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List of Possible Activities for Junior Legion of Mary Praesidia
This list serves as a sort of index for this site. Just click on the highlighted words for more information on this site and other sites. (If you are wondering "What IS the Junior Legion, anyway?" or "What is the Legion of Mary?", click on the highlighted words for more information.)
Here are some ideas for your Junior Legion's assigned activities. Some can be assigned as a group, others can be assigned in pairs:
1. Rosary making days
2. In Spring, plant a beautiful garden all around a Mary shrine at the parish or school.
3. Visit Nursing Homes and elderly shut-ins.
4. Holy Card making days
5. Mothers Day card making days (or any other holiday)
6. Prolife activities: Make little christening baskets for expectant moms of the parish or give to Senior Legion praesidia to give to new moms in order to encourage baptism of their babies; you can also give these to Birthchoice for them to distribute. The small baskets contain all religious items, such as a white rosary, a miraculous medal on a colored ribbon to be hung on the wall near the baby's crib, holy cards and a blank "baptism certificate" which the mother can fill out by hand and then hang on a wall.
Here are some ideas for your Junior Legion's assigned activities. Some can be assigned as a group, others can be assigned in pairs:
1. Rosary making days
2. In Spring, plant a beautiful garden all around a Mary shrine at the parish or school.
3. Visit Nursing Homes and elderly shut-ins.
4. Holy Card making days
5. Mothers Day card making days (or any other holiday)
6. Prolife activities: Make little christening baskets for expectant moms of the parish or give to Senior Legion praesidia to give to new moms in order to encourage baptism of their babies; you can also give these to Birthchoice for them to distribute. The small baskets contain all religious items, such as a white rosary, a miraculous medal on a colored ribbon to be hung on the wall near the baby's crib, holy cards and a blank "baptism certificate" which the mother can fill out by hand and then hang on a wall.
7. Helping someone (usually younger sibling) learn
their catechism.
8. Visiting someone who is interested in learning more about the Faith (usually a neighbor or non Catholic relative).
9. Assisting a CCD teacher on Sundays with his/her class.
10. Working at a "game booth" at the parish fair and giving miraculous medals and holy cards with
every prize and non-prize winner!
12. Running Patrician meetings at the Catholic
school. The article written by Frank Duff is highly recommended to each and every Legion of Mary member to read, Senior, Junior, Active and Auxiliary, and indeed each and every Catholic! Intermediate and College age Legionaries would do well to run these for groups of Catholic students, engaging them in lively discussions on the Faith. Frank's article also has a very long list of suggested topics for such meetings.
13. Babysitting when mom Legion of Mary members have their adult Legion meetings. Or, babysitting during a parish retreat or Patricians group, so parish adults can attend.
15. Organizing and holding a
May procession and May Crowning for the school or parish every year, asking all members to
bring flowers to place at Our Lady's feet, and then having a May Crowning Cake afterwards.
16. Hosting a Birthday Party for Mary's birthday, September 8, for the school and/or parish, complete with cake and songs and rosary. Here's a discussion board with some GREAT ideas for games and party activities. These could be used at a Birthday Party for Mary, a May Crowning, a Parish fair, or at any Junior Legion sponsored party. A few of the ideas include several versions of a "stomp the serpent" game, and few relay Crown races or "who's got the Crown" games, among other ideas.
17. Making "Mysteries of the Rosaries" booklets (to be used at Nursing Homes and given in gift baskets or as prizes for the game booth and book barrows)
18. Keeping a "Virtue Journal", each member striving on working on a virtue at a time, keeping notes on what the virtue is from an allocutio on the virtue, and then recording one's own attempts and practices of the virtue all month, and examples of the virtue witnessed in others. The journals can be used once a month or so, as part of a "handbook study" discussion.
19. Be a hero to the Poor Souls by participating in the Purgatory Release Project, and keeping a record of prayers and sacrifices made during the year (or during Lent) and then tallying the totals for the praesidium and sending them on a form to the PRP Association.
20. Procession of children, holding a giant helium-baloon rosary, while reverently praying the rosary, and then releasing the baloon rosary some place public (for example the procession may begin at a downtown Catholic church and process to a nearby town square for release) where it can be easily seen by the maximum number of people for a Flying Helium Baloon Rosary! What a witness!
21. Participate in the Pilgrim Virgin Home Visitation Program, taking the statue in turn to each family in the school where She remains for one week, then picking her up again and taking her to the next family's home. This promotes the family rosary in each home Our Lady visits.
21. Participate in the Pilgrim Virgin Home Visitation Program, taking the statue in turn to each family in the school where She remains for one week, then picking her up again and taking her to the next family's home. This promotes the family rosary in each home Our Lady visits.
May is the Month of Mary, Our Mother
It's May, the month of Mary, Our Mother!
Junior Legionaries can help spread the love and devotion to the Mother of God and Our Mother, in a number of special ways this month.
One way is for the Junior Legion to sponsor a May Crowning, perhaps together with a Senior Legion praesidium.
You may also follow the May Crowning with a Tea for Auxiliary members, as a little token of appreciation for all their prayers throughout the year. Remember, if the Active members are the fighting soldiers, then the Auxiliary members are the ammunition suppliers! Here's a lovely Tea for Auxiliaries our praesidium did last year, after the parish May Crowning:
The May Crowning -- with or without a Tea following it -- can also be brought to Nursing Homes, as well, making for a special event for a group activity for the residents. A few hymns, some flowers and the crowning, followed by a rosary would make a lovely and memorable Nursing Home visit. Be sure to invite the non-Catholic residents, as well as the Catholic residents!
A Mary Garden is another task that Junior Legionaries may wish to set about doing this month. Plant new fresh flowers, pull weeds, add new mulch and otherwise spruce up around the outdoor Mary statue at your parish. If there is no outdoor statue, ask your Pastor if you can get one. Ask or propose to him a plot of ground where you can plant the garden, and after you get his approval, place the new statue there. Junior Legionaries can tend the garden throughout the summer, being sure to water and weed as needed.
Remember Mary, Our Mother on Mother's Day by bringing Mary to all Moms, by making special Marian Mother's Day cards and distributing them to the sick & elderly, as well as to teachers and of course your own Moms!
Junior Legion activity: A May Crowning
Here's a report from a Junior and Senior Legion of Mary in the Philippines that sponsored a parish May Crowning: Legion of Mary's May Crowning.
And this is a great post by Lacy at Catholic Icing, on "How to Plan a May Crowning with Kids", copied from http://catholicicing.com, and edited here for Junior Legion of Mary:
Planning a Marian Coronation is not as hard as you might think, and a May crowing ceremony is a great way to recognize Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Earth! I’ll start with the basics. The month of May is dedicated to Mary. It’s traditional to have a May crowning on May 1 (which is also the optional Feast of St Joseph, the Worker) but you can do it any time during May.
It’s traditional to crown Mary with flowers of some kind. If you’re looking for ideas on crafting a crown, check this May Crowning post from apast year. Take the statue’s placement into consideration when planning. You may want to put together a simple May Altar or arrange the Legion Altar in the church to stay there for the day or even the whole week.
Planning a Marian Coronation is not as hard as you might think, and a May crowing ceremony is a great way to recognize Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Earth! I’ll start with the basics. The month of May is dedicated to Mary. It’s traditional to have a May crowning on May 1 (which is also the optional Feast of St Joseph, the Worker) but you can do it any time during May.
