What the Popes say . . .
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.
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 John XXIII to the Legion of Mary
The Legion of Mary presents the true face of the Catholic Church.
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.
Pope Pius XI to the Legion of Mary
We give a very special blessing to this beautiful and holy work – the
Legion of Mary. Its name speaks for itself. The image of Mary
Immaculate on its Standard portrays high and holy things.
The Blessed Virgin is mother of the Redeemer and of us all. She co-
operates in our Redemption, for it was under the Cross that she became
our mother.
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.
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 John XXIII to the Legion of Mary
The Legion of Mary presents the true face of the Catholic Church.
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.
Pope Pius XI to the Legion of Mary
We give a very special blessing to this beautiful and holy work – the
Legion of Mary. Its name speaks for itself. The image of Mary
Immaculate on its Standard portrays high and holy things.
The Blessed Virgin is mother of the Redeemer and of us all. She co-
operates in our Redemption, for it was under the Cross that she became
our mother.
Pope Benedict XVI to the Legion of Mary
The Holy Father wishes me to assure you of his appreciation for the
generous service to the Church offered throughout the world by so many
members of the Legion who, under the heavenly patronage of Mary, the
Mother of God, seek to draw all persons to Christ, the Redeemer of
mankind....
Commending you and all the members of the Legion to the loving
intercession of Mary, the Queen of Apostles, the Holy Father cordially
imparts his Apostolic Blessing.
Archbishop Fernando Filoni
The Popes and the Legion of Mary
With grateful acknowledgement to the New York
Regional Senatus for this information:
http://legion-of-mary-ny.home.att.net/index.htm
Regional Senatus for this information:
http://legion-of-mary-ny.home.att.net/index.htm
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Legion of Mary - Diocese of Phoenix, AZ