INTRODUCTION
Yes, the Legion of Mary is truly a school for saints. In fact, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that some members of the Legion of Mary will actually be canonized saints, if not in this century, certainly in the next.
The Legion of Mary is not yet seventyfive years old, yet three of its members are now being considered for possible canonization.
Edel Quinn, who died in 1944, is probably closest to becoming a saint in our time, since she has been declared Venerable on December 31, 1994, by His Holiness, Pope John Paul II.
Alphonsus (Alfie) Lambe was an Irish Envoy to South America where he worked to spread the Legion of Mary for some six years until his death in 1959. In 1971, twelve years after his death, his cause for canonization was opened in Rome at the request of many South American bishops.
Mr. Frank Duff, the saintly founder of the Legion of Mary, died in 1980. The Diocesan Process of Canonization was opened in Dublin in 1989.
These are the three saintly legionaries featured in this pamphlet.
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EDEL MARY QUINN
Edel Mary Quinn was born in Ireland, at Greenane, near Kanturk, a remote town in County Cork, on September 14, 1907. I like to point out how modern a saint Edel would be by saying that if she were alive today, she would be 2 months and 12 days older than I am.
Her father, Charles Quinn, from County Galway, was in the banking business; her mother, whose maiden name was Louise Burke Browne, was from Clare. Edel Mary was the first-born in the family of three other girls, Leslie, Mona and Dorothea, and one brother, Raphael.
There is an interesting story of how Edel received the name Edel at her baptism. It is said that her mother had chosen the name Adele after one of her own sisters. At the baptismal service in the, parish church Mr. Quinn was asked the baby's name by the priest. Mr. Quinn faithfully expressed his wife's wish by answering in his thick Irish brogue: Adele, with the accent on the second syllable. The priest however understood "Edel", thinking they had chosen the name "Edel" as a shortened form of Edelweiss - the beautiful mountain flower. Edel, however, was never quite pleased with her name. She often joked about lt.
From her earliest years Edel was a very happy child, and ever so happy when she received Holy Communion for the first time. As a school-girl Edel was a serious student, but at the same time a care-free, joyous and fun-loving girl. She always presented a happy exterior, never giving any outward signs of inward worry.
She showed a mature poise in all her actions, even in her early years. Nothing seemed to bother her: she was fearless, totally unselfish, forgetting herself entirely in helping others. Her grace and charm impressed everyone and in her relationship with her superiors she displayed a properly balanced degree of ease and respect. She had a great sense of humor and was actually a prankster! Her laughter was contagious and her smile (everyone who knew her spoke of her beautiful smile) was mischievous and gentle. Frank Duff once said that ~hotographs never did justice to Edel's eauty. He said a camera could catch some features of her external beauty, but not her real inner beauty which radiated through her beautiful blue eyes, her expressive lips and her knowing smile.
As a teenager Edel was very interested in sports. She was captain of her school's cricket team and liked tennis, golf and swimming. She was quite fond of music, played the piano and was an excellent stager and dancer. And she dressed in style, but with modesty. Yes, Edel was one beautifully accomplished girl - a girl of our times.
After her school days were over, Edel worked as a secretary in a tile company in Dublin. When her employer fell in love with her and proposed marriage, she was surprised, but she refused his offer by explaining to him that she had already promised herself to God through the Religious Life.
Indeed Edel in her choice of Religious Life had chosen the most difficult - the cloistered life. In fact, Edel had been accepted by the religious community of the Poor Clare Sisters and was waiting until her family could spare her. As she was preparing herself for the convent Edel discovered the Legion of Mary - and she loved it.
After a couple of years in the Legion she was appointed president of a praesidium devoted to the care of street girls. In spite of her youth (she was around 20 years of age) she eventually gained the respect and admiration of the older members of that praesidium, and rightly. so, for she was an exemplary Legionary in every sense of the word.
During her immediate preparations for entering the convent, Edel became ill with tuberculosis and was confined to a sanatorium for eighteen months. As her disease was diagnosed "incurable" she left the sanatorium and got another job as secretary in order to help alleviate the pressing needs of her family.
She immediately returned to the Legion of Mary and after about five years joined a vacation extension team sent to Wales, England. She was so impressed by the need of the Legion in Wales that she volunteered to return there, to get a job, settle in and continue to extend the Legion in that area.
Instead of sending her to Wales, the Concilium officers asked her if she would be willing to go to Africa as a Legion Envoy. Without the slightest hesitation and with great joy she agreed. After all the objections to her being sent to Africa in questionable health were set aside, Edel set sail in October of 1936, leaving her family and friends, knowing she would never see them again.