The Essentials- A Mary Statue and a Crown
First, decide which statue of Mary you want to crown. If Junior Legion members are hosting a May Crowning in the Parish,as a parish-wide event, then pre-arrange how you will crown the church statue. If it is too tall, you may need a ladder, or you may decide to forego the big statue altogether, in favor of a smaller one brought in, such as the Statue you use for the Legion Altar, set up on a table to be used as the May Altar. It’s traditional to crown Mary with flowers of some kind. If you’re looking for ideas on crafting a crown, check this May Crowning post from apast year. Take the statue’s placement into consideration when planning. You may want to put together a simple May Altar or arrange the Legion Altar in the church to stay there for the day or even the whole week.
Bring Flowers for Mary
You can ask all the families attending the May Crowning to bring flowers for Mary. These can be hand picked, store bought, or artificial- no pressure. Alternately, you could provide flowers there and give one to each child to offer to Our Lady. These flowers will be placed at Mary’s feet. You can check out the Marian symbolism of different flowers here, but anything works, and you certainly can’t go wrong with Our Lady’s color- blue!
Plan for Procession
Usually there is a procession with the crown before it is placed on Mary’s head. You can line up all the Junior Legionaries, and have everyone sing a song while they process with the crown. (For song ideas, scroll down). The Legionaries can all carry flowers to be placed at Mary’s feet as they reach the statue. Either provide a vase for these flowers ahead of time, or just lay them individually at Mary’s feet.
Prayers for May Crowning
After you’ve crowned Mary, it would be great to say some prayers! The Hail Mary and the Hail, Holy Queen would both be good choices. Or, better still, pray a decade or more of the rosary.
May Crowning Songs- Marian Hymns
Bring Flowers of the Rarest (Queen of May) is a great beginning processional song, as also is Tis the Month of Our Mother. A good concluding hymn is Hail Holy Queen. Other good ones include Immaculate Mary (Ave Maria) and Hail Mary (Gentle Woman).The Legion of Mary--What is it?
*Do you want to learn more about your
Catholic Faith?
*Do you want to deepen your prayer
life?
*Do you want to develop close Catholic
Friendships?
*Do you want to grow closer to Jesus and
His Mother?
*Come as a guest to a legion of Mary
meeting. There's no obligation!
The Legion of
Mary
What is it?
The largest apostolic organization of lay people
in the world, with well over 4 million active members, plus perhaps 100 million
auxiliary members, in every country. In 2011 the Legion celebrated its 90th
anniversary worldwide. Active in the US since 1931, it has been approved by
every pope since its inception--each having given it their papal apostolic
blessing & endorsed by the Second Vatican Council.
What does it do?
It makes its members better Catholics, first of
all, through a balanced program of prayer and service in union with the Holy
Spirit as He operates through Mary, Mother of the Church. Works include
door-to-door evangelization, parish visitation projects, youth work, and other
spiritual needs of the parish and community. It gives Catholics aged 8 and
older an opportunity to do something positive for the Church while at the same
time deepening their spiritual life and strengthening their Catholic
Faith.
How does it work?
Members meet together once a week for prayer,
study, planning and discussion in a family setting; they do a couple of hours of
definite work each week in pairs and under the guidance of a Spiritual
Director.
Who can
belong?
No one-- for the first three months! There is an
easing-in period so you can see how work or family obligations blend with the
tried and proven system of the Legion. Any Catholic, young, not-so-young,
single, married, retired, who would like to draw closer to Jesus and His Mother
is welcome to give it a try.
How do I start?
By being a guest at a meeting. You are invited
to come and see the Legion from the inside. And you can go as a guest on one of
the work assignments with an experienced member if you wish. You wont' need a
lot of talent, or great intelligence or even a feeling of being capable! What
you will need is a willingness to sacrifice a little of your time and energy for
the greatest reason in the world: your love of God.
Contact your parish for the day and
time the Legion of Mary has its meetings in your parish.
We will be
waiting to welcome you!
What is the Junior Legion of Mary?
Image: The Legion of Mary is an "Army Set in Battle Array" We are Christ's Army of the "Church Militant", under the banner of Mary, our Commanding Officer, with St Michael and St Gabriel as army generals.
Many thanks to the Jacksonville, Florida Curia for the information on their website, from which this article was taken and edited for Junior Legion of Mary. May God and His Mother continue to bless you for all your good work!
WHAT IS The Junior Legion of Mary?
Perhaps you have never heard of
it. Many have heard of the Legion of Mary but may know very little about the Junior Legion. If you knew more about the
Junior Legion, you might view it differently.
The Junior Legion is an organization for the spiritual development of persons under 18 years of age. Sometimes there may be a subdivision of the Junior Legion, which many refer to as the "Intermediate Legion" for ages 13 to 18 years of age. (Universities and Seminaries have groups, too for the college age students. These are considered Senior Legion of Mary adult groups.) All Legion of Mary groups, both Senior and Junior, are all run basically the same, with the exception of the works, which are maturity- and age-appropriate.
The Junior Legion is an organization for the spiritual development of persons under 18 years of age. Sometimes there may be a subdivision of the Junior Legion, which many refer to as the "Intermediate Legion" for ages 13 to 18 years of age. (Universities and Seminaries have groups, too for the college age students. These are considered Senior Legion of Mary adult groups.) All Legion of Mary groups, both Senior and Junior, are all run basically the same, with the exception of the works, which are maturity- and age-appropriate.
In all younger-aged groups, the
president --and at times the vice-president -- are experienced Senior Legion
of Mary members (adult members). Each group which is called a praesidium, is run under the
guidance of a spiritual director, who is usually a priest or deacon, or in some cases a religious (consecrated) Brother or Sister.
Primarily, the purpose is to train and spiritualize the young members. In a short time they will take their place as lay apostles of Christ doing the work as Senior Legion of Mary members.
Junior Legion of Mary praesidia can be found throughout the entire world. Young members of the Junior Legion have suffered persecution and even death for their faith in some countries.
Primarily, the purpose is to train and spiritualize the young members. In a short time they will take their place as lay apostles of Christ doing the work as Senior Legion of Mary members.
Junior Legion of Mary praesidia can be found throughout the entire world. Young members of the Junior Legion have suffered persecution and even death for their faith in some countries.
Each member must do at least one
hour of work each week. This work is assigned at the weekly meeting which all
members must attend. Junior Legion Praesidia have been found to be valuable in
the work that they do in parishes. Junior Legionaries may teach catechism to
young children, visit the sick and elderly, contact grade and high school
pupils in their homes, and supervise younger children. Intermediate Legionaries may also work doing crowd contact work, such as distributing sacramentals or Catholic literature at fairs, bazaars, parades and other places alongside Senior Legionaries.
In addition many are engaged in helping their parish priests and other workers doing all sorts of things. Work at home also must be done in addition to the weekly assignment. The Spirit of Mary working for the Holy Family at Nazareth should be preserved by each member in the work at home.
In addition many are engaged in helping their parish priests and other workers doing all sorts of things. Work at home also must be done in addition to the weekly assignment. The Spirit of Mary working for the Holy Family at Nazareth should be preserved by each member in the work at home.
Junior Legion Activity: How to Make Cord Rosaries
You can make a cord rosary using the colored nylon cord which is quite cheap. You can find it in stores like Walmart or other places, or you can find it online. For the metal channel, use the metal stays from an old umbrella. These are perfect. Just break them to the sizes you need. One stay can make at several rosary making tools. You can either make the rosary out of all knots, or you can use beads and make knots between the decades and Our Father beads. Check out the video to see how easily it's made. This video mentions a group that sends the rosaries to the missions. This would be a wonderful work to send your group's rosaries off to the missions, or you can distribute them in nursing homes and schools and in your parish -- or give them to the Senior Legionaries to use in their work!
Be sure to use clear nail polish to seal ends of the nylon cord after each cut. Let dry and then begin your work!
