July 9 2025 - St. Augustine Zhao Rong and martyred companions of China (& Legion of Mary)

 

Today we honor and celebrate the heroic martyr St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his martyred companions. You may not be that familiar with them, as they were only canonized in the year 2000.  They are 120 Catholics who were martyred between the years 1648 and 1930.  They were lay people, clergy, and religious, ranging in age from 9 to 72.  87 of them were native born chinese, and the rest were foreign born missionaries.

The story of the Church in china is a long and often troubled one.  Christianity arrived in the 600s. Depending on China's political situation over the centuries, Christianity was free to grow or was forced to operate secretly. The 17th century was particularly brutal. 

It was then that St. Augustine Zhao Rong, a Chinese soldier became familiar with the Catholic Faith. The soldier had been ordered by his government to escort a Catholic bishop to be martyred in Beijing. Augustine was so impressed and moved by the bishop’s faith that he requested baptism.  He soon entered the seminary and was ordained a diocesan priest.  In 1815, he was arrested, tortured, and martyred.

The other martyrs we remember today include parents, catechists, laborers, and priests.  33 of the martyrs were missionaries from foreign lands who had traveled to the far-east to help plant the Christian faith in China: among them were Franciscans and Dominicans and Jesuits—men and women who heard the Master’s call to witness to him in the face of death.

I discovered recently that Christians continued to be put to death in China through the 1960s. 

You may have heard of the Legion of Mary, that wonderful apostolic association founded in 1921 by servant of God Frank Duff. Well in the late 1940s, Christianity began to flourish in China through the efforts of the Legion of Mary. Irish priest Fr. Aeden McGrath founded about 2000 Legion of Mary groups, leading to the Communist Regime in October 1951, officially labeling the Legion of Mary as “counter‑revolutionary” even "public enemy number one".

Legion leaders and members underwent arrest, imprisonment, and execution. For instance, Francis Shen, president of the Shanghai Senatus, was arrested in 1951 and executed in 1960 after being convicted of teaching faith in prison.

Today we hear about the underground Church in China, the parishes and communities that refuse to submit to the state-run Chinese Church and remain loyal to the Pope. The Chinese government imposes frequent raids, arrests, forced disappearances of clergy, and fines on the underground Church. My guess is that those courageous underground Catholics have strong ties to the Legion of Mary—God bless them.

Pope Leo XIV has reaffirmed prayers and support for China’s Catholics since his election a few months ago. We do well to remember our brothers and sisters there, and all those who suffer persecution for the Gospel. They remind us to remain courageous when we face pressure to compromise our faith. Even in the face of common temptation, their witness strengthens us to hold fast to Christ for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Our Savior’s faithfulness is mirrored in the fidelity of his witnesses who shed their blood for the Word of God. Let us praise him in remembrance of them:

For Pope Leo XIV that he may guide the Church into renewed unity and zeal for her mission, and that the Church, especially in China and other areas where she is persecuted, may remain strong and united in her witness amidst sufferings.

For the conversion of hearts, especially among governments who persecute believers, that like St. Augustine Zhao Rong those who once persecuted Christ may come to embrace him.

Inspired by the martyrs who followed in Christ’s footsteps by carrying the cross, may we endure courageously our earthly trials and all the misfortunes of life, and that the sick and the suffering, the poor and afflicted may be sustained in their trials.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Heavenly Father, by the witness of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions, you have poured out the Spirit of courage on your Church. Grant that we too may stand firm in faith, bear true witness to Christ, and serve your people with love—even unto suffering. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

April 28 2023 - St. Louie Marie de Montfort - Help for living incessantly for Jesus

The priest St. Louie Marie de Montfort is one of the great Marian saints of history. He is one of the patron saints of the Legion of Mary; in fact, he is quoted more than any of the saints in the Legion Handbook.

His words "Totus tuus ego sum” became well known in the last few decades, when they were taken by Pope St. John Paul II as his papal motto. The sainted Pope dedicated his papacy entirely to Mary, and encouraged members of the Church to turn to her as well.

The Easter Season feast of Louis Marie de Montfort provides a wonderful opportunity to reflect upon the need for a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary if we truly wish to experience the fullness of Christian life. 

