May 13, 2009

Personal sanctification and the Legion of Mary

By Father Joseph Hearty, F.S.S.P.

Last week I wrote briefly of the history of the Legion of Mary.  For this second and final column I want to write of the goals and works of the Legion and its organization.

The first question that many ask about the Legion is:  What is it?  The Legion is a worldwide organization of Catholic men and women who offer their services to the parish pastor to primarily aid him in performing Catholic action or social action in the parish.  To give a further answer to this question I will quote from the Legion handbook: 

“The object of the Legion of Mary is the sanctification of its members by prayer and active co-operation, under ecclesiastical guidance, in Mary’s and the Church’s work of crushing the head of the serpent and advancing the reign of Christ.” 

One should note that the first object of the Legion is the personal sanctification of its members. As the saying goes Nemo dat quod non habet—“You cannot give what you do not have.”  How very true it is.  One cannot go out and preach by actions or by words the faith if one does not strive to possess the same virtues.  For only in the measure that the legionary possesses grace can one be the channel of it to others.   Of course, one should not be discouraged in believing that one needs to be spiritually perfect before joining the Legion.  It is that the legionary begins his or her membership by a request to be filled, through Mary, with the Holy Spirit and to be used as an instrument of his power, which is to renew the face of the earth. 

Hence it seems rather appropriate that the organization of the Legion of Mary is based on the military hierarchy of the Roman army.  Such terms as the senate, praetorium, comitium, praesidium, and legion all lend to the idea that we are a member of the Mystical Body of Christ here on earth.  We compose a part of that Mystical Body called the Church militant.  We are here to “fight the good fight” and strive to enjoy some peace on earth by the increase of grace, but especially that grace will fortify us to achieve the final end of each of our lives:  to know, love and serve God so we may be happy with him in heaven forever. 

It is this idea of apostleship that fuels an intense interest in the welfare and work of the Church.  The development of a sense of a lay vocation further spurs a legionary to work well for the spreading of the kingdom of God on earth. 

Unfortunately, we mistakenly identify the Church and mission work with the clergy and religious and we may accept that the rest of the Church is an anonymous crowd.  However, we are each called individually, by Christ, to fulfill, not only a specific vocation, but to complete a mission by giving the love of God to all by our good example and particular works.   A legionary member no longer is content to be passive; they have something to complete and do for God.  For each of us, as Christians, religion should no longer be a side issue; it becomes the inspiration of one’s life, which inevitably creates an apostolic spirit:  the desire to carry on Christ’s work, to be another Christ, to serve him in the least of his brethren.  In a sense, the Legion of Mary is the lay substitute for a religious order; the transmission of the Christian teaching of spiritual perfection into the lives of the laity and the extension of Christ’s kingdom into the materialistic and atheistic world of today. 

The Legion of Mary, in its mission, goes out to teach about Christ by the fulfillment of an assigned work.  Such works include visitation of nursing homes and institutions such as jails, half-way houses, unwed mother and handicapped institutions.  Other works include transporting those who are in need for attendance at Mass, distribution of Catholic literature, door-to-door visitation, organizing rosary groups or home enthronement of the Sacred Heart and visitations of the pilgrim statue of Fatima.  These works assist legionaries in their witness to the world of the faith of our Catholic Church and our adherence to Jesus Christ.  

Father Joseph Hearty, a Fraternity of St. Peter priest, is assistant chaplain at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Latin Mass Community in Littleton and is chaplain of the local Legion of Mary chapter.