1. Here's a series of videos for step by step instructions for one type of nylon cord rosary with beads. You may use either knots or spacers between decades. Start by cutting a 60 inch piece of cord (or less if you are using spacers instead of knots). If you are not using the bonded cord, you will first need to apply clear nail polish on the ends and let it dry. This video uses #9 bonded nylon which is "stiff enough to use yet easy on the hands." How to make the barrel knot and add the first Our Father
If you use a center piece, this is where you start. First tie the knot to the center piece as shown: Cord Rosary Center Piece then when you've done the last beads,finish it off by adding the crucifix.2. Here is an alternate way of making it without the center piece: Cord Rosary with CenterKnot
3. Here is an ALL-Twine knotted nylon rosary which uses no beads, but 20 feet of twine. How to make a knot rosary. This young guy uses a thicker twine and uses his fingers to make the knots instead of the channel tool. Very cool looking, in my opinion.
4. Here's a video on how to make a one-decade chaplet--with full instruction on the knots and the cross, in Spanish: Como hacer un decanario
Junior Legion of Mary Works: Make Your Own Holy Cards and Greeting Cards
Here is a really neat site that has TONS of Catholic images, categorized by artist and subject: These images are all copyright free, so go ahead, feel free to copy/paste and use them to your heart's content!
If you are using a software program like Word or Works, it's a piece of cake to copy/paste and then run off copies. If you make double sided copies with a prayer on the back of the pictures, be sure to size the prayer and image properly so they will line up nicely. You could run these off on cardstock, and then the Juniors could cut them and/or decorate the fronts of the cards with lace or glitter or stickers or sequins, etc.
An alternative is to reuse old Christmas cards, Easter Cards, expired Catholic calendars, or old magazines, like Maria Legionis, or any Catholic soliticing "junk mail" which usually has images and greeting cards in them. Cut out the images and sew them to a piece of cloth or lace, as shown here:
Or attach them to paper doilies, for an old fashioned holy card lace look!
Or glue them to heavy stock with a ribbon "hanger" through them; or you could glue them onto index cards that are cut down to the proper size, and include a printed or hand-written prayer on the back. Construction paper, glitter, stickers, paint, glue, scissors, ribbons and laces are just a few items to use for this project!
Here's some Christmas pins/buttons that people can wear--add a safety pin to the back and voila! Greeting cards can be made in much the same way. Paper, colored markers, found objects, glue, scissors...well you get the idea. The possibilities are endless! 
Junior Legion Works: Visiting Nursing Homes
One of the Spiritual Works of Mercy is to visit the sick and elderly. Many times these people are lonely and they welcome a cheery visit of young smiling Juniors!
When Junior Legionaries visit nursing homes, they are always attended by the Senior Legionaries, as in all work they do. What you do there is up to you!
The Juniors may visit room by room, taking the residents sacramentals such as rosaries, or holy cards they have made, or "thinking of you" cards, or other seasonal cards (Easter, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparents Day, etc), made by the children. Giving these gifts usually opens up the way for conversations with the residents, who always love to see children.
The Juniors might also prepare a program of songs and prayers or attend a rosary with the residents gathered group. Combining their work with a Senior Legion group, the Juniors can be very helpful assiting the Senior Legionaries in gathering residents, distributing rosaries, and helping with prayers and song sheets.
After the first few visits, the Juniors become expert at this work. They learn by seeing how people age and what happens when we are unable to continue caring for ourselves in old age. This helps them gain both appreciation for this process and respect for the people in nursing homes. Juniors then know to always wear a smile and remember that they are "other Marys" or "Marios" serving and ministering to "other Jesuses" in the residents and everyone they meet!
Purgatory Release Project: A Spiritual Work of Mercy for the Legion of Mary Juniors and Intermediates
The Entire Church joins together at the Holy Mass and gives relief to the Church SufferingPray for the relief of the Church Suffering.
I love this image--it is a perfect illustration of what goes on in each and every Mass: the entire Church joins together, the Church Triumphant (the saints who have made it to Heaven!), the Church Militant (that's us, still fighting the good fight!) and the Church Suffering (the Poor Souls in Purgatory). See how the Mass gives relief to the Poor Souls, like water poured over them by angels!
Here's a great spiritual work of mercy for Catholic youth and children to be HEROES for the holy suffering souls of Purgatory: The Purgatory Release Project! It would be a terrific thing for the Junior and Intermediate Legion of Mary groups to work on this for Lent or throughout the whole year! As the website explains, you start with a sheet that you print out from the website, and write in the goal of the Junior group, for how many Masses, rosaries, sacrifices they want to work toward. Then each member gets his own copy to record the sacrifices and prayers he makes each day. At the end of the year (or perhaps it is done only during Lent), the members all bring in their tally sheets and tally the whole praesidium's numbers together, record that information on the final report sheet, also on that website, and send it in to the Purgatory Release Project Association.
Legion of Mary works: Crowd Contact and Book Barrows
St Peter proclaiming the Gospel in the public square.
Father Francis Peffley, Legionary priest in the Arlington Archdiocese, has an excellent article on the Legionary work of crowd contact, and another one here which is a practical step by step guide to conducting a Book Barrow.
As Father says, the handbook gives advice on how legionaries should approach
Crowd Contact work:
"The same friendly, welcoming approach used on the Book Barrow is the
attitude to be present here. Since legionaries are called to be instruments of
God’s grace, speech and manner are to be considered, for they are the instruments of contact. Legionaries are to be “unassuming and deferential,” the standard qualities of a good legionary on any assignment. In discussions they are to avoid any words that would give the impression of arguing, or of “battling” with the other person. Preaching at them or coming across with a tone of superiority is not to be found there. Doing this work with humility, deference and respect is always to be as our Blessed Mother would be. It is then that she will enhance the legionary’s weakest words and give an almost infinite apostolic blessing to the encounter."
"The same friendly, welcoming approach used on the Book Barrow is the
attitude to be present here. Since legionaries are called to be instruments of
God’s grace, speech and manner are to be considered, for they are the instruments of contact. Legionaries are to be “unassuming and deferential,” the standard qualities of a good legionary on any assignment. In discussions they are to avoid any words that would give the impression of arguing, or of “battling” with the other person. Preaching at them or coming across with a tone of superiority is not to be found there. Doing this work with humility, deference and respect is always to be as our Blessed Mother would be. It is then that she will enhance the legionary’s weakest words and give an almost infinite apostolic blessing to the encounter."
A Catholic college student inviting tourists in New
Orleans' Jackson Square to come inside St Louis Cathedral (behind him) for Mass.
In Rome, the Legion of Mary seminarian praesidia do street corner preaching--in Italian! They get to brush up their Italian, if it is not their native language, as well as get practice at public speaking. It is baptism by fire for many!!
If the Spiritual Director deems it appropriate, Junior Legionaries, especially older Intermediate age Legionaries, may be assigned to assist a Senior Legionary in Crowd Contact Work. The Junior/Intermediate Legionary perhaps would be distributing sacramentals like the Miraculous Medals and the pamphlet explaining what it is, or parish bulletins or some other Catholic pamphlets or literature, in some public place like a fair or bazaar or parade, along side the adult Legionary, where he can learn by observing. For the adult member, humility and friendliness are all that is required, and a genuine desire to invite others to know Jesus and His Mother, invting them to come home to the Church; or to learn more about the Faith. For the Junior member, a smile, a positive and attentive attitude is all that is required. And don't forget to mention the Knights of Columbus's FREE Online Catholic Catechism and Correspondence courses.