The frail young lady of 29 years, in spite of her illness, performed superhuman wonders in the mission field for over seven years. The bishops were anxious for Edel to set up branches of the Legion in their territories. Many priests and nuns told her that the Legion of Mary would not work in Africa. But with her never failing persistence she finally showed them that it would work there and it did. It became the greatest aid to the bishops, priests and sisters in their missionary work.
What won everyone to Edel's side were her gentle smile, her shining blue eyes, her great sense of humor, her complete naturalness, her constant charm of manner, and her readiness to undertake the hardest of tasks, working in the heat and dust and mud long after the others were taking their muchneeded afternoon siesta. Edel was always respectful of ecclesiastical authority. If there was a difference of opinion she was strongwilled, but always the soul of conciliation; but when there was a question of the following the Legion rules as outlined in the Handbook she was inflexible.
In setting up and revisiting hundreds of praesidia, curiae and comitia, Edel travelled hundreds and hundreds of miles by ship, by train, by bus, by car and truck, by bicycle, by rickshaw, or by foot - and always at the price of great physical pain and discomfort.
Shortly before the final stage of her illness she travelled eighteen hours one way by train to visit Legion praesidia and curiae.
The area that she actually covered in Africa during her mission there was wider than all of Europe.
When Edel died in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 12, 1944 at the age of thirty-six, the bishops, priests, sisters and laity who knew her were convinced that they had had a saint in their midst for almost eight wonderful years.
Consequently, in 1952 Bishop McCarthy and many other bishops asked Rome to open the Cause for the Canonization of Edel. Since that time the process has been progressing steadily and well - so well that she now has the title of Venerable.
CONCILIUM LEGIONIS MARIAE
DE MONTFORT HOUSE MORNING STAR AVENUE BRUNSWICK STREET DUBLIN 7 IRELAND
31st December 1994 Edel Quinn Now Venerable
The Pope has confirmed a vote of the Cardinals and Archbishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints affirming the outstanding holiness of Edel Quinn, the Legion of Mary envoy who died in Nairobi in 1944. She is now given the title Venerable. One miracle, attributed to her intercession, is still required for her beatification. If an adequately attested miracle is forthcoming the beatification should follow quickly. The Pope has asked the Congregation to give priority, as far as possible, to processing the Causes of lay people.
What are the virtues and qualities that marked Edel as a holy person fit for Canonization? Why was she so different from others of her time who may have been holy persons yet were not mentioned for Canonization? What were some of her virtues which made her so different?
Everyone who knew her, including her parents, her three sisters and a brother, describe Edel as having been totally unselfish, giving herself to others without consideration of herself. Edel had a concern for everyone and shared in their sufferings, but never revealed her own. She was truly patient in her suffering, which was considerable, but she never gave evidence of pain or worriment. She was always cheerful, even when she was in intense pain or extreme discomfort.
Those persons who knew her speak of her natural simplicity, her generosity, and her fearlessness. To Edel her Legion work was sacred. With an extraordinary ability to organize, she gave her time, her talents and her toil to the Legion, without ever counting the cost. But you might say, is that all that set her apart as a candidate for official sainthood? We know that there has to be more than all the above virtues and qualities.
One of the virtues that will help Edel towards Canonization was her extraordinary love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. Any day that she could not attend Mass and receive her Lord in Holy Communion was considered by her as incomplete - as a lost day. Her greatest joy of the day was to be in union with her God in Holy Communion.
A Poem by Edel Quinn (Found in a notebook from her boardingschool days)
Come my Jesus, I am waiting waiting for you here full of love and ardent longing banishing all fear.
Not an angel or Thy Mother could content me now: none can satisfy my craving Jesus! only Thou...
Come today and come tomorrow come each dawning day while the flood of life is flowing, till it ebb away till my heart be still forever till my voice be dumb; then with open arms to meet me come Lord Jesus, come!
Another virtue that would be stressed in the process of her cause was that of her living an the presence of the Blessed Trinity and of Mary every moment of the day. Frank Duff tells us that Edel's every thought, word and deed were activated by highly spiritual motives. In other words, all of Edel's thoughts, words and actions were the thoughts, words and actions that Jesus and Mary would have had under similar circumstances. Some of Edel's friends have testified that in unguarded moments, especially at Legion meetings, they would notice her lips moving, probably as she uttered some prayers to God and Mary. These friends cite this as a proof of her constant awareness of the presence of God, and of her constant union with Jesus and Mary.
