Any members of the Legion of Mary still here?

[onthewayhome]

Yes, I remember the Legion of Mary, Frank Duff and the lovely Edel Quinn. I was an active member for 3 years in high school.Great organization! I still pray the rosary and recite the Memorae everyday.
Not too popular here in my country and to my great dismay, I notice that the members in our church seem to be all women.

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks so much for your reply, “onthewayhome”!

I am so grateful for God’s Grace which led me to the Legion of Mary in high school also. I joined as a Freshman and as a Sophomore the Dominican Nun who was the Spiritual Directress of our Praesidium, introduced us to St. Louis de Montfort. She invited us to consider praying the “Act of Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary” and a few of us in her Religion class did so – a very great Grace for me, I know!

I also was able to join an Adult Legion some years later, but moved several times and not until the present parish did I have the opportunity to remain in my present adult Praesidium and delve more deeply into both the history of the Legion and the beautiful life stories of the three Legion Members whose causes are now in Rome: Servant of God Frank Duff, Founder of the Legion, Venerable Edel Quinn whom Frank Duff sent to Africa to spread the Legion there and Servant of God Alphonsus Lamb, whom Frank Duff sent to Latin America to spread the Legion there.

I agree – Ven. Edel Quinn is particularly lovely to me too. The Legion seems in some countries (like Korea) to be growing in numbers, but in other places declining. I’m very concerned about my own country for that reason. I’m seeing a real crisis of faith and it is so sad to see how true the prophetic words of Pope St. John Paul II were, when he said in 1982 to the Legion in Italy:

“… 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 secularised society, we note a widespread crisis of faith in God, preceded by a drop in devotion to the Virgin Mother.”
(Complete Address to Legionaries in October, 1982 - is on page 5-6 of Legion Handbook) See HERE

Come Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth. Jesus we trust in You! Mary, Mother and Model of the Church, pray for us.

 

[PureKathleen46]

I was in Legion of Mary at my old parish. I am now an auxiliary member only since my parish does not have a legion. I did enjoy it so much! I still say the legion prayers.I am very devoted to our Blessed Mother. When I am stressed the rosary is still my best support. God bless you for asking!

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks so much, PureKathleen46, for your reply.

Why not ask your Pastor if it’s possible to begin the Legion in your parish now? I’m glad you remained an Auxiliary Member and continue to pray your Rosary and the Legion Prayers. They are so very beautiful and truly can bring us closer to Jesus and Mary as we continue to pray with growing attention and devotion.

I know many people who have joined both the ranks of Active and Auxiliary Members of the Legion have told me how much their love and devotion has grown. Like yourself they appreciate very much the peace praying the Rosary can bring to our souls – and I would add, we probably will only know in heaven how much peace, our praying the Rosary, helped others to experience Christ’s Peace through Mary as well.

Please pray over the possibility of talking to your Pastor about the Legion. This Lay Apostolate can be such a great help to priests and deacons in any parish. Please let us pray for one another and all who have replied to this thread that God may bless us in all we seek to do for Him through Mary.

 

[PureKathleen46]

Dear MariaChristi, Thank you for your reply. What a caring and beautiful lady you are! I will keep you in my prayers.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Kathleen,

Thanks so much for your promise of prayers – I surely need them. I’ve told my husband several times : “I just want to finish well” We are surely called to “run the race, to fight the good fight” as St. Paul did, writing of God’s work in himself and in the early Church (cf 2 Tim 4: 7).

God is Faithful and so I continue to put my trust in Him and the intercession of Mary. The Legion of Mary was such a grace in my life, helping me to know, love, and serve Jesus more through Mary, that I try to share whatever may help others. Your being an Auxiliary Member is a grace too. Your prayers are meant to help you and others.

If it had not been for the Legion, I wonder if I would have ever consecrated myself totally to Jesus through Mary as St. Louis de Montfort explains in his treatise on “[True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary]. (https://www.ewtn.com/library/Montfort/TRUEDEVO.HTM)”.

If anyone reading this thread is interested in learning more about the Legion of Mary see HERE

 

[2towers]

Do you know of any Praesidia in Atlanta? My friend moved there and she wants to stay in the Legion.

This might not be a complete list. Tell her to google for more details or call the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

Cathedral of Christ the King / Buckhead
Saint Paul of the Cross
Saint Jude
All Saints
St. Theresa
Holy Family / Marietta
North Atlanta
St. Thomas the Apostle /Smyrna
St. Francis de Sales /Smyrna

Archdiocese of Atlanta: 404-920-7800

…and this just in…
The North and South Atlanta Curiae are under the
Archdiocese of Atlanta, GA together they have
23 Legion of Mary Praesidia.
http://www.legionofmarymiamiregia.com/Georgia.html

For ALL:
Legion of Mary handbook free PDF

https://www.legionofmarymiamiregia.com/custom-1/Legion%20of%20Mary%20Hand%20Book.pdf

 

[anon64350612]

Wow. Thanks!