St. Louie Marie de Montfort wrote: “Mary is the fruitful Virgin, and in all the souls in which she comes to dwell she causes to flourish purity of heart and body, rightness of intention and abundance of good works. Do not imagine that Mary, the most fruitful of creatures who gave birth to a God, remains barren in a faithful soul. It will be she who makes the soul live incessantly for Jesus Christ, and will make Jesus live in the soul”.

I love those words, Mary helps us “to live incessantly for Jesus Christ” and makes “Jesus live in our souls”. That’s certainly what we find the apostles doing in our first readings all throughout Easter so far—living incessantly for Jesus, making Jesus the primary and all encompassing animating force in their lives. 

That was certainly the lesson the Lord was teaching to Nicodemus last week—that to be born again by water and the spirit means to start a new life distanced from sin, a life seeking above all the holy will of God. 

And that’s certainly what the Lord is teaching in the Bread of Life discourse this week. “Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him.” God desires to make his dwelling in us.

And our Lady helps that happen. She is the auxilium Christianorum, the help of Christians. She helps Christians grow in the grace of God, to obtain virtue, to encounter God more deeply in the Sacraments of the Church, especially the Eucharist by which Jesus dwells in us, like the infant Christ dwelled in the womb of the Blessed Virgin.

One of the tasks of the Legion of Mary is to draw people to the Sacraments of the Church; souls who have wandered, souls who have become lukewarm, souls who have never yet responded to the grace of God to accept the faith. And the members of the Legion of Mary and all of us, do well to study the words of today’s saint, St. Louie Marie de Montford, and have a devotion to him. Because if Our Lady will help all those who turn to her find and love her son, St. Louie Marie de Montfort will help all those who turn to him to find and love our Lady.

St. Louie’s feast prepares us well for the upcoming month of May, dedicated to our Lady, in which we are to increase the fervor of our Marian devotion, that the abundant life of Christ might increase in us and willingly be spread by us for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For deeper Marian devotion amongst all Christians, that the Church may more deeply share in Mary’s Easter joy over the Resurrection of her Son.

For all mothers, that they may find in Mary the example and strength to carry out their vocation of love, and that all sorrowful mothers may know the consolation and peace of God.

That through Immaculate Mary, Queen of Peace, hatred, violence, and cruelty will cease in the world.  

That from the moment of conception all children will be preserved from bodily harm; for the overturning of unjust laws permitting the destruction of innocent life; and that the minds of all may be enlightened to know the dignity of every human life.  We pray to the Lord.

That the sick may draw strength, consolation, and healing by turning to Mary, who intercedes for us from her place in heaven

 

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021 - Active in Bringing Christ to the World

On Saturday I had the great honor of presiding over the diocesan celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Legion of Mary down at the Cathedral. We celebrated Mass and processed with the Eucharist throughout downtown.

For those of you not familiar with the purpose of the Legion of Mary, it is a lay apostolate founded by a Mr. Frank Duff in 1921 in Dublin Ireland. Members engage in works such as door-to-door evangelization, visitation of shut-ins and the homebound, prison ministry, distribution of Catholic literature and sacramentals in parishes and county fairs, encouraging fallen away Catholics to return to the Sacraments, driving the homebound to Mass and parish events, leading rosaries with the grieving at funeral parlors and cemeteries, organizing novenas. 

At my home parish, Legion of Mary members visited by grandmother as she lay dying, praying the rosary with her, and bringing her much consolation.

During COVID, Legionaries adapted to the difficult situation by hosting Virtual Events, continued contact with the sick and isolated, writing letters and sending cards. Auxiliary members, not able to engage in the active work, support the apostolate through their daily prayers and penances.

I recommend joining in this wonderful group of apostolic work which looks to the holy example and intercession and guidance of Our Lady for spreading the reign of Christ through Mary.

I bring up the Legion of Mary, not just because the events downtown today, but because they are a wonderful example of some of the lessons from our Scripture readings this weekend.

In the first reading, we hear of God telling Isaiah to proclaim to those whose hearts are frightened:  Be strong, fear not!

