Tomorrow is First Friday: Take Advantage of the Graces!

I'm focusing on the nine First Fridays devotion to secure the promises of Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary. They're wonderful! What a consolation if you've made them!

Larry and I fulfilled the requirements in June. They're easy: go to Mass on the first Friday of the month for nine consecutive months, receive Holy Communion worthily, and go to confession within eight days before or after. There's even a website to help you keep track and send you reminders as First Friday approaches. I signed up and I hope you will too. And if you haven't enthroned the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts in your home, why not ask your pastor about it. The Legion of Mary happily visits families to carry out the enthronement. If your parish is blessed with a Legion, ask them about it.

I probably made the nine first Fridays when I was a child, but I want First Friday to become a perpetual devotion in my life. That will insure I go to Confession at least once a month as well as making sure each month starts out with reflecting on the grace mercy and love of Our Lord. What a win-win situation. So please join me by going to Mass tomorrow aware of the day's significance and reflecting in your heart on the goodness of God who desires us all to become saints.

The Legion of Mary Acie: Our Lady's Troops Pass in Review

Today was the Legion of Mary Acie for all the praesidia in the area (the name for the individual groups). The word Acie is Latin for an army arranged in battle formation. Nothing has ever emphasized to me so much the idea of the "Church Militant" as seeing these individual groups of legionaires lined up behind their individual banners honoring the woman Fr. Norman Weslin of the Lambs for Christ has always called "our 12-star general." I belong to the praesidium of St. John Bosco Catholic Church in Woodstock, Our Lady Help of Christians. All the others have their own separate names honoring Mary under her different titles. Today we formed and passed in review for Our King Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist and Our Lady, our Queen and General.

If you read any history about war prior to the 20th century, you know that on the battlefield the opposing forces are greatly encouraged if they can defeat a group and "steal their colors," i.e., gain their insignia or their banners. At the Acie we march behind our banners honoring the Mother of God and making our annual promise as we put our hands on the Legion ensign (the Vexillum Legionis) and express our fealty to Our Lady saying, "I am all yours, my Queen, my Mother, and all that I have is yours."

Among the several hundred participants today were many children who belong to the Junior Legion. They came forward and promised themselves to the Mother of God, first making their obeisance to Our King exposed in the monstrance on the altar. What an impressive ceremony! And how encouraging to see so many young people in the Church devoted to doing Our Lady's work!

And then we celebrated with a potluck supper.

I have been a Legion Auxiliary for several years, but this was the first time I could attend the Acie. I thank God for belonging to a group devoted to serving the Lord through His Immaculate Mother. Using that humble woman to defeat the forces of evil must be the greatest blow to Satan's pride possible. He, who would not bow to Jesus, will be crushed through the actions of a humble Virgin. He isn't worth the attention of the King Himself. How that must make Satan gnash his teeth!

Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever!

Joining the Legion of Mary for Lent

I've been a Legion of Mary auxiliary for seven or eight years which means I say the daily rosary and Legion prayers for the work and intentions of the active Legion. One of the things that motivated me to join the auxiliary was a conversation with Fr. Fran Peffley who said, "If you pray the rosary you receive the graces of the rosary, but if you are a member of the Legion Auxiliary you receive the graces of all the rosaries of legionairies all over the world." Wow! I can use all the graces in my spiritual bank that I can get.

For Lent I decided to try the active Legion. The active Legion commits two hours a week to a work assigned at the meeting. We go out two by two unannounced on an assortment of apostolic missions . Last week two of the men went to the prison and visited four cell blocks. I went with my partner to visit a parishioner who suffered a stroke and is temporarily in a nursing home. We stopped at the home of a new parishioner to welcome them and leave a new parishioner packet but noone was home. Then we went to talk to a nursing home administrator about making sure the parish gets called when people are seriously ill and in danger of death.

This week in addition to our regular works we are hosting the Lenten soup kitchen at our parish and will sponsor a book table. Other works include bringing the Pilgrim Virgin to homes in the parish and doing home enthronements of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Visiting door to door is a work that the founder of the Legion, Frank Duff, considered a central work. I'm not sure how I'll feel about that. My husband and I did it once when we were doing a parish canvas. Most people were civil but we experienced a few slammed doors. But I place all this work in the hands of the Blessed Mother. It's hers after all and she certainly knows the mind of her Son better than anyone. If we walk with Mary she always takes us straight to Jesus on the shortest path. Which is what those who think Catholics "worship Mary" don't understand. If Jesus was humble enough to enter the world through the "narrow gate" of the Blessed Mother, why would He not want his followers to come to Him through that same "narrow gate?" When we honor Mary we are obeying the fourth commandment and can anyone doubt that Jesus followed that command better than anyone? Loving Mary takes nothing from her Son. In fact, she teaches us how to love Him with her own undivided heart. Mary, Mother of the Savior, teach us how to pray.