Allocutio on “Basic Duties” (Chapter 33) by Rev. Francis G. Lendacky
At first glance the chapter entitled “The Basic Duties of Legionaries” may well have undergone the most alteration in the revised edition of the handbook of 1993. Certain aspects of the Legion which appeared under this heading in the ’69 edition were aligned under other headings in the new edition. “Legionary Courage,” for example, is now numbered among the Cardinal points of the Legion. Under further scrutiny the “Basic Duties” themselves were not changed. They were cast in an updated ecclesiastical context and they received an unsolicited ecclesial ratification, thanks to the teaching of the II Vatican Council. Two new sections which conclude chapter 33, the Interior Life of the Legionary and the Legionary and the Christian Vocation, use themes and expressions advanced by the Council. These sections indisputably endorse the Spirit-and-Scheme, which the Legion has promoted since the time it was founded.
Those two final sections could be regarded as an epilogue to the preceding twelve sections of chapter 33. The duties which are enumerated in those 12 sections and which have been traditionally followed by legionaries are compatible with what the II Vatican Council has described as the duties of every faithful lay Catholic. With that perspective in mind, we are prompted to analyze the entire chapter 33 in the following manner.
Section one through six are embellishments of the four “Standing Instructions.” Now the Standing Instructions are read regularly and every action legionary is familiar with the duties mentioned in those instructions. Section 7 through 12 mention duties which do not enjoy so regular a reading. Sections 7 and 8 describe the duty of Charity among Legion members in all their endeavors; section 9 would imply that it is Charity which dutifully presses the legionary into “winning” new members. And it is Charity which dutifully motivates the legionary to study the handbook diligently, to be ever-willing to serve, and to practice prayer without pause.
Much has been said and written about the four “Standing Instructions.” There is no intention here to add to that volume of exposition. At this time it is enough to say that every week the legionary complies with the formation which the Council advocates for every Catholic who would be truly apostolic. By attending the weekly meeting and performing the weekly assignment the legionary is “being disciplined” by “prayerful formation” and “apostolic practice.”
At this time, we focus our attention on sections 7 through 12. Sections 7, 8, and 9 deal with the duties which affect membership itself. This duty in Charity is to manifest itself in three aspects: that of “fraternal charity,” that of “hopeful evangelization,” and that of “edifying legionary generosity.” The legionary is reminded that these duties affecting membership must be motivated by Charity. Charity must be cultivated and made as contagious as possible. The charity which must be fostered between members should be obvious at the praesidium meeting while in the presence of Mary in her Mystical Home of Nazareth. (What other way to behave than as members of that august Nazareth family!) The charity which must be manifested on assignment while performing Mary’s service for Her Divine Son must never be jeopardized by the legionaries’ veiled reproaches or aggressive approaches. Most of all, no displeasure must ever be allowed to surface, no matter what conditions or circumstances the legionary might encounter. In some situations, the only effective motivator to fulfill these duties will be the practice of heroic charity. As far as recruiting is concerned, how often do we feel convinced that recruiting is an effort rooted in Charity? The handbook, in section 9, seems to imply that recruiting must be first, last, and always, a duty in Charity. The most basic disposition of a legionary who would recruit new members must be his own obvious love for the Legion. It is the kind of “generous love” which is an unmistakable wordless testimony of devotion. If the legionary believes that the praesidium effects a mystical presence of Our Lady, then his love for Mary will want all to become aware of Her presence. If a prospective member senses generous love for the Legion by the since legionary, then the recruit will have received a genuine invitation.
The next three sections mention duties which are perhaps less-emphasized. These duties flow from love of the Legion and the mode of life it fosters. They too are rooted in Charity.
The handbook suffers the same ill fate as do the Gospels and other books of the Bible. The Gospels, in particular, are presented to the majority of the faithful in excerpts. Not many of us read a Gospel from beginning to end. As a result, we may have a piecemeal knowledge of the words and deeds of Our Lord. We do not have a coherent grasp of the “Greatest Story Ever Told.” Likewise, if legionaries read the handbook in excerpts, they may never truly comprehend the excellence of the Legion of Mary. To appreciate the handbook as an epitome of lay apostleship in the Church, the legionary ought to read it chapter by chapter, and read it thoughtfully. The theoretical and practical wisdom which the handbook contains has not yet been thoroughly plumbed. When the Legion specifies the study of the handbook as a duty, the Legion is challenging the member to venture into the “dynamic universe of re-creative Charity.”
Section 11 spells out a duty which follows logically from “handbook study” and 9 preceding sections. A truly devoted legionary is always on duty. The effort to grow in holiness must pervade every waking hour of the legionary’s every day life. The handbook further states that one cannot truly call himself a legionary if he feels that he need be a legionary only for three and a half hours a week. When the legionary makes his Legionary Promise, he proclaims his standing as a child and a soldier of Mary. Once to be a child is forever to be a child; being a child is a natural ineradicable relationship. To be soldier only occasionally is the characteristic of a mercenary. The legionary-soldier must never behave like a part-time mercenary; the legionary-soldier is bound to crush the head of the serpent anywhere in the world he is able.
The duty mentioned in section 12 is intended to preserve the profound balance between the work ethic and the prayer dynamic of the active legionary. Even though the only legion prayer required daily of the active legionary is the recitation of the Catena, the Legion would expect the active member voluntarily to commit himself always to pray. The Legion depends immensely upon the power of prayer to energize its society and its apostolate. The recruitment and the care of auxiliary membership is proof of that whole thesis. And the active member, who is actually the “apostle in the front line of battle,” must recognize the absolute need for his own constant prayer … and that of the auxiliaries. Furthermore, if the active legionary has any hope of making his work a prayer-work or a work-prayer, then he knows that action is not enough. He must pray as well as work!
Sections 13 and 14 of chapter 33 form a masterful epilogue to all 12 preceding sections. These sections contain several quotes from the Scriptures and more than 10 quotes from the II Vatican Council documents to substantiate the mode of life which the Legion advocates. In section 13, there is mention of the three necessary requirements for a Christian life; namely, prayer, mortification and the Sacraments. The mode of life of the Legion has always encouraged these requirements. It is within this section that the Legion advises frequent reception of the Eucharist and the regular reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Those two Sacraments are the staple nourishment of a life of grace in Christ. And a life of grace in Christ is always the requisite for a faithful membership in His Mystical Body and a fruitful apostolate in extending His Kingdom. In section 14, the Legion manifests a remarkable adaptability to its mode of life to the three-fold role of Christ as priest, prophet, and king – the role of Christ as depicted in the Church documents and adopted by the Code of Canon Law promulgated in 1983.
The “Basic Duties” listed by the Legion include all the ingredients of the Christian apostle’s mode of life which the Gospel entails. Consistent with all that the Church commands and recommends, the Legion of Mary advocates: a weekly regimen to bind its community within the Church; a daily discipline to fashion a loyal citizen of the family of God; and hour-by-hour vigilance to remain the leaven of society with the family of man.