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Legion of Mary
Our Lady Spouse of the Holy Spirit Regia
Serving the State of Michigan
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OPENING PRAYERS
(Make the Sign of the Cross)
In the name of the Father, etc.
Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of Your love.
v. Send forth Your Spirit, O Lord, and they shall be created.
R. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.
God our Father, pour out the gifts of Your Holy Spirit on the world. You sent the Spirit on Your Church to begin the teaching of the gospel: now let the, Spirit continue to work in the world through the hearts of all who believe. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
v. You, O Lord, will open my lips.
R. And my tongue shall announce Your praise.
v. Incline unto my aid, O God.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
v. Glory be to the Father, etc.
R. As it was in the beginning, etc.
Then follow five decades of the Rosary with the Hail, Holy Queen.
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy; hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To you we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to you we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, O most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile, show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
v. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
O God, Whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation; grant, we beseech You, that meditating upon these mysteries in the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
v. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
R. Have mercy on us.
v. Immaculate Heart of Mary
R. Pray for us.
v. St. Joseph
R. Pray for us.
v. St John the Evangelist
R. Pray for us.
v. St. Louis-Marie deMontfort
R. Pray for us.
Make the Sign of the Cross)
In the name of the Father, etc.
THE CATENA LEGIONIS
Antiphon. Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?
(Make the Sign of the Cross)
v. My soul glorifies the Lord.*
R. My spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour.
v. He looks on His servant in her lowliness;*
henceforth all ages will call me blessed.
R. The Almighty works marvels for me.*
Holy His name!
v. His mercy is from age to age,*
on those who fear Him.
R. He puts forth His arm in strength*
and scatters the proud-hearted.
v. He casts the mighty from their thrones*
and raises the lowly.
R. He fills the starving with good things,*
sends the rich away empty.
v. He protects Israel His servant,*
remembering His mercy,
R. The mercy promised to our fathers,*
to Abraham and his sons for ever.
v. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit..
R. As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon. Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?
v. O Mary, conceived without sin.
R. Pray for us who have recourse to you.
Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, our mediator with the Father, Who has been Pleased to appoint the Most Blessed Virgin, Your mother, to be our mother also, and our mediatrix with You, mercifully grant that whoever comes to You seeking Your favours may rejoice to receive all of them through her. Amen.
CONCLUDING PRAYERS
Make the Sign of the Cross)
In the name of the Father, etc.
We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our prayers in our necessities, but ever deliver us from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin.
v. Mary Immaculate, Mediatrix of all Graces
or Invocation appropriate to Praesidium)
R. Pray for us.
v. St. Michael and St. Gabriel
R. Pray for us.
v. All you heavenly Powers, Mary's Legion of Angels
R. Pray for us.
v. St. John the Baptist
R. Pray for us.
v. Saints Peter and Paul
R. Pray for us.
Confer, O Lord, on us, who serve beneath the standard of Mary, that fullness of faith in You and trust in her, to which it is given to conquer the world. Grant us a lively faith, animated by charity, which will enable us to perform all our actions from the motive of pure love of You, and ever to see You and serve You in our neighbor; a faith, firm and immovable as a rock, through which we shall rest tranquil and steadfast amid the crosses, toils and disappointments of life; a courageous faith which will inspire us to undertake and carry out without hesitation great things for your glory and for the salvation of souls; a faith which will be our Legion's Pillar of Fire - to lead us forth united - to kindle everywhere the fires of divine love - to enlighten those who are in darkness and in the shadow of death - to inflame those who are lukewarm - to bring back life to those who are dead in sin; and which will guide our own feet in the way of peace; so that - the battle of life over - our Legion may reassemble, without the loss of any one, in the kingdom of Your love and glory. Amen.
May the souls of our departed legionaries and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.
Make the Sign of the Cross)
In the name of the Father, etc.