A lot of those works of the Legion—visiting the imprisoned, encouraging the fallen away to return to the Sacraments, praying with the dying, these are thing that intimidate many people. I remember in seminary the first time visiting the Cuyahoga county jail, it’s scary. Walking into the room of a dying person, brings you face to face with death. And so Isaiah, in a sense, is speaking to all of us facing fear, especially when doing the work of God—the works of charity. We are not to be afraid of doing good, good works, going to those intimidating place to bring God’s presence there.

The nice things about belonging to a group like the Legion of Mary, intentionally created for these works, is that having fellow legionaries at your side engaging in these intimidating activities, can embolden you. Again, this is why I encourage membership in this group, because membership can help you have the courage to do things you wouldn’t normally do on your own. The Lord sent his disciples out two by two, because doing these things alone can be intimidating, and so part of being a member of the Church is knowing that there are people who support you, you will walk with you into the darkness, so to speak, in order to bring the light of God. 

After telling them not to be afraid, Isaiah announces to the people that God is drawing near, God is going to be with His people in a way that he never was before, and that is source of our courage. When was I most afraid in my ministry? In my first assignment, I got a phone call, that a young boy had drowned in the swimming pool of his aunt and uncle. A terrible thing, only 3 or 4 years old. And I was asked to be there, as the parents were going to see their dead child for the first time. 

I wanted to run away, but I recalled that this was one of the reasons I had been ordained, to be at the side of the grieving. There was going to be terrible terrible grief in that hospital room, and I knew that I had to overcome my fear, and recall that I needed to bring Jesus into that room. If just by the presence of priest, standing quietly, offering words and prayers of consolation. It was fearful, but those times when the Lord had come close to me, in the confessional, forgiving my sins, in the sacrament of the Eucharist, in my ordination, I knew that he was giving me the courage I needed for ministry.

Isaiah foretells of the time when God will open the eyes of the blind, and clear the ears of the deaf enable the lame to leap and the mute to speak. And that time is now. God accomplishes these things through the Church.

The eyes of the blind are opened when Christians help non-believers are the lukewarm to understand the truths of our faith. The ears of the deaf are cleared when Christians patiently explain our faith to those who are resistant to the Gospel, who have stuffed the errors of the world into their ears.

The lame are able to leap when we help sinners develop virtue in their lives, but also when we help those crippled by grief and addiction and depression and unemployment, to get on their feat again. The mute are given the gift of speech, when Christian parents and catechists teach young people, the next generation of Christians, to boldly proclaim and explain the faith out in the world. 

One of the things I love about the Legion of Mary, is that its members recognize that the amazing works that they are called to engage in are only possible when there is a vibrant interior life and love and devotion of the Blessed Virgin. You want the courage to be the healing hands of Christ, you best draw near to Him and His mother in prayer. And Legion of Mary members know that when you are consecrated to Our Lady, when she is your mother, when you have recourse to her in all your works, she will help you do the works of her Son like no one else.

And that true for all Christians. Our Lady wants to help each of us spread the reign of her Son. She wants to draw Christians together in small groups like the Legion, or small groups of Christian families, or groups of widows, mothers, or small groups of men, to help us discern and make us of those diverse and varying gifts, to work together for the building up of the kingdom and spread of the Gospel in our neighborhood and families.

The Church surely isn’t built up, nor is the Gospel spread, by us doing nothing. 

In a few moments, the Lord will fulfill the prophesy of Isaiah in yet another way. He will become present under what appears to be simple bread and wine, but underneath those appearances will be our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who comes to do all those things Isaiah promised he would do. 

He comes to us to heal our blindness to his goodness, our deafness to his word, our lameness to walking in virtue, and our muteness in preaching the Gospel. He comes once again to declare Ephphatha to each of us, that we may be opened once again to his divine life in our souls, in order to carry his presence out into the world, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

2nd Sunday in OT 2021 - "What to do with the time that is given us"

 A few months ago, I was named by the bishop as spiritual director for the Legion of Mary for the West Side of Cleveland. And last night was our monthly meeting for the officers of the different Legion of Mary groups in the west side parishes. And, I have to be honest, it wasn’t a great meeting. We’ve been using conference calling for a few months, as we cannot meet in person. And we got about 20 minutes into the meeting when we realized that the new conference calling service had limited the number of participants and about half the people weren’t there. We then decided to go back to our old service, which we stopped using because of this terrible static that would cause the meeting to stop. 