I believe that this particular facet of Edel's spirituality shows us that the secret of Edel's sanctity came from St. Louis Marie De Montfort's "Secret of Mary", for Edel followed De Montfort's True Devotion to Mary as very few persons ever have. As a legionary in Ireland and as an envoy in Africa, Edel always recommended to her legionaries the reading and the following of De Montfort's "Secret of Mary". After her death in Africa her personal belongings were sent back to Ireland in her battered trunk, and two books in that trunk were the Handbook and the "Secret of Mary".
One final reason that Rome may find compelling for Edel's canonization is what she has done for the Catholic Church. On this subject Frank Duff has written: "Out of her physical wreckage and her short life (of nearly 37 years) Edel Quinn fashioned an achievement which can rank with any of the epics of the past, but which is bigger than common history for it helped to build the Catholic Church".
Edel helped to build the Catholic Church in Africa through her work with the Legion of Mary. Before Edel's arrival in Africa the image of the Church there was that of an unstable church. Conversions of native Africans were numerous enough but they were not lasting, for many of the new converts often fell back into paganism after a few months in the church. But Edel and her legionaries changed that image of instability. Edel did tMs by training her native legionaries to go out every week and pull the lapsed Catholics back into the Church, and then by repeated visits to keep them in the church.
Archbishop (later Cardinal) Antonio Riberi as Apostolic Delegate to British East Africa saw what Edel and her native legionaries did for the Church in Africa. When he arrived in Peking, China, as Apostolic Delegate, his first move was to have the Legion of Mary set up in every Chinese village, and he appointed Father Aedan McGrath, who was then a missionary in China, to do this. When Archbishop Riberi saw how Father McGrath was setting up the Legion of Mary in so many towns and villages in China, he made this great statement: "Edel Quinn changed the face of the Church in Africa and saved the Church in China". Isn't this enough for Edel's canonization? I think so.
"THANKS TO EDEL"
Some of the favors attributed to the intercession of the Servant of God Edel Quinn
Edel on O'Connell Bridge
In the course of her office work in Dublin Edel Quinn met and befriended a young married woman who had a lot of domestic and financial trouble. Edel was a constant source of strength and encouragement and also of material help:
"I could write a book on all that she did for me and my family," wrote the friend later. When Edel left for Africa she missed her greatly, and though she did not forget Edel's assurance that God was with her in her suffering she frequently became very down-hearted.
One day, in May 1944 Edel's friend was crossing O'Connell Bridge in a state of such deep depression that the sight of the river suggested the thought of doing away with herself. Then suddenly she saw Edel standing on the pavement a short distance ahead. She saw her quite clearly and was certain of her identity.
She was about to approach her when her attention was momentarily distracted and when she looked again there was no sign of Edel. She was puzzled but thought that Edel mustn't have seen her and had moved away in the crowd of pedestrians. Disappointed, but thrilled by the fact that Edel was back in Dublin she went home and told the good news to her husband.
Two days later she read in a newspaper that Edel had died in Nairobi shortly before she had seen her, as she firmly believed, on O'Connell Bridge.
From then on she constantly prayed to her and received many blessings which she attributed to her intercession. Among these was the conversion of a close relative who had seemingly lost the faith and obstinately refused to see a priest even on his deathbed. She besged Edel to intercede for him and almost immediately he spontaneously asked for a priest and died in peace with God.
In her old age, Edel's friend gave an impression of great peace and happiness and loved to talk about Edel Quinn's holiness, and her kindness to herself and her family.
(Ireland)
Edel Forestalls the Surgeon
In October 1988, Mademoiselle X underwent a major operation for an abdominal tumor in a French hospital. Following the operation, an ulcer (fistula) formed on the pancreas, with continuing discharge of pus. The patient was extremely ill, suffering great pain and frequent vomiting. Unable to eat or drink, she had to be fed artificially.
Things went on like this for six weeks and then the surgeon (a professor of surgery) informed her that, as the ulcer showed no signs of healing, another operation would be necessary. Mlle. X pleaded that she was too weak to face up to further surgery. However, on the surgeon's insistence that it was her only hope of recovery, she agreed to the operation and it was fixed for the two days later.
During her stay in hospital, Mlle. X had learned about Edel Quinn from some Legion of Mary visitors from whom she also received a prayer leaflet. The legionaries joined with her in earnest prayer for a cure through Edel's intercession.
She herself had great confidence in Edel's power with God and kept calling on her day and night, and now allthe more earnestly with the operation so near. Then the extraordinary thing happened.