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear 2 towers,

Joining luciavento’s “thanks” to you! Doing all we can do to promote the Legion of Mary is time well spent. Those who seek to join, or to find out more about this largest Catholic Lay Apostolate in the world, also will find their time well spent.

Who knows how much time any of us have? By God’s Grace I pray to fight the good fight, and finish the race well!!!

Official website of the Legion of Mary can be read HERE

 

[chizzi]

We started our Legion of Mary here at St. Michaels, Arizona, about a year ago. There are other Praesidiums out in our area and we’ve started hospital visits, jail visits, and looking into other LOM activities.

 

[MariaChristi]

Great News, chizzi!!! Thanks so much for your reply.

Our Praesidium is 11 years old now, and our works began with door to door visits in the parish, and also a Jail Ministry, now our works have extended in many directions. Our numbers of Active Members has not increased although we have been able to keep an Active membership of between 8 and 12 while the Auxiliaries’ Membership has increased greatly from 10 in the beginning to over 100 now in both probationary and permanent members.

We’ve had several pastors since the one who first permitted the Legion to begin in the parish. I was not in the parish when it began but joined soon after we arrived because I had been a Junior Member in high school and knew it’s value in my own life and how my devotion to Jesus through Mary had increased because of my membership.

Please let us pray for the continuing growth of the Legion of Mary in the Universal Church and throughout the world. It is the largest Lay Apostolate in the Catholic Church – although many Catholics have little or no knowledge of it (including many of the clergy), but that may be God’s way of encouraging us to be more like Mary i.e. humble and hidden from the world which does not have the spirit of her Son.

One of my favorite quotes from the Legion Handbook is :

The Legion of Mary presents the true face of the Catholic Church. (from Pope St. John XXIII, given on page11 of the Legion Handbook.

It seems to me Pope St. John XXIII, like others, saw in the Legion of Mary, the face of Mary, Mother and Model for the Church! May all who look upon Mary’s Legion, see God’s Life shining through us, as He did through Mary, and continues to shine through her now and forever. Amen.

 

[Ardent_Fire]

I don’t know how I missed this, but I’m an Auxiliary Member. Not currently active because I moved, fell very ill, have recovered but at the moment don’t have a car. There are two Catholic churches near me and I don’t know how to decide which presidium to be involved with once I have a car, I’m guessing it would technically be the parish I’m geographically a member with (here in the UK) though I attend mass or other devotions at both parishes.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear littleburgy,

Thanks so much for your reply – better late than never!!! Truly, I am so grateful to hear from you and know that you are considering returning to Active membership. One of our Active Members needed to transfer to Auxiliary Membership not too long ago because she was overwhelmed by the amount of work she had taken on and then had an accident which sent her to the hospital and into rehab. We kept in touch, of course, as we try to do with all our Auxiliaries especially when we learn they are sick.

When I saw her at Mass I told her how glad I was to see her and she told me she was coming back to Active membership and has been at our last three meetings. She is trying to get help in doing work and we are grateful for Our Lady’s intercession in healing her and continuing to be so present in her life.

Three of our current officers joined the Legion as Auxiliaries and then transferred to Active service. Both types of membership are so very important. Our current President does not have a car, but our current secretary picks her up and takes her home for meetings. You may want pray to the Holy Spirit about your chice of which Praesidia to join. God may lead you to call and visit both before you have a sense in which one He wants you to serve Him through Mary. Listening to the work reports might kindle a fire in your own heart to join in that work or simply the prayerfulness or the Spiritual Reading at the Meeting may give you some special inspiration.

By the way we have Auxiliary members in our “Queen of Peace” Praesidium here in the USA who live in Canada, the Philippines and also the UK. They joined us since they could find no Legion of Mary in their locality. One woman in Canada, not only joined herself but recruited her husband (now deceased) and 8 others!!!

God works all things unto good for those who love Him and are called according to His Purpose (cf Romans 8:28). The UK, like my country, and every country in the world needs to turn to God again and more devoutly through Mary, whom St. John Paul II called the “Star of the New Evangelization”.

 

[anon64350612]

Ideally, an active member should join the Praesidium attached to his or her home parish. The Praesidium works should be an extension of the priest’s works. According to Father Peffley, Legionaries “provide the priest with invaluable cooperators for the extension of his parochial mission.” (from his article, The Parish priest and the Legion of Mary) The article is in the pamphlet entitled The Priest and the Legion of Mary, published by Maria Legionis

 

[Ardent_Fire]

This is very helpful, thank you! I know the parish we’re under is the one we actually attend mass at when we are in town. They have a very strong, active group so I look forward to becoming active again (once we can afford another car) –

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks luciavento,

I’ve read and greatly admire Fr. Peffley. You were wise to begin with the word “ideally”
because it seems to me, there could be circumstances enabling a person to hear the Lord’s call to one rather than to another Praesidium especially if she attends both parishes.

