Chapter 10(4) of the Handbook talks about “the Priest and the Legion”. The Pope also mentioned that priests should establish a relationship with 1) God, 2) bishops, 3) brother priests and, 4) people, that is, to be closer to God and the people.
When priests lead in the formation of parishioners, nurturing them is to bring out their own identity. The world today is competitive. Competition is the ideology, but this is not based on trust. When St. Paul was being called upon and assigned, he was full of the power of the Holy Spirit. As stated in the Handbook, priests are to lead the faithful, to develop their potential in the parish, this is what the Legion of Mary advocates – the master and apprentice system of formation. Members do assignments together and they share their experience. This experience of walking together is the genuine spirit of the Gospel, not competition which is being advocated nowadays. In our daily lives, there are many things which hinder us in listening to the Word of the Holy Spirit, “dialogue and journeying together” means to discern. The Legion of Mary should follow Our Lady’s experience which is listening to the voice of God. Mary’s annunciation is the basis of our daily lives, let us learn how to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. How did Mary follow the Holy Spirit’s lead? In our praesidia, we should listen, we must be able to see some signs. Just as the Comitium’s extension work and the division of curia, we had to listen (i.e. wait), we need to wait for the guidance of the Concilium, we adjust our plan, reply to the Concilium, then wait for further instructions. In our weekly meeting, we pray so that we could be filled with the Holy Spirit, and we should listen to Him, the Handbook is filled with signs of the Holy Spirit. When we listen to the Word of the Lord, we can see how Mary accepted, cooperated and responded to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, this is the basis of the spirituality of the Legion of Mary. The world today promotes competition, comparison and exclusion, but the spirit of Christianity is on the contrary, we need communion in love, we hope to develop this spirit and experience among Legionaries. “Dialogue” is not the majority wins. The Holy Spirit has different directions on each person, we are not looking for a consensus. The Catena is the best form of prayer, discernment should be done in the enlightenment of prayers.
Spiritual Director
Fr. Francis Tam
20 February 2022