On the morning of the day preceding that fixed for the operation, she felt vastly improved and examination disclosed that the recalcitrant ulcer had healed overnight. The surgeon came to visit her and when he saw her new condition he exclaimed, "This is fantastic, it is a miracle! This is the best gift you could give me" (alluding, apparent, to his imminent departure to take up a post overseas). After this spontaneous reaction, he added that two years of non-recurrence would be needed before the cure could be confirmed.
The proposed operation never took place and Mlle. X s general health steadily improved. At the end of 1990 she underwent a thorough medical examination which resulted in an excellent report. (France)
Blind Child Receives His Sight
Not long after the birth of a little boy his parents observed that he gave no sign of being able to see. A few months passed and now seriously worried, they consulted a doctor who confirmed that there was absolutely no response to light. They then took the child to a specialist who examined him very thoroughly and declared that the child, in his opinion, was suffering from incurable blindness; there was no trace of an optic nerve. The parents were in great distress. A few days later they went to visit some friends in Ireland and brought the child with them. One of the friends advised them to have recourse to Edel Quinn on the little boy's behalf, and introduced them to a priest who had a relic of Edel in his possession. At the parents' request, the priest blessed the child with the relic praying that, through the intercession of Edel Quinn, he might be given his sight. The next day, to the amazement and joy of the parents, the child seemed to be following some moving object with his eyes. Subsequent days made it perfectly obvious that he was able to see. It was some weeks before the parents were able to bring him back to the specialist. The specialist was completely astonished when, on examination, he found the child's eyes perfectly normal. He said he couldn't understand how he had failed to detect the optic nerve on the previous occasion. He suggested that perhaps there had been a delayed development of the nerve but didn't offer any explanation of the fact of the whole process taking place so suddenly. The parents were quite satisfied with their own explanation and remain full of gratitude to Edel Quinn. (s.r)
Completely Unexpected Cure of Severe Ulcer
Following a superficial injury, Fr. Robert Hilton, a priest on the teaching staff of an English seminary, developed a very bad ulcer on the side of his knee which steadily grew worse in spite of careful treatment in hospital and in the infirmary of the seminary.
At the end of three months a nurse who dressed the ulcer described it as "very angry and like a real hole in the knee." Three months later a different witness said it was "a deep hole into which one could put one's finger; the wound was full of pus and very raw. The doctor described it then as being "one and a half inches in diameter with a sloughing base extending to the lower tissues;" he warned that it would take a long time to heal. The ward sister of a hospital where the priest spent some weeks, also at that time, was fully convinced that the ulcer would take perhaps up to a year to heal if, indeed, it ever healed. The patient left the hospital to be cared for by .the very competent infirmarian of the semmary, a religious sister. A few days later, seeing that the ulcer had defied all medical treatment and was continuing to deteriorate, she began to pray earnestly for a cure through the intercession of Edel Quinn, and was wholeheartedly joined in her prayer by Fr. Hilton himself. Very soon after the start of this prayer the ulcer began to show improvement and within two weeks the heavy discharge of pus had completely ceased while the ulcer was seen to be healing from the base deep down. The prayers continued and each day showed a further improvement. By another ten days the ulcer was completely healed. The doctor subsequently made a statement describing the cure as a most extraordinary phenomenon and entirely unexpected. He was personally convinced that the cure should be attributed to the invocation of Edel Quinn and not to the medical treatment which, in this case, had proved of so little avail. (U.K)
Cure of Nervous Disorder
A Dublin client of Edel writes: "I wish to state that for the past ten years I have prayed solely to Edel Quinn to intercede with Almighty God for a close relative now in her fifties who had suffered a succession of nervous breakdowns and mental illness, was unable to hold any employment or face any responsibility for very long without deteriorating.
Since the start of praying this relative not only has improved so much but has twice been promoted at work in those ten years.
I have recently started praying for three other people I know who have had breakdowns and they are all making remarkable recovery so far. I am so grateful to Edel Quinn for the intercession to Almighty God and His wonderful answers to my prayer." (Ireland)
Man Suddenly Hears After Years of Deafness
"I wish to inform the Legion of my remarkable hearing recovery, which I attribute to the intercession of Edel Quinn. Previous to my experience I had been deaf for many years and found it necessary to wear a hearing aid.
During the year, I became interested in the life story of Edel and decided to offer up a Novena that she would intercede and cure my loss of hearing - this she did.