Our Lady's Feast Days
January 1 Mary, Mother of God
January 21 Our Lady of Altagracia
January 23 Espousal of the Virgin Mary
January 24 Madonna del Pianto (Our Lady of Tears)
February 2 Purification of Mary
February 4 Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt
February 11 Our Lady of Lourdes
March 25 Annunciation by Saint Gabriel
April 25 Our Lady of Good Counsel
April 26 Our Lady of Good Counsel
May 13 Our Lady of Fatima
May 13 Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament
May 24 Mary, Help of Christians
May 31 Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces
May 31 Visitation
June 3 Our Lady of the Holy Letter
June 9 Mary, Virgin Mother of Grace
June 27 Our Lady of Perpetual Help
July 2 Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
July 16 Our Lady of Mount Carmel
July 17 Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary
August 2 Our Lady of the Angels
August 5 Our Lady of the Snow
August 5 Our Lady of Copacabana
August 13 Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners
August 15 Assumption into Heaven
August 21 Our Lady of Knock
August 22 Immaculate Heart of Mary
August 22 Queenship of Mary
September 8 Nativity of Mary
September 8 Our Lady of Charity
September 8 Our Lady of Meritxell
September 8 Our Lady of Covadonga
September 12 Most Holy Name of Mary
September 15 Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
September 24 Our Lady of Mercy
September 24 Our Lady of Walsingham
October 1 Holy Protection of the Mother of God
October 7 Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary
October 11 Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
October 12 Our Lady of Pilar
October 16 Purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
November 11 Patronage of Our Lady
November 21 Presentation of Mary at the Temple
December 2 Our Lady of Liesse
December 2 Our Lady, Cause of Our Joy
December 8 Mary's Immaculate Conception
December 12 Our Lady of Guadalupe
December 18 Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Universal Call to Holiness
Recently Mother Teresa was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Rome. Few would argue her special holiness of life. But some will ask "Why are there not more people like Mother Teresa?"
The answer is that there should be many more. In fact we are all called to holiness, even the heights of holiness. Scripture even says so, "This is the will of God, your sanctification." Others have asked, noting that this Pope has beatified thousands and canonized hundreds, more than any other pope in history, "does this not 'lessen the honor'?" One American bishop answered that in times past when someone was canonized only every twenty years or so, it made it seem that holiness was for the select few, out of reach for most people.
In fact, as already noted, the call to holiness is universal. We have the wrong idea of holiness. We do not have to work miracles or found religious orders, or endure extreme penances. We only are required to fulfill the duties placed before us by God by means of our state in life but with great love for God and for our neighbor and then do whatever is necessary to give life to that love.
The following is taken from the beginning of a little booklet "Can We be Saints" written by Frank Duff early in his life.
What is a Saint?
"In the heart of every right-thinking Catholic, God has implanted the desire to become a Saint. Yet few make a serious attempt to realise the ambition. The cause for this is to a large extent discouragement, due to the misunderstanding of what a Saint really is.
What is a Saint? The answer usually returned to this question is: one who does extraordinary penances and works miracles. Now, this is an incorrect description, for neither miracles nor great penances are essential. The man who works a miracle does not raise himself in God's eyes by it; and, while penance in some shape is necessary, still the teaching of the Saints on this difficult question is encouraging.
What they direct is not bodily penances of a terrifying kind, but rather the strict avoidance of delicacies, softness, comfort,. We are told to beware of injuring our health, and to eat enough plain food to enable us to work and pray without hindrance. There is ample opportunity for the severest mortification in the restraint of eyes and tongue, and in a warfare against the seven Deadly Sins.
Thus, there is another definition of what a Saint is. It is this: One who, with the object of pleasing God, does his ordinary duties extraordinarily well. Such a life may be lived out without a single wonder in it, arouse little notice, be soon forgotten, and yet be the life of one of God's dearest friends.
