The Pope’s trip to Asia has faced a lot of objections, reasons being: 1) it’s a long distance travel; 2) the Pope is not in good health; 3) this is the longest trip of the Pope since his assumption of office. Notwithstanding these, the Pope still insisted to proceed with the visit. In Indonesia, he encouraged that the life of the faithful communities should be filled with mercy, charity and gentleness, and they should be communities of love. To be a community of love, we had to rely on the power of the Eucharist and to join the daily mass. To be in union with Mary, the most intimate way is through the Sacrament of the Eucharist. In the Legion of Mary, there is a grade of membership of Praetorians. One of the obligations is for the Praetorians to attend the daily Mass and receive Holy Communion. Hence, we need to develop the number of Praetorians, making the Sacrament of the Eucharist the centre of Catholic life. The whole Church is connected through the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The growth of apostolate cannot dispense with the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Members are encouraged to attend one daily mass during weekdays, in addition to the Sunday mass. When every member combines all our prayers (for world peace, cessation of war, marriage problems, etc.) in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the overall harmony of love in the community can manifest its strongest power. With perseverance, we can change the world. The ultimate goal of unity, hope, mercy and charity is all destined towards Jesus Christ. We can only rely on Jesus to change the world. In the Legionary Promise, we reiterate our pledge at the Sacrament of Baptism, through Jesus, we shall live out the principles of the spirit of the Bible. Therefore, I encourage all to attend one weekday mass aside from the Sunday mass, with the hope of changing the world. However, we still need to attend Sunday mass. Some parishioners are still joining the mass online even after the pandemic, but online mass lacks unity with the church community and the Eucharist. There is no presence of Jesus and we do not have intimate communion with God. This is not acceptable. Online mass cannot replace physical attendance at mass.
Spiritual Director
Fr. Francis Tam
15 September 2024