On August 4 last, while watching television, my hearing aid suddenly failed to function. On pulling it out, I discovered that I could hear very clearly. The aid was no longer necessary. There is absolutely no medical explanation. All this I owe to Edel Quinn." (Ireland)
Hand Saved from Amputation
A Dublin man writes: "A friend of mine received a bad cut in his hand with an electric saw. It had been stitched but when the stitches were removed the cut opened again. The hand became swollen and black and there was a very bad odour from it. The doctor said he would have to amputate. I called to see my friend who had resigned himself to amputation. I suggested that we start a novena to Edel Quinn and promised to lend him Edel's relic which was then on loan to someone else. We started the novena that night. The next day he was due to see the doctor and arrange to go into hospital. On his way up to the Mater Hospital he says he suddenly felt light and as if he had enormous strength. When the bandage was removed the swelling, blackness and odour had disappeared and there was no talk of amputation. He continued to improve and although he expected to have an ugly finger, it is back to normal. We believe this to be Edel's doing." (Dublin)
A Vocation Saved in Thailand
"On the day of the Mass commemoration of Edel Quinn a sister from the Congregation handed in a letter to the Superior General expressing her desire to leave the convent for good. The latter accepted the letter and had a talk with the sister. Everything was set for her departure but the Superior asked her to think again before leaving. The Superior placed the letter under the portrait of Edel Quinn and asked her for her intercession to change the mind of the sister. On May 12 (Edel's anniversary) the sister returned to the Superior and withdrew her resignation. So she is back in the Congregation and has promised to stay for good." (Thailand)
Prayer for the Intercession of Venerable Edel Quinn
Eternal Father, I thank you for the grace you gave to your servant, Edel Quinn, of striving to live always in the joy of your presence, for the radiant charity infused into her heart by your Holy Spirit, and for the strength she drew from the Bread of Life to labor until death for the glory of your name, in loving dependnce on Mary, Mother of the Church.
Confident, O Merciful Father, that her life was pleasing to you, I beg you to grant me, through her intercession, the special favor I now implore ...
and to make known by miracles the glory she enjoys in Heaven, so that she may be glorified also by your Church on earth, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
We place our petition in the hands of Mary to whom Edel turned in every need. Hail Mary...
(With Ecclesiastical approval)
Favors attributed to the intercession of Edel Quinn should be reported to:
LEGION OF MARY, DE MONTFORT HOUSE, BRUNSWICK STREET, DUBLIN 7, IRELAND.
Words of Life from Edel Quinn
Introduction
Edel Quinn has for Legionaries of Mary the character of a symbol. Nobody questions that. And, because she is a symbol, she exercises over us a power of active sympathy; of attraction and of imitation. This little pamphlet is animated by her personality, and that in a unique way.
Yes, unique. A word is like the incarnation of the person. And this little book is made up entirely of words of Edel, nothing but her own words. Reading the biography by Cardinal Suenens, one notices how the book is bejewelled, here and there, with sentences from this heroic soul. I thought that to collect them and publish them in the form of a little pocket book would provide something useful and practical for all Legionaries and for others as well They are her "words of life" and could be ours too, because in pithy form they contain the apostolic ideal which we all desire to incarnate and live. It is certain that she wrote other notes as well but those here are all I have within my reach.
I started copying them and dividing them into themes, putting them into some order under each heading. I found there were a hundred, a hundred "words of life" of Edel Quinn. To be strictly accurate, there were a hundred and one, but, keeping to the nice round number, I took one out, one that because of its mystical character, seemed to be less suitable for the ordinary lay apostle: "The spouse delights to be with the beloved, she makes his wishes her own"
And, nevertheless, in that sentence there breathes the authentic Edel. Edel wished to be a contemplative - a Poor Clare in Belfast - but her tuberculosis prevented it and she was launched into a marvellous apostolic life. In the depth of her being, the nostalgia for the contemplative life remained with her always, accompanying her in her prodigious activity. Edel remained a lover of the Lord, consecrated to him in union with Mary, the perfectly consecrated One. To her we can apply the words attributed to St. Francis of Assisi by an author of his own time, "My cell is my heart and the entire world is my cloister".
May the Spirit of the Lord - with Our Lady the Virgin Mother - make this little book bear fruit.
Daniel Elcid, O.F.M.
God
1. To desire Our Lord frequently, and with love.
2. Offer Him through Mary to the Trinity in thanksgiving, love and adoration.
3. Delight to give oneself more and more in everything to Him through her.
4. Beg the grace to make the Divine Life a continuous reality in us, our union with God.
5. When we think of Jesus as a baby in His Mother's care, how much we feel compelled to kneel, to adore the Word made Flesh, to reverence God in His wonderful abasement. Can we ever fathom the incomprehensible depths of God's love? What could we refuse to that love? No humiliation is too great in face of His.
6. If we want to be more full of God's life, it can only be got -- apart from the Sacraments -- through prayer. Let us put ourselves in union with Him by faith, prayer -- for long fixed times, morning and evening apart from visiting the Blessed Sacrament. Let us do our part to win His grace; the Holy Spirit and Our Lady will help.