At each meeting, we read from the Legion of Mary Handbook, and as spiritual director, I give an allocution on the reading, a short reflection on how the legion of mary principles apply to our current situation. And with all the problems we were having with this conference call, and with all the political turmoil, and COVID and everything, the holy spirit provided the perfect reading. 

The reading from the Legion of Mary Handbook dealt with discouragement. How sometimes in the work of the Legion of Mary, and the work of the Church in general, meets with resistance, as if the entire world were against us, not to mention the powers of hell. It certainly seemed that way last night. There’s also discouragement, isn’t there, when our most devoted labors bear little fruit. You begin to wonder if all the effort is worth it.

Then the reading went on to describe how, the chief danger of discouragement, isn’t from the fact that all these forces are against us. The real danger is that we forget that the chief source of discouragement is often ourselves…we forget that we do not get to choose the time or the circumstances in which we are tasked with laboring for God. We forget that God has chosen us, to labor for him, now, in 2021, with all of 2021’s challenges and problems.

The founder of the Legion of Mary and the author of our Handbook was a layman named Frank Duff. A devout Irish Catholic, whose cause for canonization is underway. And in last night’s reading, Servant of God Frank Duff quoted a religious sister, named Janet Erskine Stuart, whom I had never heard of before. Janet Erskine Stuart was a convert to Catholicism, she converted around the age of 21 from the Church of England, her father in fact, was an Anglican minister. Janet Erskine Stuart certainly faced and overcame discouragement. She knew that her conversion would cost her—family and friends—but she could not deny her call to conversion. 

Three years after her conversion to Catholicism she joined the Society of the Sacred Heart, a religious congregation for women, having communities here in Europe and later here in the US. Janet Erskine Stuart would go on to serve as the fourth Mother Superior of her order. 

Again, here’s a woman who faced some serious challenges in her life: the pressure of family to not follow where Christ was leading her, the challenges of governing a burgeoning religious order as it began to grow internationally. 

And so Frank Duff the founder of the Legion of Mary, so aptly quotes Mother Janet Erskine Stuart in overcoming the danger of discouragement, when she writes “If you look to Sacred History, Church History, and even to your own experience which each year must add to, you will see that God’s work is never done in ideal conditions, never as we should have imagined or chosen.” In other words, the difficult conditions of our work, and the challenges of the age in which we live, should not be a cause for discouragement. 

We Catholics in 2021, would never have imagined, and we never would have chosen, to be Catholic in the age of COVID-19 and the political corruption and turmoil that surrounds us. Who would choose this? Not to mention the growing secularism and scandal which has caused so many Catholics over the past 50 years simply to leave the Church, which causes us still such difficulty in evangelizing non-believers.

And yet, the Legion of Mary Handbook makes this vital point. It says “For it is ever God’s pleasure to show his power by extracting success from unpromising conditions and by accomplishing his greatest projects with inadequate instruments.” We live in what we would call unideal conditions. But God is so great that he can extract great success in these times, and he chooses to use us, we imperfect instruments, for the vital work of the Church, now in 2021.

J.R.R. Tolkien makes a similar point, which immediately sprang to mind. In his Lord of the Rings, his main character Frodo, speaking about the evil of his age, the evil rising in Mordor, and this pressing need to undertake the terrible journey to bring the ring of power to the cracks of Mount Doom, Frodo says “I wish it need not have happened in MY time. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

This lesson is even evident in our Gospel today. There is John the Baptist, standing with two of his disciples, and as Jesus walks by, he proclaims, he evangelizes,  “Behold, the Lamb of God.” In the original greek of the Gospel, the text reads, “Ide o amnos tu theu.”  Behold the Lamb of God. The Lamb, the ‘amnos’—was a very special type of lamb, one that would be used in sacrificial offering. And John is telling his disciples that Jesus is the lamb who will be sacrificed for the sins of the world.  Following him, would have consequences. It wouldn’t be easy. With that in mind, they follow him anyway. 