Book
Barrows are another form of Crowd Contact, where a portable book table or
barrow is set up in a fair or bazaar or at the parish. Items on offer are free
to the public--these are usually pamphlets on the Faith, and donated books and
magazines, as well as sacramentals. People love free stuff--so they are usually
welcome to an invitation to Mass, or even to Confession. As the Legion of Mary
handbook says, all that is needed is a sincere and humble heart, and the Holy
Spirit does the rest. Catholics Come
Home founder Tom Peterson says that when it comes to sharing the Faith,
"people won't care what you know until they know that you care." The Legion of
Mary has always known this to be true. Love and genuine concern for souls is
first and foremost in all evangelization work. Usually there are not a lot of
questions in such contacts, but if there are, honest answers are the best. If
you know the answer, great. If you do not, tell them you will get the answer for
them. Usually there is a pamphlet or book or website you can recommend that will
help them with their question. Handing them a bulletin and inviting them to the
RCIA class or the parish phone number for the priest is another alternative if
all else fails! 
It should be noted, on the subject of the parish priest, that ALL LEGIONARY WORKS must be approved by the Pastor of the parish. The Legion is the "right arm" of the Pastor, serving the spiritual needs of the parish under the Pastor's authority and direction. Therefore, we are never to go on any assignment or work without the Pastor's express knowledge and approval.
On Being Childlike in Spirit
Mark 10:14-15--“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
"A child has no dissimulation, no concealment. As soon as he is capable of
deceit he is no longer a child. In like manner, nothing can equal the openness
and candor of the spiritual child. He does not compose his exterior; his
recollection has nothing constrained about it; his actions, his conversations,
his manners, everything in him is simple and natural; when he says anything, he
really thinks it; when he offers anything, he wishes to give it; when he
promises anything, he will keep his promise. He does not seek to appear
different to what he really is, nor to hide his faults; he says what is good and
what is evil of himself with the same simplicity, and he has no reserve whatever
with those to whom he ought to disclose the state of his soul.
"A child shows his love with artless innocence: everything in him expresses the feelings of his heart, and he is all the more touching and persuasive because there is nothing studied about him. It is the same with the spiritual child, when he wishes to show his love for God and his charity for his neighbor. He goes to God simply, without preparation; he says to God without set formulas or choice of words all that his loving heart suggests to him; he knows no other method of prayer than to keep himself in the presence of God, to look at God, to listen to him, to possess him, to tell him all the feelings with which grace inspires him, sometimes in words, but more often without speaking at all."
~Fr. Jean-Nicholas Grou, S.J., French Jesuit priest of the 19th century and spiritual director.
"A child shows his love with artless innocence: everything in him expresses the feelings of his heart, and he is all the more touching and persuasive because there is nothing studied about him. It is the same with the spiritual child, when he wishes to show his love for God and his charity for his neighbor. He goes to God simply, without preparation; he says to God without set formulas or choice of words all that his loving heart suggests to him; he knows no other method of prayer than to keep himself in the presence of God, to look at God, to listen to him, to possess him, to tell him all the feelings with which grace inspires him, sometimes in words, but more often without speaking at all."
~Fr. Jean-Nicholas Grou, S.J., French Jesuit priest of the 19th century and spiritual director.
Guarding One's Spiritual Peace
Church of Trees, Belgium
"You should remember all your life that one of the principal causes of the small progress made by certain good people is that the devil continually fills their souls with disquiet, perplexities, and troubles, which render them incapable of serious, gentle, and constant application to the practice of virtue. The great principle of the interior life lies in peace of the heart: it must be preserved with such care that the moment it is in danger everything else should be abandoned for its re-establishment, just as when the house is on fire, one leaves everything in order to extinguish it...
This blessed peace of soul is the high road to heaven. And the reason of this is that peace and tranquility of spirit alone give the soul great strength to achieve all that God wills, while trouble and disquiet turn the soul into a weak, languishing invalid. In that state, one feels neither zest nor attraction for virtue, but, contrariwise, disgust and discouragement by which the devil never fails to profit. This is why he makes use of all his ruses to rob us of this peace on a thousand specious pretexts: at one time on pretence of examination of conscience or of sorrow for our sins, at another time on the ground that we are abusing grace and that our total lack of progress is our own fault, in short that God is about to abandon us; and by means of a hundred other dodges against which few are able to defend themselves.
This is why the masters of the spiritual life give this great principle for distinguishing the true inspirations of God from those which come from the devil, namely, that the former are always gentle and peaceful and lead us to confidence and humility while the latter are agitating, unquiet, and turbulent, leading to discouragement and suspicion, or even to presumption and the following of our own will. We must, therefore, firmly reject all that does not bear this mark of peace, submission, gentleness, and confidence, the impressions as it were of God's seal; this point is of great importance for the whole of our life."
Taken from Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, a French Jesuit and spiritual director of the 18th century, and author of the spiritual classic, Abandonment to Divine Providence. (You can download it for free here: Catholic Treasury, de Caussade.)
The Legion of Mary -- What is it?
- Do you want to learn more about your Catholic Faith?
- Do you want to deepen your prayer life?
- Do you want to develop close Catholic Friendships
- Do you want to grow closer to Jesus and His Mother?
- Come as a guest to a Legion of Mary meeting. There’s no obligation!
What is it?
The largest apostolic organization of lay people in the
world, with well over 4 million active members, in every country. In 2011 the Legion celebrated its 90th
anniversary worldwide. Active in the US since 1931, it has been approved by
every pope since its inception-- each having given it their papal apostolic
blessing, & endorsed by the 2nd Vatican Council.
What does it do?
It makes its members better Catholics, first of all,
through a balanced program of prayer and service in union with the Holy Spirit
as He operates through Mary, Mother of the Church. Works include parish
visitation projects, evangelization, youth work, and other spiritual needs of
the parish and community. It gives Catholics aged 8 & up an opportunity to
do something positive for the Church while at the same time deepening their spiritual
life and strengthening their Catholic Faith.
How does it work?
Members meet together once a week for prayer, study,
planning and discussion in a family setting; they do a couple of hours of
definite work each week in pairs and under the guidance of a Spiritual
Director.
The Patricians Meetings: A Parish Weekly Event Sponsored by the Legion of Mary
THEMSELVES AND
TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO
APOSTLESHIP
By Frank Duff
(Founder of the Legion of Mary)
Published in ACTS 1960
Catholics do not speak about religion to those outside the Church and seldom to those inside it. A term has been devised in France to describe this Christian disorientation: Mutisme. In his book on the Church, Mgr., Suenens expresses this poignant thought: "It is said that those outside the Church will not listen. But the real truth is that the Catholics will not speak." Our two Envoys, journeying out to Brazil, were the only people on the great liner who talked to others on religion. Two Catholic members of the crew told them that on their voyages a constant barrage of questions and objections poured in on them which they were not equipped to answer.
This is grimly tragic. We must charitably suppose that the bulk of those questions proceeded from people who were seeking truth. They were not going to learn it from those Catholics!
Recently some of us stayed in a little town with a population one-third Catholic. We were informed that in the one and only public-house the Protestants had of late been asking questions about Catholicism. We enquired if they got the answers. No. Grim again!
There is the case of the very distinguished old lady who had mixed all her life with "good Catholics," and who declared in her ninety-sixth year that not one of them had ever tried to convert her. She regarded this as odd from people who appeared to believe. But can the word "odd" be appropriately applied to what is universal?
A Priest in the U.S.A. going around his new district knocked at the door of 100 year-old Sophie McDonald: "NO, I am not a Catholic but I would like to be one." "Why have you not made a move earlier ?" "No one has ever asked me"!
It seems to be the startling fact that the average Catholic will not help another in the domain of religious knowledge! Mutism is the prevalent evil.