7. It is so difficult to know the Will of God and life is too short for mistakes.
8. Of ourselves we know not what we desire, but the Paraclete will teach us.
9. Let us take up the position of a child with Mary and God the Father. Try and realise what this attitude implies, how we should depend at each moment, and never get very far away from our Mother. "To be, like Him, in her care... taught everything by her".
10. Mary in me will love her Son.
11. Imitate Our Lady in her silent adoration of the Word made Flesh in her womb.
12. Adore the Word in our souls.
13. In Him we adore the Trinity. Holy, Holy, Holy. Try and adore the Trinity in our soul, even in the midst of trouble or external duties.
14. To be with Him in union with Mary -- just loving Him in my soul during the day, during travelling, uniting my actions with the similar actions clone by Him whilst on earth.
15. If Our Lord spent thirty years in obedience and dependence on Mary, doing His Father's Will, what better example have we? Unite ourselves to Him, and ask Mary to teach us how to love perfectly, how to fulfil daily God's Will in all things. "As the Father hath loved Me, abide in My love". "I am the Vine". With Him and helped by Mary, let us adore the Trinity.
16. Everything is His, through Mary.
17. All that He permits is good. In all things know what God wants us to do. Do His Will.
18. I do not like to act on my own initiative.
19. The spiritual life is a constant fight. It seems to me to be an unending struggle to rise; one gets no rest.
20. We must have charity towards ourselves. We must prove our love by fidelity to prayer.
21. Meditation each morning for an hour if I have the strength for it.
22. Do all you can when things are easier, but do not feel tied down when work presses or when you do not feel well. From what one reads, it would seem that meditation is the important thing. So meditate if possible, even if you cannot manage anything else. Do it even for a quarter of an hour. Do not think I always practise what I preach -- there are days when I let everything go by the board. I am not what you think, you know! One must only start again. I think the great thing is not to get discouraged, no matter how much we will fail, but always be ready to begin again. In that way only, will we be sure to persevere. Sometimes it is really hard to struggle on; everything seems against us. Even if we have the time for it, meditation is very difficult. Therefore, we must only pray for grace to persevere in spite of ourselves.
23. Daily review, to see how far I have lived the day for Jesus and the Father with Mary.
Eucharist
24. I could assist at Mass the whole day long.
25. Mary loves Jesus in me, caresses and compassionates Him for all His wounds. But, above all, she speaks her gratitude for the Eucharist, and gives thanks to the Eternal Father for that Gift. Without the Eucharist, what a desolation life would be!
26. At Mass I united myself to the victim Christ, through Mary's hands, for the glory of the Trinity, in thanksgiving for everything, and on behalf of souls. At Mass always to have special intention of offering and hearing it on behalf of those souls who cannot hear it themselves by reason of sickness, distance, work or war. Place this intention in Mary's hands.
27. The weakness which He leaves in us must not hold us back from our desires. It is our share in His sufferings. What a grace to be let bear a little for Him! Each morning at Holy Mass, the Bread of Life will help the body as well as the soul, if we have faith. If we but touch the hem of His garment... and how much more have we than that!
28. We can find Him, at every free moment, on the Altar. Be with Him there. Better than all books!
29. Thank the Trinity over and over again for this Gift.
30. Rest in His presence, and my Guardian Angel will adore Him for me. Silence.
31. We want to be united with Him, to give ourselves to Him utterly. Our faith tells us He is in the Eucharist; let us seek Him there. If we knew we could find Him anywhere on earth we would do our utmost to go there.
32. The disciples ask Him: "Master, where dwellest Thou? And they abode with Him." My privilege is the same.
33. In dryness be satisfied just to be with Him; Mary will love and adore. "It is good for us to be here," even if attention wanders. Like a child with his Mother: our very presence tells Jesus that we love Him, even if we are too stupid and too earthly-minded to appreciate and behave properly in His presence.
34. Resolve to be in chapel at least 10-15 minutes before Mass.
35. Keep Our Lord company in the Blessed Sacrament.
36. How pale is our love of Christ, how little we are ready to do and sacrifice for Him even in little things, when it costs an effort. Try and overcome this by the practice of little sacrifices. How few hearts give Him full entry! He would pour Himself into souls but they will not receive. Even His priests have so many other interests; how few are wholly His! Can we not aim at emptying our hearts of everything, so that He may fill them completely, pour His love, His "merciful" love into them. Let us be in the mind of Christ, taught by Mary, working for the Father, led by the Spirit of Love. Cut out all else. To cut out all, how difficult! But can we give Him less, for really how little it is as reparation and gratitude?