It is obviously an encouragement to look on sanctity in this way. When we see that those things which so terrified us in the lives of the Saints, because we felt we could not do them ourselves, are not the important part of their sanctity at all, we should feel heartened to begin to-day and make a serious effort for great holiness. Believe this: it is only the first few wrenches given to the will that really hurt. Perhaps the following words of Cardinal Newman will tempt us to take a step forward on the road:
"If you ask me what your are to do in order to be perfect, I say, first do not lie in bed beyond the time of rising; give your first thoughts to God; make a good visit to the Blessed Sacrament; say the Angelus devoutly; eat and drink to God's glory; say the Rosary well; be recollected; keep out bad thoughts; make your evening mediation well; examine yourself daily; go to bed in good time, and your are already perfect."
Who are Called to be Saints?
Every person that is born is called to be a Saint. Take it as most certain that you - no matter how unfitted your life may seem for holiness - are being given graces sufficient, if corresponded with, to bring you to sanctity. We have already seen that nothing beyond our strength is expected; neither is sanctity the exclusive property of any grade or manner of life. Among the Saints canonised by the Church are kings and beggars, and representatives of every trade, slaves, hermits, city people, mothers of families, invalids, soldiers, and persons of every race and colour.
As a canonised Saint is a pattern provided by God, it is evident that an invitation to become Saints is extended to men and women of every type. It is equally a fact that to those who seriously try to respond to His invitation, He gives help sufficient to carry them to the goal."
The following comments are taken from the Handbook of the Legion of Mary:
"It is no longer I who live" says the apostle "but it is Christ who lives in me." (Gal 2:20) Interior life means that one's thoughts, desires and affections converge on our Lord. The model for achieving this is Our Blessed Lady. She continually advanced in holiness, for spiritual progress, is, most of all, progress in charity or love, and charity grew in Mary during her whole life.
"All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love.... All the faithful are invited and obliged to holiness and the perfection of their own state of life." (Lumen Gentium 40, 42) Holiness is a practical attainment. "All of holiness consists in the love of God, and all of the love of God consists in doing his will." (St. Alphonsus Liguori)
"To be able to discover the actual will of the Lord in our lives always involves the following: a receptive listening to the Word of God and the Church, fervent and constant prayer, recourse to a wise and loving spiritual guide, and a faithful discernment of the gifts and talents given by God as well as the diverse social and historic situations in which one lives." (Christifideles Laici 58)
The Legion proposes a way of life rather than the doing of a work. It gives a training which is meant to influence every department of life and every hour of that life.
The Legion's purpose is to help its members and all those in contact with them to live out their Christian vocation to the full. That vocation has its source in baptism. By baptism one is made another Christ. "We have not only become other Christs, but Christ himself." (St. Augustine)
The general and essential means by which the Legion of Mary is to effect its object is personal service acting under the influence of the Holy Spirit, having Divine Grace as its moving principle and support, and the Glory of God and the salvation of souls as its final end and purpose.
Hence the holiness of life which the Legion of Mary seeks to promote in the members is also its primary means of action. "I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me, and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing." (Jn 15:5)
"The Church, whose mystery is set forth by this sacred Council, is held, as a matter of faith, to be unfailingly holy. This is because Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is hailed as "alone holy", loved the Church as his Bride, giving himself up for her so as to sanctify her (cf Eph 5:25-26); he joined her to himself as his body and endowed her with the gift of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. Therefore all in the Church, whether they belong to the hierarchy or are cared for by it, are called to holiness, according to the apostle's saying: 'For this is the will of God, your sanctification'. (1 Thess 4:3; cf Eph 1:4) This holiness of the Church is constantly shown forth in the fruits of grace which the Spirit produces in the faithful and so it must be; it is expressed in many ways by the individuals who, each in his own state of life, tend to the perfection of love, thus helping others to grow in holiness; it appears in a manner peculiar to itself in the practice of the counsels which have been usually called "evangelical." This practice of the counsels prompted by the Holy Spirit, undertaken by many Christians whether privately or in a form or state
sanctioned by the Church, gives and should give a striking witness and example of that holiness." (Lumen Gentium 39)
To Jesus through Mary
It is desirable that the practice of...devotion to Mary should be rounded off and given the distinctive character which has been taught by St. Louis-Marie de Montfort under the title of "The True Devotion" and which is enshrined in his two books, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin and the Secret of Mary.