 

[toddy]

Evangelization, relationship with Jesus.

Each of us has different way for evangelization.
I used this core for the fall-out Christians.
Could not find good guidance in the LM booklet.

Steps to build relationship with God from Saint Irenaeus Church

1. Want to believe in God. The Creator, Mac 1:24, 7-23, 13-14; The Savior, John (12:47); Acts (2:21) and the Holy Spirit. John (14:26)
2. Accept God loves us and be union with Him. John 3:16, 17:3
3. Admit we are far from God because of sins and did not experience His love.
   Rom 3:23, 6:23, 5:8; Cor 15:3-4: John 14:6
4. Return to God by repenting of sin. Acts 3:19-20; Luke 15:18; Mat 4:17
5. Acknowledge receiving Jesus as our Savior and Lord. John 1:12; Eph 2:8-9; John 3:1-6
6. Come to Jesus by knocking His door. Rev 3:20
7. Maintain relationship with God by daily prayers. Phi 4:6; Col 4:2

In simple language:

Believe in God, understand God is Love and Mercy, and want to be with God.
Have ignored Jesus because… and never had Your love since then.
Jesus, I am sinner…live and walk in the darkness. [miserable].
Please save me, Jesus Savior.
Please show me the way.
Keep daily prayer.

Also used other cores for the unbelievers; etc.

Blessing, peace and joy.

 

[MariaChristi]

Dear Toddy,

Thanks for your reply. Not sure what you meant by LM booklet. I think if you really want to learn about God’s Work in forming the Legion of Mary, you may need to begin with reading the treatise on “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary”. God led the Servant of God Frank Duff to begin the Legion of Mary after he and a small group had prayed to the Holy Spirit and prayed the Rosary with their parish priest for guidance in how to LIVE the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary, they had prayed.

Frank Duff was not impressed by his first reading of this little book but he kept re-reading it until he one day realized it was true! When you read the Legion of Mary Handbook you can hear many words and phrases from St. Louis de Montfort. Pope St. John Paul II also said that reading St. Louis de Montfort’s “True Devotion” was a turning point in his young life, and took for his papal motto “Totus Tuus” (All Yours) – a phrase from St. Louis de Montfort.

Pope St. John Paul II called Mary, “The Star of the New Evangelization” – as did Pope Benedict XVI, after JPII. I mention all this because, while I agree that Scripture is the primary source of God’s Revelation, it can remain merely words on a page if we do not prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to bring us into the Truth He was sent by the Father and Son to give the Church. Jesus IS the Way, the Truth and the Life, and we do need to listen to His Word and to live the Truth we hear, as did Mary, Mother and Model of the Church. Jesus came the first time through Mary, and God is consistent. He continues to send Jesus to us through Mary, Mother and Model of the Church.

Pope John Paul saw the falling away of many before he died, and his words to Legionaries on October 30, 1982 remain with me as prophetic:

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…

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 secularised society, we note a widespread crisis of faith in God, preceded by a drop in devotion to the Virgin Mother.

Again, I’m not sure what you meant by LM booklet, but if you’d like to read Frank Duff (Founder of the Legion of Mary) on “True Devotion” you can read it HERE

 

[toddy]

Legion of Mary Handbook by father Frank Duff.
Sorry, did not reply earlier.
I am a second generation with the Legion Mary since 1970.

The handbook does not provide training about evangelization to convert those who deeply in sin, fall-out Christians and the unbelievers.

To convert them effectively, must pray with them regularly! several people for one unbeliever or sinner…; etc. They may ask friendly “what are words of God for what you say?”; etc.

Just give ideas about the core of Saint Irenaeus Church’s teaching that maybe useful for some members.

God bless and joy,

 

[toddy]

Continuing the discussion from Protestant seeking:

Mary, our Mother.

We pray rosary is to repeat the gospels of messenger angel [Lk 1:28 Lk 1-41-43] and also the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in order to deliver us from devils.

The bible affirms Mary is the Mother of God the son, Jesus, the second person of the Holy Trinity [Lk 1:35, 43, Mt 1:23Jn 1:1]

Mary is also our mother because those who belong to the church of Christ are also member of His body [Jn 19:26-27 Col 1:18 Cor 6:15]

Although Mary was created by God and therefore does not merit worship, God made her sinless so that she could fulfill her unique role as the Ark of the New Covenant [Ex 40:34-35 Lk 1:35 Sam 6:9] like the original Ark.

Mary’s womb contained the Word of God and had to be entire holy [Chr 35:3 Lev 16:2 Jn 1:1 Lk 1:28]

As Jesus’ mother, Mary is unique among all Christian saints and also the closest to Him in heaven. We do well to ask her to intercede for us [Jn 2:3-10]

This evangelization document is excellent basic from the church long ago, in case any members need. I will post other basics later.

Blessing,