I am almost afraid of this enjoyment and sweetness in Our Lord these days. Ask to be equally faithful when all is black. Now rejoice the Bridegroom is there.
Mary
37. Our Lady, dwelling-place of the Trinity.
38. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is a symbol of God's love.
39. Mary our Mother: this title means more than 'Our Lady'. Often remember Christ's words: "Son, behold thy Mother."
40. Mary, Mother of the life of our souls. Turn to her in all circumstances so that she may teach us to love Jesus, to serve the Father, to become like a child in our attitude -- trusting utterly, never doubting, showing loving tenderness in the little things.
41. No one knows better than our Mother to whom we belong what is best for others. Pray to her that God's Will be done in them. Souls in sin, souls dear to us but not in grace, Legionary souls who have served Mary and gone astray-- for all these we can importune Mary to intercede with her Son. It is surely His Will that they come back. Therefore, there is no lack of submission to God's Will in pleading -- it is a duty. Ask and you shall receive. Mary our Mother cannot be refused.
42. In regard to Mary, I must preserve the attitude of a child to its mother. Total confidence!
43. Since God gave us His Son through her, let us go to Him through her.
44. As Jesus and with Him, to love Mary -- Mary in me will love her Son.
45. Often remember Christ's words: "Son, behold thy Mother." Like St. John, I must take her to my own. Pray that the full efficacy which Christ put in that word 'Mother' be developed by my acceptance of it.
46. Realise that Mary loves us because we are Christ's legacy to her.
47. Let Our Lady do the work.
48. The Blessed Virgin wishes to continue giving Jesus to the world. We are not Christians if we do not go to our brother and give him Jesus also.
49. With Mary, I must be a channel of grace to every soul -- or rather, Mary through me.
50. Let us renounce our own human views to take on Mary's, and so be led by her Spirit in all things. Let us adopt her outlook, her thoughts in everything. Let us not allow our natural inclinations to creep in.
51. When I make mistakes, ask Mary to settle matters. She knows how stupid I am, how little I can do right by myself; but she is my Mother. She knows how to make all things work together in balanced harmony. I have the sense of her help and her possessive care.
52. Why could we not trust Our Lady?
53. We give our acts to Mary, then she takes such of them as have spiritual value and uses them to build up Christ in us.
54. Let us give ourselves completely to her, to be made all His, to be consumed unceasingly.
55. Be hers, in order to be all the more His.
56. I could never refuse anything to Our Lady that I thought she wanted.
Suffering
57. Our Mother's most precious gift to her children is the Cross.
58. Let us offer to the Eternal Father those sufferings endured for our sins. What great confidence we can have in spite of our failures in the past.
59. We should realise that those things which run counter to our own plans and likings are graces one and all. The Will of God permits them for us; they represent His persistent following of us. We should embrace them, make the most of them, pay the little price that they entail. His Will must always over-ride ours. Little sacrifices are all we are able to bear; let us be faithful in accepting them gladly with our Mother's help. We have only this life, and perhaps only a short one, in which to prove our love. If we make the effort, Jesus and Mary will help us to carry it through. If one saw things truly, how one should be grateful and rejoice at every physical weakness, tiredness... These are our slight share of Christ's sufferings and graces.
60. Rejoice to imitate Our Lord in joyful acceptance of suffering: Difficulties of health, daily upsets, are His choicest gifts.
61. Christ "sanctified Himself" for us. How rich we are! His excessive sufferings are all for us, a repairing of our sins, a meriting of graces for us.
62. By His grace and the merits of His sufferings, resolve never to sin again.
63. Let us pray for grace to accept the cross gladly and willingly "in the likeness of Christ."
64. I have realised the meaning of "Christ delivered Himself." He put Himself completely in their hands, and let them work their will on Him. His infinite submission in this. His silence. Mocked and spat upon -- and He is God. That is why the saints valued harsh treatment-- and they regarded themselves as justly ill-treated.
65. When we unite our sufferings with His and offer them up for His Glory, those sufferings become sweet and bring us very close to Him, and will be a source of real happiness.
66. We who have sinned should be glad when we are put aside and treated as we deserve. If people knew us as we really are, how astonished they would be! How differently they would behave towards us!
67. Sufferings are precious.
68. To suffer for love of Our Lord Is my very greatest joy.
Apostolate
69. An idealist who does not try to put his ideals into practice, is not worth much.
70. Let us try to give utterly, in every possible way, without counting the cost, to be spent for Christ.
71. What boundless trust we should have in God's Love. We can never love too much; let us give utterly, and not count the cost. He will respond to our faith in Him. We must do what we can for Him, and rely on Him to give us each day the strength for the work He expects from us.