And John’s disciples, which included Andrew, the brother of peter, could have said, “uh, no thanks. I’m looking for truth, but, not enough to suffer for it. Let’s just keep doing what we’ve been doing.” Had he done that, overwhelmed by the fear of suffering, discouragement would certainly have set in. 

But Andrew, whose name, Andreas, means manliness, virtuousness, does something that should be emulated by every one of us. When the Lamb of God comes into your life, you follow him. And you tell others about him. That changed his life. That changed the life of Mother Janet Erskine Stuart. Following Jesus, despite the difficulties, despite the potential challenges, despite the risk, in this unideal moment of history changes those who choose Him over the thousand and one other things that arise .

And this lesson is applicable to our prayer life, passing on the faith to the young, spreading the faith to non-believers, engaging in the acts of charity. If we wait for what we think are ideal circumstances to do the work of God, then we will sit and wait for something that will never come. If you are waiting for some ideal condition to get serious about your prayer life or to study the bible or begin a new charitable endeavor, to enter the convent or seminary, or to develop a new skill for the service of others…it's not tomorrow, when we hope the conditions will be right, it’s now! “Speak, for your servant is listening” in the words of Samuel…this is the prayer of a heart open to doing the will of God no matter what the circumstances. 

Let us dare to utter those same words, with that same openness, trust that God knew what he was doing when he chose us for the work of the Gospel in 2021, and this is the only time that we’ve been given for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

September 15 2020 - Our Lady of Sorrows - Consolation for the Grieving and Grieving Sufficiently our Sins

Throughout the month of September so far, I have been using as part of our general intercessions a petition to Our Lady of Sorrows, whose feast we celebrate today: that through her intercession the grieving may know the consolation of God, and that all of us might grieve sufficiently for our sins.

From her unique place in the economy of grace and the plan of God, Our Lady uniquely intercedes for the grieving. Seven times in her life, her heart was pierced with sorrow—we speak of the seven sorrows of Mary. And so she has a special compassion for the grieving. Those who grieve never make a mistake in seeking her intercession—like children running to their mother after enduring physical harm or an emotional fright. We bring to her the wounds endured—the wounds of loss—the broken heartedness and shattered earthly hopes that we experience in this valley of tears—this mortal life.

And yet, she also prays constantly for us, who do not grieve sufficiently, that is, for our sins. Her son was born to die for us, he sufferings were on account of our sins. It pains her when we do not weep sufficiently for the sins which led to our separation from God, which led to Christ’s brutal crucifixion.

Saint John Paul II referred many times to our culture’s “loss of the sense of sin”.  When we slough off sin, pretend that it doesn’t matter, claiming that “everyone does it, so it must be okay.”  But no, sin is abhorrent to the goodness of God. And rarely do we sufficiently grieve over the great loss of grace which our sins bring. Mary mourns for those who refuse to look upon the crucifix with contrite hearts.  Mary mourns for the baptized who so often continue to choose the empty promises of the Evil One rather than the life-filled promises of Christ. 

Mourning over sin is the road to beatitudes—blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. For only when we mourn our sins sufficiently, can we really appreciate what Jesus did for us. Psalm 30 speaks of God’s promise to turn our mourning into joyful dancing.

Here at St. Ignatius, Our Legion of Mary is dedicated especially to Our Lady of Sorrows, so this is a special feast for our parish. Members of the Legion and all of us have a special duty to pray for the grieving and to go to their side: to go the grieving, to bedside of the dying, to attend wakes and funerals with those who grieve their deceased relatives and friends. And also the special duty to pray for those who do not grieve their sins—and to go to their side—to approach families members and members of our parish who have stopped going to Church, who do not go to the Sacrament of Confession, to invite them home.

May we never hesitate to turn to our Lady in times of grief, and to ask her intercession to help us grieve and repent rightly, that with her, who participated in the Passion of her Son, may merit with her a share in the resurrection, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

For our newly installed Bishop, that Our Lady’s intercession might bring him great assistance in the great responsibility and challenge of shepherding the diocese of Cleveland.

That our young people may be blessed to be raised in homes where the Gospel is shared, cherished, and practiced.