Is it that we have not got the Faith? NO, we have it, and have it abundantly. Is it that we are indifferent about the soul of our neighbour? NO, because we do feel for him and pray for him. Is it that we repudiate the idea of conversion? NO, for our hearts glow in us at the very mention of someone entering the Church.
Then what is the explanation of the anomaly? Here it is in the words of one who had just attended his first Patrician meeting; who was stirred by what he had seen, and was pouring out his mind to Father Aedan McGrath on the subject: "Why have they not got this everywhere? I have been through all my schooling and have learned my catechism as well as the next. But I could not have answered one of those questions which I have heard discussed. And yet I realize that they are all simple questions. I feel I don't know how to say anything."
It would seem that the majority of our people are unaccustomed to argue, or even to think coherently, about religion, or to explain any less simple point in connection with it. Many could repeat those words: "I don't know how to say anything." Obviously such persons will hide their ignorance by an unapostolic silence, and will wither under assault.
The remedy? Here again I quote Father Aedan McGrath: "The Priests here are thrilled at the possibilities offered by the Patricians." So I discuss with you the Patricians.
It is a society controlled by the Legion of Mary. Each branch must be run by a Praesidium, and the Chairman must be an active Legionary. A Praesidium could have charge of more than one branch of the Patricians. The name is in the tradition of Legionary Latinity. It is derived from the Patricians of ancient Rome, who were the upper of the three grades of society, i.e. the Patricians, the Plebs, the Slaves. Our Patricians would hope to combine all social grades into one spiritual nobility. But let us carry the idea of the name a little further. Each old-time Patrician had as his clients some families of the Plebs to whom he was to be guide, protector, counsellor. Our Patricians are bidden to aspire to a like relation to the general body of the people.
Moreover, the Patricians were supposed to be specially full of love of their country and of responsibility for its welfare. And so, our Patricians must be supporters of their spiritual fatherland, the Church. The Rule does not insist that they be devout Catholics or practising ones, but only that their alignment be broadly Catholic. Rooted anti-Catholic Catholics do not fall into this category.
Non-Catholics are not eligible. There is a Canonical difficulty. Furthermore it is to be expected that they would be there in the general attitude of opposition. The Patrician aim is building. Building and destructiveness are opposites.
The immediate object is the equipping of those like the two seamen on that liner, or like the shrinking Catholics in that village pub, or like the thousands who never attempted to convert that 95-year-old lady or the 100-year-old one! It will seek to give the answers: to teach the people to explain themselves: to cure mutism: to solve the doubts of the multitude: to supply a reasonable basis to the faith that is in us.
But the cautious school may wonder: "Is it right to raise doubts in people's minds?" The doubts are already in minds, but without the answers. Every objection to religion is there, spontaneously generated or suggested from outside. And even if the objections were not there, it might be necessary to inject them on the principle of inoculation. These are no days for Catholic Babes in the Wood!
The rules of the Patricians prescribe a monthly meeting. Each meeting begins with the Patrician prayer, said standing, which is set out on page 30 of this booklet. Then a talk or paper by a lay person, not to last longer than 15 minutes. Actually talks of much less than this duration are proving adequate. It is far from essential that this talk be given by an expert. It might be better if it were not. The purpose is to provide the rough material for all to work on - not to dumbfound them. It may be difficult to hold within the specified time the person who knows his subject really well, but by fair means or foul it must be done. In every case where the talk has been too long, it has spoiled the meeting. If the active Legionaries and the Patricians are appointed to give the talks, it will be a means of developing them. The talk is followed by a general discussion. This discussion is the main element of the Patricians. All the other parts of the meeting are to be directed towards the full functioning of that part.
One hour after the opening time, the discussion is suspended for 15 minutes during which a cup of tea or other light refreshment is served. This interval is an essential feature of the meeting and must not be omitted.
Then follows a talk by a priest, of duration 15 minutes. It is most desirable that this should have a bearing on the first talk. In fact the latter should serve as an introduction to the priest's talk.
Then follows further discussion lasting nearly half-an-hour, that is till 5 minutes before the end. Then announcements and final prayer, which is the Creed, recited in unison, all standing. The meeting then concludes with the blessing of the priest. This should be received standing so as to obviate the disorder of trying to kneel down among chairs in a crowded room.
The total length of the meeting is to be two hours. Proper time-keeping is essential. It has been found that those giving the principal talks tend to go beyond their allotted time. This is serious in view of the fact that the discussion time is correspondingly lessened.
It is not obligatory that a member shall attend every meeting. As the meetings are only monthly a system of reminding members will be necessary. The meetings should possess the elements of attractiveness, including those of light, temperature, etc. Smoking is permitted.
Expenses are to be met by a Secret Bag collection. A statement of accounts should be read out to the meeting, immediately before the tea interval with a reminder that the Bag will circulate after the priest's talk. At the end of each meeting the subject for the next meeting should be arranged. If this is not practicable, ample notice of the subject must be given before the next meeting.
Preferably a branch should not number more than 50 or 60. A large number becomes difficult to handle, especially in regard to the tea or refreshment session which is important. The idea here is not at all that of coming to the rescue of exhausted persons. It is a striking of the social note - important for a gathering of the Patrician type. Incidentally it loosens tongues. It has been suggested that the cup of tea be omitted but the "free and-easy" interlude retained. In practice it would be found difficult to justify that break without specific reason. The tea supplies an adequate reason, but it should be ultra-simple, just a cup of tea with biscuits or bread. The tea interval is one of the features that give "personality" to the Patricians.
The theatre effect, i.e. players and audience, is to be avoided. In a hall, face sideways, not lengthways. Behind the table have two rows of seats. Among those seated in the front row are the principals, e.g. the Priest and the Chairman. In front of the table arrange the remainder of the seats in semi-circular rows. This means that those in them are not looking at a mere platform group but at a family circle; one addresses the family.
On the table is the Legion altar of which the Vexillum is an essential part.
The role of the Chairman is similar to that of the "Speaker" in a Parliament, that is of minimum intervention. Patrician psychology requires that when a speaker has concluded, the meeting shall be left mentally face to face with that contribution, so that it will spark off another contribution. This process will not be helped by comment from the Chair. Even words of thanks form a distraction.
The fact that contributions are slow in coming does not justify the Chairman's rushing in to talk. What is wrong with a little silence? Families do not feel the need for non-stop talking. Legionaries are familiar with the idea of the salutary silence which loudly tells all that they have their chance to speak and jogs them on to it.
If it is desirable that a person should play a fairly prominent part in the actual discussions, he should not occupy the Chair. There are two different roles in question. The talking Chairman will paralyse the Patricians.
It is not the intention that the Priest, Chairman, and Lay Speaker should speak only at their own special times. But it is to be remembered that their excessive intervention would necessarily suppress other elements and destroy balance. Those pivotal personalities may intervene naturally but with restraint.
The key role should exert itself to open up the other roles, not to shut them in. Father P. J. Brophy, who has been so constructive in regard to the Patricians, directs our vision to the ultimate objective: "The battle for the Faith will not be won at the theologian's rostrum or at the foot of the eloquent pulpit. Victory lies with the alert layman who blends zeal and conviction with a practical grasp of what he believes and why. He has the entry to every class and profession. If he does not speak to the bewildered and the questing, he has sold the pass and failed the Church. The Patrician circle is a training-ground for the enlightened apostolic layman, the most wanted man in the twentieth century." ("The Patrician Movement" - The Furrow, Sept. 1957)
The discussion follows the method of a Parliament, that is by successive comments from different persons. It is not an exchange of questions and answers between the members and the platform. It is not to be a classroom. Lecturing people teaches them little. In one description of the Patricians, I have seen the phrase "controlled discussion." This sounds a false note, as suggesting that people are being dexterously steered along a pre-arranged path. It would be hurtful to the Patrician idea if that impression were conveyed. So let naturalness and freedom be the atmosphere, though, of course, some regulation is necessary. The Chairman should not be officious in regard to irrelevancy, provided it does not harden into a wrong road. Beware of descending on persons with rebukes, corrections or calls to order, which would only have the effect of shutting up those whose participation is the most desired. Individuals should not be grilled for "heresy."