That Devotion requires the formal entry into a compact with Mary, whereby one gives to her one's whole self, with all its thoughts and deeds and possessions, both spiritual and temporal, past, present, and future, without the reservation of the smallest part or slightest little thing. In a word, the giver places himself in a condition equivalent to that of a slave possessing nothing of his own, and wholly dependent on, and utterly at the disposal of Mary.
But the earthly slave is far freer than the slave of Mary. The former remains master of his thoughts and inner life, and thus may be free in everything that matters to him. But the surrender to Mary bears with it everything: each thought, the movements of the soul, the hidden riches, the inmost self. All - on to the final breath - is committed to her that she may expend it all for God. It is a sort of martyrdom, the sacrifice of self to God, with Mary as the altar of that sacrifice. How conformed, indeed, to the sacrifice of Christ himself, which likewise began in Mary's bosom, was publicly confirmed in the arms of Mary uplifted in the presentation, embraced every moment of his life, and was consummated on Calvary on the cross of Mary's heart.
The True Devotion is inaugurated by a formal Act of Consecration, but it consists principally in the subsequent living of that Consecration. The True Devotion must represent not an act but a state. Unless Mary takes possession of all the life, and not merely of minutes and hours of that life, the Act of Consecration-even though frequently repeated-has but the value of a passing prayer. It is like a tree which has been planted, but which has never taken root.
But this does not mean that the mind has to remain ever fixed upon the Consecration. Just as one's physical life is governed by one's breathing or by the beating of one's heart, even though these operations are not consciously viewed, so it is with the True Devotion. Even though not adverted to, it works incessantly on the life of the soul. It suffices if the idea of Mary's ownership is now and then made vivid by deliberate thought, by acts and ejaculations; provided that the fact of one's dependence on her remains permanently acknowledged, always at least vaguely present to the mind, and put into force in a general way in all the circumstances of one's life.
If there is a warmth in all this, it can be a help. But if not, it does not affect the value of the Devotion. Oftentimes, in fact, warmth makes things soft and not dependable.
Mark this well: the True Devotion does not depend on fervour or emotions of any kind. Like every lofty edifice, it may at times burn in sunshine, while its deep foundations are cold like the rock they rest on.
Reason is commonly cold. The best resolve may be icy. Faith itself can be chill as a diamond. Yet these are the foundations of the True Devotion. Set in them, the latter will abide; and the frost and the storm, which cause mountains to crumble, will only leave it the stronger.
The graces which have attended the practice of the True Devotion, and the position it has attained in the devotional life of the Church, would reasonably appear to indicate that it represents an authentic message from Heaven, and this is precisely what St. Louis-Marie de Montfort claimed it to be. He attached to it immense promises, and he asserted most positively that those promises would be fulfilled if the conditions which govern them are fulfilled.
And as to the everyday experience: speak to those whose practice of the Devotion is more than a surface affair, and see with what complete conviction they speak of what it has done for them. Ask them if they may not be the victims of their feelings or imagination. Always they will declare that there is no question of it; the fruits have been too evident to admit of their being deceived.