During this month of September dedicated especially to Our Lady of Sorrows, we pray for those who grieve, and that we might grieve sufficiently for our sins.

For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for victims of natural disaster and inclement weather, those who suffer from war, violence, and terrorism, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, the imprisoned, the unchaste, for the comfort of the dying and the consolation of their families.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.

 

 

Legion of Mary - Acies 2019 - Aligned in Battle Array

The Acies is the great central annual function of the Legion, according to the handbook it is to be held around the 25th of March, the feast of the Annunciation, which commemorates the Incarnation, when God became man and totally dependent on our Blessed Mother. In a sense, what God did at the Annunciation, we do at the Acies. He entrusted himself to Mary for nine months in her womb, he consecrated himself to her care. And this is primary purpose of the Acies, isn’t it. To renew our consecration to Mother Mary, to allow ourselves to be nurtured by her and to be protected by her.

The word, Acies, as I’m sure many of you know, is a Latin word. Like many of the latin terms used by the Legion of Mary, it has militaristic origins. The Acies was the term to describe the army when it was set in battle array. In contrast to praesidium, which is a small military outpost or garrison, at the Acies all the local Legion “outposts” gather as an army set in battle array under the patronage and banner of the Virgin Mary, to renew their love and devotion to her for another year. And just as the handbook says that the grace is given to perform the assignment each week at the praesidium meeting, so the grace for the legionary’s upcoming year’s battle against evil is given at his attendance at the Acies. The importance of this is emphasized in that section of the handbook which states that if any legionaries could attend the Acies but do not, they have little or none of the spirit of the Legion in them, and are no asset to the Legion! Hence we can see why the Legion considers this to be the most important event of the entire Legion year. 

The Roman Legion was a disciplined army clad in military array. Mary’s legionaries put on the armour of God and promise to do battle with the forces of evil. Mary was central to God’s plan of salvation, and Her role is ongoing in the church. So legionaries act in close union with her in a wide variety of activities: in prayer, in your acts of devotion, in your charitable works such as visiting the sick and comforting the grieving, in your evangelization efforts, spreading our wonderful Catholic faith.

Just last night, I was talking to my Aunt who told me that the night before my grandmother died, this last August, the Legion of Mary came to visit my grandmother. You prayed with her and sang "Hail Mary, Gentle Woman" with her, and truly lifted her spirits and brought her much consolation and peace in her final hours. For this I will always be grateful to you.

By your prayers, by your works of charity, by your evangelizing efforts, the Legion drives back the enemy who seeks the corruption of souls. To perhaps even regain territory that has been lost. I’ve only been pastor here at St. Ignatius of Antioch for three months, and every week, I am deeply impressed to here the reports of the good holy works accomplished by the Legionaries here. And no doubt, all of you, in your own parishes are such a force for good, that I hope you continue to let your light shine, and continue to draw new members, for this good and holy work.

In the book of Genesis, we hear how God set an enmity between the woman and the serpent, hinting at Our Lady’s role in bringing about an end of the reign of Satan in this world. And today, at this holy gathering, you have recommitted to being her instruments, her servants, her slaves, as St. Louis Marie de Montford would say, in this battle.

The section of the handbook concerning the Acies concludes with a quote from St. Alphonsus Ligouri, who writes “Mary is an object of terror to the powers of hell. She is ‘terrible as an army set in battle array’ (Song 6:10), for, like a wise Commander, she well knows how to dispose her power, her mercy, and her prayers for the confusion of the enemy and for the benefit of her servants.”

The language of armies and battle arrays and the portrayal of Mary as Army Commander might seem a little…intense, but these ideas remind us of the great spiritual war in which the Church is engaged, and the discipline needed, and the grace needed, to be effective in this war of wars. Your holiness is needed. Your holy works are needed. And your devotion to Our Lady and your obedience to her command is needed.

As Mary gave her Fiat to God at the Annunciation, as we will celebrate tomorrow, may you be blessed and full of grace as you give your fiat to God in your consecration to Mary today. Your efforts are vitally important in the Church’s mission, and I pray that through Our Lady, God will bless you all with new vigor, holy inspiration, and divine protection in your fidelity to the Mission of the Legion for the glory of God and salvation of souls.