Members should rise to speak. Probably their contributions would flow more freely if they remained seated. But this would risk reducing the discussion to a disorderly exchange of sentences, amounting to mere conversation.
Members are not limited to one intervention, but contributions are to be brief. Father Aedan McGrath recommends a rigid maximum of three minutes. Another leading figure would grant a little more: "As many as possible should talk. The Chairman should not normally allow anybody to exceed five minutes. Otherwise the simple, free atmosphere is threatened. Everyone must be made to feel that his views are interesting and helpful to others. The first ten words in public are a psychological triumph, a crack in the old conservative core of inarticulation" (Father P. J. Brophy).
There are to be no Votes of Thanks.
Throughout the series of meetings there should be a quiet insistence on the Catholic duty of apostleship, but there should be no pressing of people into the Catholic Societies. The opposite extreme is likewise to be avoided, that is of refraining from judicious attempts to recruit in incidental conversations.
There is no work obligation. There must be no assignment of tasks from the meeting, not even to those willing to receive them. Ordinary Patrician groups should not disband during the Summer.
Real religious problems with a practical application to life should be dealt with, keeping away as much as possible from merely academic, cultural, literary or economic topics.
The true purpose should be kept in view. One programme recently submitted showed how the latter can be lost sight of. The whole series concerned itself with the family. At succeeding sessions, a doctor, nurse, solicitor, policeman, etc., treated the subject from his own professional aspect. That and the resulting discussion would be useful, but it would not be the Patricians as will be seen from a reading of this booklet.
The purpose of the Patricians is not that of duplicating the ordinary methods of religious instruction, that is the sermon, the lecture, the catechism class. These provide for one expert person doing most of the work. They furnish a ready-made and admirable solution which is received with varying degrees of inertness and of assimilation.
Definitely there is not in the mind of the ordinary Catholic a competent understanding of religion. He has a lot of knowledge but it is not sufficient built together. It is a little like the case of a builder's yard in which lie in separate heaps all the materials for a house, but which are not the house and have no proportion to a house. It is not knowledge which the owner is comfortable about. Still less is he convinced about it to the extent of going out to proclaim it, to do battle for it. That is the problem. The Patrician method must try to adapt itself to it. It must not be the lecture system or an approximation to it. In a sense the two ideas are at opposite poles.
The Patrician method postpones authoritative solution, and throws the problem onto the shoulders of the average man. How does this work out?
Suppose the first contributor to the discussion is the comparatively unfitted person who would never have thought of defending his faith except with his fists. And let us further suppose that his remarks are typical of him, that is to say, inadequate from every point of view - subject-matter and presentation. Let us assign it as low a value as 5 per cent. But that 5 per cent stirs up a ferment in minds. Each one present feels correctly that he could do as well - or rather better. Because that 5 per cent has taught the others something. Raised to that 5 per cent level, they see things a little more clearly, and at once a second speaker enters the lists with another 5 per cent. Therein he accepts as his own the first contribution and builds on it. A third speaker interposes in the same spirit, and a fourth and so on. Each, so to speak, stands on the shoulders of his predecessors but gives them little credit, his own has been the significant contribution. Note that things have become quite complicated psychologically. Not only is there idea-building, but each step is done in such slow-motion, and indeed painfully by simple mental processes, that all keep in line with it, including those who have not actually spoken. If the building goes too fast, or is too compressed, many will be left behind.
Secondly, by virtue of the fact that each speaker is inclined to minimize the part played by others and to exaggerate the worth of his own share, he will have an "ownership interest" in the final result. As a consequence he would be enthusiastic and propagandist about it.
Thirdly, there has been the ideal preparation for the propagating of what has been learned. There has been a battle, blow and counter-blow, suggestion, criticism, contradiction, one idea working on another, item added to item, until the total knowledge of the body has been pooled and that is necessarily considerable. Then, by reason of having been through that battle, everyone has the confidence to go outside the meeting and reproduce it at the corner, in the pub, and elsewhere. That is the Patrician way.
Fourthly, the mode of expression of most of those who speak is attuned to the comprehension of those who listen. This is a vital factor. It is odd how penetration into each higher stratum of education puts us mentally out of touch with those below it. Even when one is trying to talk most simply, it is possible to be out of reach of some. Recently I was given a list of words which would not be understood by a whole section of the population, and yet I think that most of us would be found using those words in the delusion that they were conveying our ideas. This points to the need for a "milling" or interpreting process which will make sure that the "loftier" ideas and words will be ground down and made intelligible to all. In the Patricians we are already able to see this digestive process at work. Difficult ideas are proposed, and then "milled" by successive speakers into the simplicity that all necessary religious ideas are supposed to possess.
The previous paragraph carries itself on into an intriguing thought: which is that the Patrician method seems to be ideally conformed to the special needs of the pure mission field. There the difficulties on which we have been dwelling are magnified by reason of the greater differences in mentality and education. The vital message is being delivered but not received in its fullness. If we understand only with an effort or if we miss part of what is being said, it means that both the mind and the memory tend to reject the whole.
It is asserted that the Mission Catechumenates turn out too many baptized pagans - which reminds us that the same is said of the school systems of the older countries. Can a solution lie in the Patrician mechanism, which would bridge those psychological gaps somewhat in the way that gears bring the engine of a car into right relation with the power which the wheels require? Then the most learned and the least simple can talk away after their own advanced fashion. Their ideas and forms of expression are understood by a section which approximates to them. Then operates the process of reduction into that ultimate simplicity. In the end everything will be absorbed and probably remembered, a process aided by the fact that the theme has been handled from many angles and repeated in various forms.
No doubt the task of training in a branch of which many would be undeveloped in education, and some illiterate, would not be light. But the gain would be simply enormous if the Patricians supplied a missing link, if Mission technique were thereby benefited.
From all that has been said, it will be seen that it is vital that there should not be any "short-circuiting" from the "Platform". If what I may call a "cellophaned" solution is provided right away by authority, the roots of further discussion are struck at; that elaborate psychological process is eliminated, the Patrician system has been perverted. Gone also is the attractiveness of the whole procedure; nobody will want to attend a penny-in-the-slot performance.
Even when something very incorrect is stated, it should not at once be challenged by the Platform. It should be left sailing on the sea of discussion. It is certain that before the end it will have met its due fate at the hands of the audience. If it should survive as real error, the Priest can deal with it in his remarks, but as gently as possible, avoiding a personal pointing. No one will talk if he has the consciousness that someone in authority is lying in wait to denounce him.
The special characteristic must be freedom of speech - compatible of course with our definition of the word "Patricians," i.e. supporters of the Church, not hostile elements. If awkward things are being thought and said in ordinary life, it is essential that they be brought up and dealt with. Otherwise they will only fester and destroy.
There is no need for worry if some important issue remained in unsatisfactory unsettlement at a meeting; or if many points arose which were not dealt with. Remember that the "Patricians" is a series, there will be a next meeting. In fact, it is a good thing that each meeting should not be self-contained, complete in itself. Thereby, interest will be enhanced. It may be desirable to continue a discussion to the next meeting.
