“You are the only organization in the world today that ever anticipated the Vatican Council. The only one! You just go through your works and see how far ahead you are of the Council and with the Church. You are Pre-Council, Pro-Council, and Post-Council.
The Bishop couldn’t have been more spot-on. The Legion of Mary is a system which can be thrown out of balance if any of its parts is altered or suppressed, to wit: “Pluck one thread, and the web ye mar; Break but one of a thousand keys, and the paining jar through all will run.” From the poem “My “Soul and I” by John Greenleaf Whittier. The fainthearted is, at the outset, cautioned to not start the Legion at all if unprepared to work the invariable system, whose perfect model of an apostolic, spiritual life is the Blessed Virgin Mary. She, whose “Do whatever He tells you.” has been the obedient battlecry of Legionaries all over the world ever since her Son, in spite of His earlier rebuff of her, did not have the heart to turn her down, and turned water into wine.
“First you are a lay organization devoted to the apostolate, though the apostolate was reserved for the clergy. So you swept back about 20 centuries. Read over the list at the close of the Epistle to the Romans, members of the Legion of Mary, so that you will see that you have brought up to date the apostolate of the early Church. Also, in the Acts of the Apostles, it is in the third Act whereby the Church becomes established in a certain house; first a catechist works among the group and finally the Church itself. That is the first way you anticipated the Vatican Council.
How anticipatory of Servant of God Frank Duff! At first dedicated to sporting activities, he joined the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at 24, where he was led to a deeper commitment to his Catholic faith and acquire a great sensitivity to the needs of the poor and underprivileged. He formed the first branch of what was to become the first praesidium of the Legion of Mary. Therefrom and until his death, he guided the world-wide extension of the Legion with heroic dedication, and attended the Second Vatican Council as a lay observer. He left the Legion with a Handbook of profound insights into the role of the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Virgin Mary in the plan of Redemption, and the role of the lay faithful in the mission of the Church.
“The second and more important still is that you belong to the out-ministry. We priests belong to the in-ministry.
Indeed, we deem ourselves a ministry “outside” of the Church. The Church being the source and summit of our faith is why we do not conduct any activity in there, other than what is in accordance with the Legion Handbook. It is also the traditional reason why we are passionate and persevering in our visitation of the homes of the parish community to renew acquaintances with the homeowners (and renters, if there are any), see to their situation and well-being, and make certain they are visited when sick, given communion when unable to go to church, and anointed by the priest, where it is critically needed. An avenue of greatest good, home visitation is a characteristic of the Legion, marked by Mary’s humility and simplicity, and aimed at listening to the visited. The visits are not limited to Christian families closest at hand, but will show to be even more lively for families, in general and, for those families, in particular, which are in difficult or irregular situations.
“That’s not what God intended, but that’s what happened. We wait for people to come to us and we build bigger rectories. We are failing because we are an in-ministry, waiting. You were from the beginning an out-ministry, commissioned to do the same sort of thing as Our Blessed Lord did – walking up and down alleys.
Is why our patience and perseverance go with confidence to grapple with the cases branded “hopeless.” In our home visits, the propagation of the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart provides a favorable introduction and avenue to the friendship of families. No home is passed over and, in each, loving and persevering effort is directed towards the inducing of persons, young and old, to ascend at least one step in the spiritual life. Those detailed to this work take to themselves the tenth promise of the Sacred Heart: “I will give to the priests the grace to touch the most hardened hearts.” As it is the mission of Mary to bring about the reign of Jesus, so there is a special appropriateness (which should attract the special graces of the Holy Spirit) in the Legion propagating the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart.
“Third, you anticipated it even in relation to the Blessed Mother. This may seem strange but it’s true. Your service is dedicated to building up the Church. It’s not just merely the devotion to Our Lady, it’s a devotion to Our Lady as the Mother of the Church. At the Council, we voted on the question of whether or not to give a new title to Our Lady. Our Lady has many as you know. It was decided not to give her another title. Two weeks later Pope Paul read his Encyclical Letter on the Blessed Mother as the “Mother of the Church.” We gave her a new title. That’s the Mother you love and who is your patroness.
Mary was at the Feast of the Pentecost, that tremendous occasion when the Church was launched upon her mission. It was by her prayer that the Holy Spirit descended on the Mystical Body and came to abide in her with all His “greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty.” (1 Chron 29:11) Mary reproduces, in respect of the Mystical Body of Christ, every service which she rendered to His actual Body. This law applies to Pentecost, which was a sort of new Epiphany. She is necessary to the one as she had been to the other. And so of all divine things to the end: If Mary is left out, God’s Plan is not conformed to, no matter what one’s prayers and works and strivings may be. If Mary is not there, the grace is not given. This is an overpowering thought. It may provoike the question: “Do those who ignore or insult Mary receive no graces?” They do, indeed, receive graces, for failure to acknowledge Mary may be excused on grounds of utter ignorance. But what a sorry title to Heaven! And what a way of treating her who helps us! Moreover, the graces which come in such circumstances are but a fraction of what should flow, so that one’s life is largely failing.
“You are a small group – you have to be. Remember this! The Holy Spirit never works with the majority, only with minorities. You are the only present effective apostolate that we have in the world.
Sometimes, Mary is kept in the background, so as to meet the prejudices of those who make small account of her. This method of making Catholic doctrine more acceptable may accord with human reasonings. It does not reflect the Divine idea. Those who act in this way do not realize that they might as well preach Christianity without Christ as ignore Mary’s part in redemption. For God Himself has taught fit to arrange that no foreshadowing or coming or giving or manifestation of Jesus should be without Mary. The Legion’s apostolate is effective because of the cardinal points it is based on:
From the beginning and before the world, she was in the mind of God;
Mary was vividly and unmistakably revealed in prophecy;
The Father made redemption depend on her;
There is no true Christianity without Mary;
The last scene came on Calvary, with Jesus hung upon the tree, with Mary beneath it, in the same capacity as she was present at the Incarnation;
The Holy Spirit always operates with her;
Every Legionary action endorses her fiat; and
With her, the Lord is glorified.
“My good legionaries, this is what you are. From what I have told you, you know how much esteem and affection I have for you. I say you have anticipated the Vatican Council – the future apostolate of the Church, and you are only at the beginning, just the beginning. Pray often to the Holy Spirit that your zeal will spread and that others will have the courage to do it. I consider it an honor, really an honor, to be in the midst of you. Just as sometimes oil gets outside of a bottle by osmosis so, too, by being near you, I hope to get some of your spirit.”
So is our prayer, dear Reverend Bishop, that through this, your benevolent beatitude, may our souls osmose to yours, and be suffused.
Amen.
2014 Copyright. Claretian Communications Foundation Inc
