Pope John Paul II to the Legion of Mary
Vocation to be a leaven
You are a movement of
lay people who propose to make faith the aspiration of your life up to
the achievement of personal sanctity. It is without doubt a lofty and
difficult ideal. But today the Church, through the Council, calls all
Christians of the Catholic laity to this ideal, inviting them to share
in the kingly priesthood of Christ with the witness of a holy life, with
mortification and charitable works; to be in the world, with the
splendor of faith, hope and charity, what the soul is in the body (Lumen
Gentium 10,38).
Your proper vocation as
lay people, that is the vocation to be a leaven in the People of God, a
Christian inspiration in the modern world, and to bring the priest to
the people, is eminently ecclesial. The same Second Vatican Council
exhorts all the laity to accept with ready generosity the call to be
united ever more intimately to the Lord and, considering as one's own
everything that is his, to share in the same salvific mission of the
Church, to be its living instruments, above all where, because of
particular conditions of modern society - a constant increase in
population, a reduction in the numbers of priests, the appearance of new
problems, the autonomy of many sectors of human life - it could be more
difficult for the Church to be present and active (ibid. 33).
The area of the lay
apostolate today is extraordinarily enlarged. And so the commitment of
your typical vocation becomes more impelling, stimulating, live and
relevant. The vitality of the Christian is the sign of the vitality of
the Church. And the commitment of you legionaries becomes more urgent,
considering on the one hand the needs of the Italian society and of the
nations of ancient Christian tradition, and on the other hand the
shining examples which have gone before you in your own movement. To
give just some names: Edel Quinn, with her activity in Africa; Alfonso
Lambe in the most emarginated areas of Latin America; and then the
thousands of legionaries killed in Asia or ending up in work camps.
With the spirit and solicitude of Mary
Yours is an eminently
Marian spirituality, not only because the Legion glories in carrying
Mary's name as its unfurled banner, but above all because it bases its
method of spirituality and apostolate on the dynamic principle of union
with Mary, on the truth of the intimate participation of the Virgin Mary
in the plan of salvation.
In other words, you
intend to render your service to every person, who is the image of
Christ, with the spirit and the solicitude of Mary.
If our one and only
Mediator is the man Jesus Christ, as the Council states, "Mary's
motherly role towards men in no way dims or diminishes this unique
mediation of Christ: on the contrary, it demonstrates it efficacy"
(Lumen Gentium 60). So the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under
the titles of Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Perpetual Help, Mediatrix, Mother
of the Church.
For its birth and
growth, apostolic work looks to her who gave birth to Christ, conceived
by the Holy Spirit. Where the Mother is, there too is the Son. When one
moves away from the Mother, sooner or later he ends up keeping distant
from the Son as well. It is no wonder that today, in various sectors of
secularized society, we note a widespread crisis of faith in God,
preceded by a drop in devotion to the Virgin Mother.
Your Legion forms a part
of those movements that feel personally committed to the spread or the
birth of that faith through the spread or the revival of devotion to
Mary. It therefore will always be able to do its utmost that, through
love for the Mother, the Son, Who is the way, the truth and the life of
every person, will be more known and loved.
In this perspective of
faith and love I impart the Apostolic Blessing to you from my heart.
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Pope Paul VI to the Legion of Mary
Indeed, the spirit of the
Legion of Mary, while properly drawing fruitful nourishment from the
strong interior life of its members, from their discipline, their
dedication to the salvation of their neighbor, their unflinching loyalty
to the Church, nevertheless is distinguished and characterized by an
adamant confidence in the action of the Blessed Virgin. Recognizing in
her the model, the guide, the joy and the support of all its members,
the Legion of Mary, by its eloquent activities, helps us to understand
how much the apostolate must draw its inspiration from Her, who gave
Christ to the world, and was so closely associated to Him in the work of
redemption.
His Holiness, therefore, is
happy to rely on this spirit of the Legion, which has already trained in
every part of the world great numbers of ardent apostles and heroic
witnesses to Christ especially in those places where the Faith is
attacked and persecuted.
In the conviction that the
results already achieved will not decelerate but rather constantly
increase the energies and the apostolic efforts of all the Legionaries,
the Holy Father expresses to you and to all your collaborators His deep
gratitude; and He exhorts you all to continue with the same love of the
Church, ever in closest dependence from the Bishops in the works of the
apostolate and in a spirit of active collaboration with all other
Catholic associations. |
Pope Pius XII to the Legion of Mary
His Holiness has followed
with paternal interest over the years the progress of the Legion as it
swelled the army of those devoted and stalwart clients of Mary who are
combating the forces of evil in the world to-day; and he rejoices with
you in now beholding the Legion’s standard set up in the four corners of
the globe.
It is thus most appropriate
that the Legionaries of Mary should receive at this time a word of
grateful appreciation for the good accomplished, and as well, of
exhortation to persevere with increasing zeal in their generous
cooperation given to the Church in her divinely committed mission to
bring all men under the headship of Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth
and the Life.
The effectiveness of their
contribution to this apostolate will be measured in great part by their
sound spiritual formation which, under the prudent guidance of their
spiritual directors, will conspicuously develop in them a truly
apostolic spirit and cause all their activities to be characterized by a
ready obedience to the directives of the Holy See and a loyal submission
to the local Ordinaries, whose direction they will seek and faithfully
carry out. Imbued with this supernatural character of the genuine lay
apostle, they will go forward with holy courage and continue to be a
powerful auxiliary to the Church in her spiritual warfare against he
powers of darkness. |