It is already evident that in the Patricians a dynamic piece of machinery exists, one of the best that has been encountered. I would say that after the Praesidium itself we have our best instrument in the Patricians if it be properly worked. There is no doubt as to its capacity to work, to waken up people and mobilize them. Through the determined use of this medium we can reach out to every person in the community. We need an immediate agency between the active Legion and the people. We thought we had that in Auxiliary membership, but it would seem that the Patricians is a better method. In fact, every Auxiliary should be a Patrician.
If the object is to affect general life profoundly, it is obvious that a single branch in a parish will not suffice; neither will two or three be enough. In addition to the ordinary parochial branches, there would be need for branches in the different professions, industries, societies, confraternities, clubs, and other subdivisions of the community.
It is now proved that the Patricians spiritualizes while it instructs. It has been said that a grace of light is greater than devotion. Definitely the Patricians' hours are a time of seeking light - and in a devotional way. It would promote this process if those about to speak, and those hesitating to do so, would turn their hearts to the Holy Ghost and ask for words. He will give these words and make them influential.
The meetings of the Patricians which I have attended were impressive. So much was got home, so much interest created, that each single meeting would have justified itself. I could sense its beneficial impulses going out and circulating in the community. It seems to me that the force of a series of such meetings would be irresistible - like the battering ram against the wall. If the Catholic people could be turned into such a battering ram, the energy would be prodigious, even to the converting of the world. For it is not the grace of God which is lacking but our co-operation.
It is essential that the Praesidium take a special interest in the running of the Patricians, but this does not mean that they should treat the Patricians as if these were a lot of schoolchildren. It would not do for the Patricians to present the aspect of two groups working together, i.e., the Legionaries and the non-Legionaries. The Legionaries should be there as Patricians and the burden of running the branch should as far as possible be thrown on the branch itself. Similarly the Legionaries should beware of doing all the talking. Their role should be that of helping the branch onwards in point of responsibility and in every other way. If the non-Legionaries are not intervening in the discussion, neither will they be recruiting or otherwise healthily assertive. A certain amount will have been gained but not the full objective. One of the aims of the Patricians is the energizing of the Catholic community.
What we may here call a positive note should characterize the discussions. Positive is the opposite of negative, and the latter obviously includes anything which is purely destructive. But we must not draw this line too narrowly. Many persons come to the Patricians under a sense of repression. They feel themselves to be "denied" in some way. They have a grievance against the Church. They feel the Church to be somehow inadequate. It is imperative that they be permitted to explain themselves in an atmosphere which can help them. Many of their objections are based on insufficient knowledge, and a little argument and explanation clear up things. People who make their debut in the Patricians in an explosive fashion, commonly finish up by being a driving power in the movement. So do not let us demand a uniformly acquiescent, pious sort of behaviour there.
Persons should not content themselves with asking a question and leaving things that way. This is so important that the fate of the Patricians probably hangs on it. It is easy to interject a question. In fact some people have no other notion of debate, so that a meeting can witness a devastating hailstorm of bare questions, frequently irrelevant ones. If those in charge attempt to answer that mass of questions, the meeting is turned into a question-and-answer session, which it is not supposed to be. The Patrician method of keeping that tendency within bounds and turning it into the tide of the discussion is to insist that he who interposes a question must add his own ideas as to the answer. He should have some ideas if his question really had any roots in his mind. Even if a question is of a helpful character, it should not be presented unadorned. Let this be a golden rule for the Patrician circle and surely for every other sort of parliament. Do not ask a question without taking one step towards the answer. Do not propose a difficulty without sounding a note of solution. Never be merely negative.
We have been talking of each one making his own "contribution". That is the primary note in the Patricians. It is not necessary that the contributions be learned or polished, but that they be forthcoming. Presumably it will be impossible to get everyone to speak, but at least that must be the ideal. The meeting to which everyone has contributed is a successful one.
In this matter there is more at stake than the bringing together of a number of bricks and the moulding of them into a structure. There is the principle of grace which, surpassing nature, enables us to construct an edifice far larger than we had the materials for.
We must realize that in the department of revealed religion nobody has the full answers. For faith and grace have always to enter in. Even the wisest arguments may not avail to bridge the gap, but it would be wrong to infer that less wise utterances are thereby useless. The fact is that God takes even the weakest contribution into His hands and does something with it. When all have done their best, the gap that seemed unbridgeable may have been covered. Whether it is that the gap was less than it was thought to be, or that the human contribution was bigger than it seemed to be, or that God just filled in what was lacking - one cannot tell. But the whole work has been done.
The foregoing must always be our philosophy - and on a wider scale than for the Patricians. We must make our contribution even though we know it to be inadequate. A feeble effort is better than none. The converting of the world is the question of bringing Catholic effort to bear. There will be insufficient effort so long as every Catholic is whispering to himself: "I do not know enough and therefore I must keep my mouth shut. I am inadequate and therefore I had better lie low." But this latter is the prevailing situation in which the Patricians seek to play a helpful part.
The Patrician meeting might be compared to a heated cauldron into which goes layer after layer of ingredients according to a carefully prepared chemical formula. If the intended result is to be achieved, it is necessary that the rules be fulfilled; that the prescribed temperature be maintained; that special quantities be adhered to, that exact time be allowed so that the elements are enabled to mix and affect each other. This interaction is not merely in the sense that two and three and five add up to ten, but in the higher sense that they combine to form a final distinctive product. Every item is intended to fulfil a precise purpose; otherwise it would not be part of the formula.
Similarly in the Patricians. Every layer has its due purpose. The cauldron is represented by the setting of the meeting, and the altar of Our Lady which stands for the Legion idealism. The foundation layer which goes into that cauldron is the Patrician Prayer. After that, the lay paper. Some have thought that this paper introduces too much formality and that the discussion would open more naturally and easily without it. But it does seem necessary that some spade-work be done on the subject and that this need is not sufficiently provided for by urging everyone in advance applies: What is everyone's business is nobody's. Therefore a person has to be appointed who will be under obligation to do that preliminary research.
Then follows the vital discussion-session, which draws its tone from the previous "layers". Then the tea interval which has a many-sided value. It caters for the lighter, social side of things; it opens up informal discussion, frees the tongue-tied, stimulates ideas, provides a sort of stock-taking which may radically shape the subsequent proceedings.
Then the most valuable Priest's talk. It had been said: Why not put the Priests talk at the very end where it could take account of everything that has been said ? The answer to this is that the Priest's talk is intended to form material for discussion, and this it could not do if ii were at the end. The idea s that the first paper and the ensuing discussion supply a rough construction which the Priest is able to pull together and to roof.
The last session takes hold of that reasonably finished product, subjects it to further examination and fixes it in the memory.
Then the concluding prayer and the blessing of the Priest.
Probably it is a good thing that not everyone agrees with the exact detail of the Patrician formula. Because most advances in the world come from the stirrings of dissatisfied minds. But this is a different thing to the setting aside of formula according to the individual liking, for that would be only the rule of the weathercock and would produce certain chaos. So when the Patrician system is adopted, let it be administered according to the formula. If future working should demonstrate the need for alteration, that can be done. But for the present adherence to the formula is imperative. Variations, even small ones, will switch the Patricians into a different groove, meaning that something quite different to the Patricians is being paraded under the name of the Patricians. Possibly, too, this other method may be one which is already in use and which the Patricians is trying to keep away from, e.g., Catechism class, lecture system, question-and-answer session.
It would be cruel to the Patricians if something, which was not the Patricians at all, were to die under that name.
The little altar, which forms a serene centre of the meeting, is not meant to be an ornament. It stands for something basic. It is, so to speak, the official act of faith in the dominance of Mary. She presides over the Patrician destinies as she does over that of every society and of every individual. Of each and all she is the true Mother in a way far exceeding the ordinary motherhood. But it is the divine stipulation that her children play their little part. She has infinite maternal things for them but they can hold themselves aloof from her and her gifts. And not alone bad will but ignorance can frustrate her Motherhood.
