Schools Page
National
Pilgrimage of the Legion of Mary
“
Jesus said to his Mother, ‘Woman, this is your son’,
To the disciple He said, ‘ This is your Mother’. (Jn. 19:26).
And so,
my dear friends, we have come here today to the Mother, we who are disciples of
the Son, and we want to tell Her that She is welcome in our homes, in our
hearts, in our daily lives. It was this utter trust in, this profound devotion
to the Mother of Christ that lead the Servant of God, Frank Duff, to found some
eighty years ago the Legion of Mary. A Christian concern for the destitute, the
desperate and the friendless, which he had nurtured as an active member of the
St. Vincent de Paul Conference in Myra House in Dublin, combined with a
spirituality inspired by the True Devotion to Mary of St. Louis de
Monfort, led Frank Duff to gather around him persons of like mind and heart. On
the 7th of September 1921, at the dawn of a new independent Ireland,
a new force for good was born which would become, for the whole world, a model
for the lay apostolate. Those who met on that first evening had no idea of the
great things the Lord would do through them. Their primary aim was to become
holy under the mantle of Mary. The spiritual welfare of the individual member
was to remain fundamental and this was to be emphasised at every meeting to
which they would be called. “ But then the Legion seeks to develop that
holiness in a specific way”, we read in the Handbook, “ to give it the
character of Apostleship, to heat it white so that it must diffuse itself”.
(12.1). The combination of personal holiness and apostolic zeal was to make of
the members a veritable leaven in society. The capacity to influence others
through personal contact was to become the means by which hearts would be
touched, doors would be opened and the confines of Nations would be crossed. It
is no wonder then that the Bishops of the world at the Second Vatican Council in
1963 rose in standing ovation when it was announced that Frank Duff, the Founder
of the Legion of Mary, was present as a lay observer. In his lifetime the work
of the Legion had become a living apostolate in every continent and the Mission
of the Church had become indeed the Mission of the Legion. Towards the end of
his life I had the privilege of presenting Frank Duff to the present Holy
Father. As he left, the Holy Father said to him: “ Do not be afraid, Frank,
for victory is in Mary”.
You, my
dear Legionaries, are the disciples of Jesus, children of His Mother and sisters
and brothers involved in the Mission of the Church following the charism of
Frank Duff. You are the leaven of the society of today. It is a society which,
while being affluent, is broken; while having the best technological means of
communication at its disposal, is becoming more and more isolated; while being
ever more security conscious is becoming more fearful and insecure. The recent
sad events in the United States of America have brought home to us the need to
stand in solidarity with one another, the need to come together when faced with
the Cross. We have no explanation, in human terms, for the horrific events which
happen in the world, and indeed in our own Country, and so we come to the foot
of the Cross for comfort and consolation. The recent National Day of Mourning
evidenced that. As we stand at the Cross, the Saviour speaks of forgiveness and
love, He confides His Mother and His disciple to each others care and He
confides Himself to the all-merciful Father. We are all caught up, my dear
friends, in this dynamic of love. When the Cross touches our lives we need to
experience the solidarity of others, we need to know that there is a God who
loves and forgives, who listens and consoles. We need to know that there is a
Mother who cares for and protects.
You, my
dear Legionaries, must be witnesses to this dynamic of God’s love and
forgiveness in the world. As lay-persons involved in the Mission of the Church
you must be a leaven in the Society of today. Your mission calls for commitment
and courage. Within every heart, behind every door, beyond the confines of every
community and Nation, there is need for someone to knock, someone to remind,
someone to reassure that every heartbeat is heard, every anguish is understood
and every cross is worth carrying because it means salvation. In your apostolic
work be animated by your own personal commitment to holiness of life. Ireland
needs you today more than ever. There are broken hearts and broken homes; there
is in every home and every heart a longing for peace and love; there is need to
eliminate violence, of whatever kind, from our society; there is need to respect
and defend life, at all times, from the womb to the tomb. It is a formidable
task but it is possible. Harness the generosity and enthusiasm of the young.
Enthuse them with the Person of Jesus Christ in language they understand and in
a manner by which they will become aware of their role as disciples. Do not be
afraid to bring Mary, the Mother, into every home you visit. She wants to be
present in every home, to be present to every family. Jesus invites you, through
Mary, to “ put out into the deep” for a catch. (Lk.5: 4).
Today is
a very special day here in Knock as it remembers that exactly twenty-two years
ago, on Sunday the 30th of September 1979, the Vicar of Christ, Pope
John Paul II said:
“ Here
I am at the goal of my journey to Ireland: the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock”.
At the end of his homily on that day he entrusted the People of God of all
Ireland to Mary, the Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church. As we recall
that God-given moment here today with gratitude, I conclude with the words of
his entrustment:
“We
entrust to your Motherly care the land of Ireland, where you have been and are
so much loved. Help this land to stay true to you and your Son always. May
prosperity never cause Irish men and women to forget God or abandon their faith.
Keep them faithful in prosperity to the faith they would not surrender in
poverty and persecution. Save them from greed, from envy, from seeking selfish
or sectional interest. Help them to work together with a sense of Christian
purpose and a common Christian goal, to build a just and peaceful and loving
society where the poor are never neglected and the rights of all, especially the
weak, are respected. Queen of Ireland, Mary Mother of the heavenly and earthly
Church, Máthair De, keep Ireland true to her historic mission of bringing the
light of Christ to the nations, and so making the glory of God be the honour of
Ireland”.
*****************************