72. Let us clothe ourselves with Christ. Ask Mary Mediatrix to pour His Divine Life into our souls, so that it may be He Who lives and no longer we. Ask Mary each day to obtain for us strength for that day, to carry on His work and hers.
73. Charity. A new commandment: "See You and serve You in our neighbour." I must be prompt in the service of Legionaries in replying to letters, reports, etc.
74. Not to let myself be overcome by fatigue, be careful not to show want of interest or fatigue before others. Patience in all things, detachment in small things.
75. It is no part of our duty to judge others, so let us not torment ourselves about their doings. We will love our neighbour--and we will be unable to speak ill or criticise -- if in each one we see Christ. Restrain the tongue; employ it as you think Mary would have used her speech. Noli judicare.
76. It's just what one would expect, when one works for the Blessed Virgin, one need never worry about anything.
77. Always remember you are Legionaries of Our Lady. You should be proud to be known as Legionaries, members of 0ur Lady's army. It is a privilege to be allowed to work for our Queen and her Son, and we must try to give of our best, for nothing less is good enough in her service.
78. For me the Legion comes before everything.
79. It will be one of the most powerful forces for the reconstruction of society.
80. Mary calls upon us: what an honour! She offers us her instrument, the Legion. Are we going to refuse her our indispensable cooperation?
81. Let us start the Legion, the rest will come; Our Lady will make plain to us what she wants.
82. The Legion will be the answer to all your problems.
83. I must enlist all my powers in the service of the Legion.
84. My vocation is a legionary one. Envoy and Praetorian -- consecrated to work for the Father by the Holy Spirit of Jesus and by Mary.
85. Try to live as Envoy and Praetorian to the fullest. Leave the rest to others.
86. Ask Mary to secure these graces for us. Expect great things, a burning love. It is the Holy Spirit Who breathes these desires into us.
87. I promised to be there, and I explained to them that on no account does a Legionary miss a meeting.
88. I keep rubbing it in that the Legion is for everyone and that by starting with the upper classes, one might cut out the ordinary run of people.
89. Above all, be very faithful to your daily prayer, the Catena. Every Legionary, whether priest, religious, active or auxiliary member, says this prayer every day. The word Catena means chain, and every Legionary is a link in that chain, which can now be said to encircle the world. Do not be the one to break this union of prayer by neglecting that daily duty.
90. Act as Jesus and Mary would act towards other people. Remember that these others are the temples of God, and that we cannot know the motives of their acts. Try and act as Mary would. Adopt the point of view of Mary, her patience, her understanding love which accepts our least effort, however imperfect it may be. Let me remember my own failings.
91. When inclined to criticise others for lack of interest in the Legion or understanding of it, consider what efforts I have made or could make to help or change them. I must not take their attitude for granted. Ask Mary to do all the good she can to them through me, to rectify my mistakes.
92. For graces for others, how confidently we may pray, especially for the grace of conversion. I asked Mary today to pour down graces on the Legion, to obtain graces of repentance for those who have gone away, to sanctify and enlighten all officers.
93. One's duty is not only to work, but to pray and sanctify oneself for those worked for. May Mary this day give fresh fervour to those who are growing slack. May she sanctify those who have been good to me for her sake. May she turn to good all my errors and failures.
94. The harder the fight, the more one appreci-ates and values the victory.
95. One must be prepared for the difficulties which arise on the way. Even for the average person, to keep a good disposition under the daily preoccupations requires a constant battle. It is, of course, natural that a soul which is specially gifted will encounter trials and difficulties which are unknown to mediocre souls. The greatest saints were always subject to the greatest trials.
96. Our duty to work when we would sometimes rather be with Him. His Will alone counts. If at times work is our duty, then rejoice in His Will while doing it. Obedience to God's Will for me. Things to be eventually given up: the privacy of one's soul, one's power over one's actions, freedom to decide. Rejoice that God demands this through His representatives. Nothing of our own.
97. Work for the day. The saints never lost time. Live for the day. Life is made up of days. Why lose a moment on the way during a brief journey? Our eternity is built on time. Never waste time. If one has given all to Jesus and Mary, one has no right to waste time.
98. It is the will, the will, the will that matters.
99. Ask to be equally faithful when all is black.
100. What is impossible for us is possible for Him; take Him at His word.
Published by LEGION OF MARY
De Montfort House Morning Star Avenue, Brunwick Street, Dublin 7
with ecclesiastical approval
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