And so, an intention pervading the system must be the helping on of all in appreciation of the unique place which is hers in the order of grace. As her altar is before the eyes of the members, so shall she be prominent to their minds. In the measure that they grow in union with her through knowledge and service, so will she gladly avail of their agency in her office of forming men in Christ and Christianizing communities.
Ordinary Branches
0.00 - Patrician Prayer (Recited in unison, all standing). Address by lay speaker (Limited to 15 minutes).
0.15 - Discussion.
0.59 - Financial Statement and reminder that the Secret Bag will circulate immediately after the Priest's talk.
1.00 - Tea interval.
1.15 - Talk by Priest (Limited to 15 minutes).
1.30 - Discussion resumed. Secret Bag collection.
1.55 - Announcements (Date and subject of next meeting, etc.).
2.00 - The Creed (Recited by all in unison, standing). Blessing of Priest (to be received standing).
In the following cases where it may be genuinely impossible to conform to the normal system, that is in: (a) Branches inside Colleges and Institutions, and (b) Branches where members are all under 18 years; the following compressed procedure (total length 1 1/2 hours) is permitted:-
0.00 - Patrician Prayer, followed by lay prayer (limited to 5 minutes).
0.05 - Discussion (40 minutes).
0.45 - Interval (10 minutes). (Tea may be omitted).
0.55 - Talk by Spiritual Director (10 minutes) . Secret Bag may be omitted.
1.05 - Discussion resumed (20 minutes).
1.25 - Announcements as above.
1.30 - The Creed, etc., as above.
The human body lives by the functioning of its cells. The Mystical Body requires the co-operation of all its parts. So the Patrician body seeks its health in a universal participation. If some fail to contribute, there is a loss - just as missing fragments spoil the mosaic.
The two Talks have their importance, but they must not exceed their time. Likewise every other item must be subject to precise time-keeping.
The Patricians embodies the principle of chain-reaction - where one person draws another on to thought and speech; where knowledge is built up into fullness by a slow-motion process understood by all, and where advanced ideas are milled into simpler form and, so to speak, interpreted.
This principle is the opposite to the lecture system or the question-and-answer session or the catechism class - all of which belong elsewhere. If a few monopolize the proceedings, the Patrician plan is frustrated. It is the silence of those in authority rather than their speech, which will lead all others on to talk.
Erroneous statements should not at once be dealt with by those in charge; neither should direct questions; nor should persons ask questions without adding their own idea as to the answers. Let the body itself try to digest everything on lines of parliamentary discussion, and on that training-ground form its members for the battlefield outside.
If real error survives to the end, it should be corrected. But there is no need to tie up all the loose ends at a single meeting. There will be another and another meeting, and in that series completeness will be found.
SOME SUGGESTED PATRICIAN TITLES
1. Why am I a Catholic?
2. Am I my brother's keeper?
3. Is one religion as good as another?
4. Have I a duty to my non-Catholic neighbour?
5. What the Mass really is.
6. Is the Church a kill-joy?
7. The doctrine of the Mystical Body.
8. Obligations from Baptism and Confirmation.
9. Matrimony.
10. Indulgences.
11. The two compartments - secular and religious.
12. The Rosary.
13. The Holy Ghost.
14. Citizenship - the doctrine of the Mystical Body applied.
15. Prayer.
16. Faith.
17. Is Our Lady necessary?
18. I feel helpless in the presence of a Protestant.
19. Can we learn from the Communists?
20. The Reformation.
21. The Inquisition.
22. Papal Infallibility.
23. Why confess to a priest?
24. Our Lady in the Mystical Body.
25. Are prayer and good example sufficient?
26. Are mixed marriages a mistake?
27. The Devil.
28. Spiritualism.
29. Purgatory.
30. Penance.
31. Can we be saints?
32. Our Lady needs my help.
33. Are there really miracles today?
34. The Jews.
35. The New Testament.
36. The Problem of suffering.
37. Communism the opium of the people.
38. Keeping the Faith - to ourselves!
39. Authority in religion.
40. Is the Bible enough?
41. Does the Church encourage ignorance.
42. What is the idea of mortification?
43. When is it right to strike?
44. Why so many sinners in a Church which claims to be the true one?
45. Is eternal punishment just?
46. What is wrong with divorce?
47. The Catholic Church - Mother of the Bible.
48. What is De Montfort's True Devotion to Our Lady?
49. Can we prove the existence of God?
50. The Church - a living body rather than a historical institution.
51. Is there too much devotion to Our Lady?
52. Don't dare interfere with another's beliefs.
53. How would I explain the Eucharist to Protestants?
54. Catholicism means poverty - Protestantism prosperity!
55. The phenomenon of the loss of faith.
56. I will go to your Church if you come to mine!
57. In war, how can God be on both sides at the one time?
58. What part should Catholics play in their Unions?
59. Should we obey everything the State tells us?
60. Bringing Mary, their Mother, to non-Catholics.
61. The Mohammedans.
62. Extreme Unction.
65. Baptism.
64. The Immaculate Conception.
65. The Brown Scapular.
66. The Orthodox or Eastern Church.
67. Galileo.
68. The Deluge.
69. The Fall.
70. The Incarnation.
71. The Last Supper.
72. The Divinity of Christ.
78. Holy Orders.
74, The Last Judgement.
75. What are our community needs?
76. Is Patriotism a virtue for Catholics?
77. Anticlericalism and Catholicism.
78. Joan of Arc.
79. Censorship.
80. Jehovah Witnesses.
81. The sect known as Christian Science.
THE PATRICIAN PRAYER
(To be recited by all in unison, standing)
In the name of the Father, etc.
Beloved Lord, bless the Society of the Patricians into which we have entered for the purpose of drawing closer to Thee and to Mary, Thy Mother, who is our Mother also.
Aid us to the knowing of our Catholic Faith so that its transforming truths may be operative in our lives. Help us also to an understanding of Thy intimate union with men, by which they not only live in Thee, but also depend upon each other, in such manner that if some relax, others suffer and may perish.
Enable us to glimpse the weighty but glorious burden which is thereby laid upon us, and to yearn to bear it for Thee. We realize the stamp of men we are: the reluctance of our nature: how unfitted we are to offer our shoulders to Thee.
Yet we have confidence that Thou wilt regard our faith rather than our frailty, and the necessities of Thy work rather than the inadequacy of the instruments.
So, uniting our voice with the maternal pleadings of Mary, we beg from Thy Heavenly Father and from Thee the gift of the Holy Spirit: to abide with us: to teach us Thy life-giving doctrine: to supply all things that are needful to us.
Grant, too, that having been bounteously endowed, we may generously give; for otherwise the world may not receive the fruits of Thy Incarnation and most cruel Death.
Amen.
Oh, do not let labour and suffering so great be wasted.
In the name of the Father, etc.
THE LITTLE ALTAR WHICH MUST GRACE THE MEETING
A branch of the Patricians must be conducted by a Praesidium (branch), and approved of by a Curia (council) of the Legion of Mary.
The Legion is a society of Catholics which aspires to be used by the Blessed Virgin Mary in her office of Mother of souls. It now exists in all the countries of the world and continues to grow rapidly. Already it has produced many martyrs. It is honoured by the confidence of the Church. Legionary requirements are broadly: the attendance at a weekly meeting and the performance of a weekly apostolic task. These are within the capacity of nearly anyone who seriously wishes to work for the Church. There are no racial or social barriers in its membership.
Information in regard to local headquarters may be obtained from the Concilium (central council) of the Legion of Mary, De Montfort House, North Brunswick Street, Dublin, Ireland.
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