit yourself to the service of Christ.
   • You should also take the time to regularly update your baptismal promises, especially if you were baptized as an infant before you could make the decision yourself.
   • There are several ways to renew your baptismal promises. In some denominations, for example, in the Roman Catholic Church, there is the Sacrament of Confirmation, during which you confirm your intention to remain dedicated to God.
   • But even without a separate sacrament, you can renew your baptismal promises by reading the Creed or regularly expressing to God in prayer your desire and intention to remain dedicated to Him.
5. 5 Remove the evils of this world. The physical body will always be attracted to worldly ways, but dedication to God means the priority of spiritual life over physical.
   • There are many good things in the physical world. For example, at a basic level, food is good because it provides the body with the nutrients it needs to live. There is nothing wrong with enjoying food.
   • However, in a fallen world, even the good can be distorted and used for destructive purposes. Going back to the food example, you can destroy your body by eating too much food, especially unhealthy food.
   • To reject the evil of this world does not mean to reject the good with it. It just means striving to move away from the evil manifestations of the worldly. It also means that the mundane matters much less than the spiritual.
   • On a practical level, this means giving up everything the world has to offer if your faith warns you of the bad nature of what is being offered. It also means that it is necessary to follow God's will even when it conflicts with the opinion and neutral priorities of the majority - financial security, romantic love, and so on. It is good when these "neutral" values ​​are used to serve God, but they should not be placed above service.
6. 6 Draw close to God. For true transformation, it is not enough to renounce the evil of this world. The human spirit must always "drink" from some source. If you are not drinking from a worldly source, you should drink from a divine source.
   • Just as the body is hungry and seeks to satisfy it with what the world has to offer, the spirit longs for what God has to offer. The more you practice following the desires of your spirit, the easier it will become for you to constantly turn to God.
   • In order to get closer to God, you can use certain practices. One of the most important is regular prayer. Weekly church service and scripture study are two more common and highly effective practices. Any activity that contributes to focusing on God can be a tool to achieve this goal.
7. 7 Renew your dedication. Dedication is not a one-time decision. It's a way of life. As you make the decision to dedicate yourself to God, you must be willing to continually seek God in your life.
   • Even though you can only draw close to God after your dedication, your dedication will never be "fulfilled." You can never achieve perfect righteousness.
   • At the same time, God does not require perfection in dedication.All that is required of you is determination and active striving. On the way, you can stumble, the main thing is that your choice is always - to continue on your way.

Tips

• Realize what it means to dedicate yourself to Mary. Catholics sometimes operate with the concept of dedication to Mary, but here it is important to draw a line between such dedication and dedication to God.
  • Mary is considered the prototype of perfect initiation. Although she was not a deity, the heart of Mary and the heart of Jesus beat in unity with each other.
  • To dedicate oneself to Mary is to devote oneself to faith and the path of true consecration. The ultimate goal is still God, not Mary, and Mary's consecration is practiced out of the desire for her to show the way to Christ.