Legion of Mary |  Mary's Notebook |    Issue 5 of Mary's Notebook

September 2006 Special - Why I am in the Legion


Vexillum




Michael Sirotniak

I joined in order to:
1.    Grow spiritually and become a more active, informed, and zealous Catholic;
2.    Become a more faithful and fruitful disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ;
3.    Become more devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God;
4.    Grow in holiness through weekly communal prayer and apostolic works;
5.    Evangelize others and invite them to join (or return to) God's one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

The things that I like most are:
1.    Its emphasis on prayer, apostolic works, and solidarity with other Legionaries;
2.     Its two levels of membership (i.e., Active, Auxiliary), and the degrees of membership within each of the two main levels (e.g., Praetorian & Adjutorian), which offer various levels of participation;
3.     Its simple spirit and clear mission:  "The object of the Legion of Mary is the glory of God through the holiness of its members developed by prayer and active co-operation, under ecclesiastical guidance, in Mary's and the Church's work of crushing the head of the serpent and advancing the reign of Christ" (Ch. 2, p.11, "Legio Mariae").
4.    Its handbook, which is filled with spiritual depth and practical guidance for thinking, living, and acting in accord with the Legion's spirituality & mission;
5.    Its orthodoxy.


Tom Corbley

I joined the Legion initially for somewhat selfish reasons. I thought that if I worked to support God's church, he would work to support my vocation. I knew that seemingly everyone who joins the Legion makes great progress in their vocation.

After joining, I decided to stay after seeing the state of the church, and realizing that if I was supposed to be the "light of the world," it was time that I took upon myself the responsibility of helping to carry that light to the world. I pictured myself at the "debriefing session" after we all die, and imagined people asking me, why I didn't make the effort to share the one true faith after I had been blessed with it. I felt a strong responsibility, like an ambassador of the truth.

When I saw the results that seemed to accompany door to door, I decided that all Catholics, in my mind anyway, should do at least 2 years of door-to-door service, just like the Mormons have to, just as part of being a faithful Catholic. I realized that a lot of people died for this faith, and I should at least be willing to knock on a few doors for a while.