If the sum of the experiences of those who teach, and understand, and practise the True Devotion is of value, it seems unquestionable that it deepens the interior life, sealing it with the special character of unselfishness and purity of intention. There is a sense of guidance and protection: a joyful certainty that now one's life is being employed to the best advantage. There is a supernatural outlook, a definite courage, a firmer faith, which make one a mainstay of any enterprise. There is a tenderness and a wisdom which keep strength in its proper place. There is, too, the protectress of them all, a sweet humility. Graces come which one cannot but realise are out of the common. Frequently, there is a call to a great work, which is patently beyond one's merits and natural capacity. Yet with it come such helps as enable that glorious but heavy burden to be borne without faltering. In a word, in exchange for the splendid sacrifice which is made in the True Devotion by selling oneself into this species of slavery, there is gained the hundredfold which is promised to those who despoil themselves for the greater glory of God. When we serve, we rule; when we give, we have; when we surrender ourselves we are victors.
Some persons appear to reduce their spiritual life very simply to a matter of selfish gain or loss. These are disconcerted by the suggestion that they should abandon their treasures even to the Mother of our souls. Such as the following is heard: "If I give everything to Mary, will I not at the hour of my departure from this life stand empty-handed before my Judge, and therefore perhaps have to go for a vast time into Purgatory?" To this, a commentator quaintly answers: "No, not at all, since Mary is present at the Judgment!" The thought contained in this remark is profound.
But the objection to making the Consecration is usually due less to a purely selfish outlook than to perplexity. There is difficulty in understanding how those things for which one is bound in duty to pray, such as one's family, one's friends, one's country, the Pope, etc., will fare if one makes the unreserved gift of one's spiritual treasures. Let all these misgivings be put aside, and let the Consecration be boldly made. Everything is safe with Our Lady. She is the guardian of the treasures of God himself. She is capable of being the guardian of the concerns of those who place their trust in her. So together with the assets of your life, cast all its liabilities - its obligations and duties - into that great sublime heart of hers. In her relations with you, she acts in a manner as if she had no other child but you. Your salvation, your sanctification, your multiple needs are peremptorily present to her. When you pray for her intentions, you yourself are her first intention.
But here, where one is being urged to make sacrifice, is not the place to seek to prove that there is no loss whatever in the transaction. For to prove this would sap the very foundations of the offering and deprive it of the character of sacrifice on which its value depends. It will suffice to recall that once upon a time a multitude of ten or twelve thousand were in a desert, and were hungry. (Jn 6:1-14) In all that number only one person had brought food with him. What he possessed amounted to five loaves and two fishes and he was asked to give them up for the common good; and he did so with willingness. Then those few loaves and fishes were blessed and broken and distributed to the multitude. And in the end all that immense throng did eat, until they could eat no more; and among them he who had given the original seven items of food. And yet what remained over filled twelve baskets, full and to overflowing! Now supposing that individual had said: "What good will these few loaves and fishes be to so great a multitude? Besides, I require them for the members of my family here with me and oppressed by hunger. I cannot give." But no! He gave and he and his people received far more from the miraculous repast than they had contributed to it. And no doubt they had a form of claim to the twelve basketfuls, if they desired to assert it.
Such is always the way of Jesus and Mary with the princely soul which gives its possessions without reserve or stipulation. The gift avails to satisfy the wants of a vast throng. Yet, one's own needs and intentions, which had appeared to suffer, are filled to overflowing and still the Divine bounty lies scattered about.
Let us, then, hasten to Mary with our poor loaves and fishes, and press them into her arms, so that Jesus and she may multiply them to feed the souls of the millions hungering in the arid desert of this world.
The form of one's ordinary prayers and actions need not be changed as a result of the making of the Consecration. The customary paths of life may be pursued, and one may continue to pray for one's usual intentions and for all special purposes, but subject in future to Mary's good pleasure.
"Mary shows us her Divine Son and addresses to us the same invitation that she did of old to the serving men at Cana: 'Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye.' (Jn 2:5) If at her command we pour into the vessels of Charity and Sacrifice the tasteless water of the thousand details of our everyday actions the miracle of Cana is renewed. The water is changed into a delicious wine, that is to say, into choicest graces for ourselves and for others." (Cousin)
Legion of Mary Handbook Chapter 6
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The Legion of Mary Prayers
Prayers & Devotions
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