[Handbook Chapter 31 – “Extension and Recruiting”]
We always talk about “extension”, but we need to know that “extension” and “recruitment” are two different things. To recruit is to find new members. Extension is the expansion of the praesidium. Let us focus on “extension”. In fact, both are for evangelization, a better evangelization.
Pope John Paul II had raised the subject of “re-evangelization”. He was referring to places where there was faith rooted but the spiritual life was low, such as in Europe. The enhancement of evangelisation work was referred to as “new evangelization”.
We want “new extension”. Brothers and sisters with genuine zeal, devotion and involvement in Legionary life —— we are not criticizing, nor self-pitying, but we had to face the reality. When we talk about “extension”, we need to ask ourselves how we are now. Poisonous things can only produce toxic matters. If you want to have healthy and new branches, you first need to keep yourself healthy. Is our Legionary life healthy? Of course, we need to look at lots of things, including the Handbook, meeting proceedings, what work we do, and how we do assignments.
In the Handbook, we are always reminded of two things. First, to care for the youth. We need to care for the junior member and those potential youth whom we may recruit. We need to build an environment to attract them to join us. We believe that people will be attracted by good and beautiful things which are inseparable from discipline. When God creates each of us, irrespective if we are Catholics, good or bad people, He put in our soul a kind heart, a heart that urges for kindness. Only because of this would each one of us be turning to God.
God is God of discipline. This can easily be seen in His creation of the world and everything in it. All these are telling us this fact: Jesus established the Church Himself, a Church with discipline. When we live with these regulations, we are not living for the regulations itself, but regulations help in our sanctification. There are lots of guidelines in the Handbook and above all, we can see the hope and power of sanctification. Youngsters of this age have less and less chance of seeing true beauty and goodness in today’s environment. People are attracted by the beautiful and kind things.
The other reminder in the Handbook is that “Bright, generous, enthusiastic youth must not be kept out by setting up standards which are inappropriate to the young or which may be nothing else than kill-joy standards.” We cannot set the standards by ourselves. We are brothers and sisters and we share all things. We do the service together in the name of God and we build our relationship in this way.
Another example is that we need more flexibility in the contemporary world and not be bound by routinism. For example, our view on the Legion of May very often relates to our praesidium. There are times that we are to split, merge, or deploy to different posts. There is the beginning as well as an end. The Legion of Mary is an army. When there is a special mission, we will establish a praesidium or send a praesidium to accomplish it. After the mission is completed, there may not be a need to continue. Does it mean that there is no need to continue to be a Legionary? No! They can go back to other Legionaries around. Alternatively, because of the number of members or the quality, we need to re-organize it. We need to have this flexibility.
Chapter 28 of the Handbook is about the administrative structure and election. For example, for Curia officers, we elect from the respective Curia. However, we can also elect among other Legionaries. Sometimes this is necessary because the pool here is not big enough or we are facing a lot of difficulties. We need to look further and beyond. This is the flexibility in the structure itself which helps us to lively deploy our resources and allows us to see the most important objective that we really care for including the sense of belonging we have towards our praesidium. But do not let this sense of belonging hamper the most important mission for us as a Legionary.
What is the most important mission? The Handbook mentioned that “Apostolic work should be the first priority”. For apostolic work, for letting people to get to know God, for the expansion of the Legion of Mary, we had to abandon all things. We need to uphold the same spirit in handling the gift from Mary.
Spiritual Director, Curia Regina
Fr. Cyril Cheung
19 April 2026