SSPX Legion of Mary Newsletter
June/July Newsletter
A Rose Blossoms and Grows
I would like to tell you a story. And that is the story of a small group of people, some time ago, who saw that it was time to bring the Legion of Mary to the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes Oxley. They started off very poorly, just five members in a rundown house. They met week after week, regardless of the lack of means, the lack of members and the near impossible task ahead of them. However, instead, what they met with was Our Lady, the blessing of the parish priest, a wholesome spirit and the persistence to continue regardless of what was going to happen. Many years went by and the numbers grew and dwindled until finally, in very recent times, it started to grow, and to grow some more and yet a bit more, until this present day, when we saw over 50 members from across Australia and New Zealand meet in the very same block of land this last weekend in July! All members came together to learn about what it takes to be a Legionary, how to inspire a love for Our Lady and how we can give our all in various apostolic works. This Day of Formation as it was called was a day to learn and be formed into Legionnaires of Our Lady, soldiers with a burning spirit and love with the goal of their own personal sanctification and the sanctification of those around them.
I find this a truly beautiful thing, this growth and love of our Lady. You can draw a parallel between this story and a rose. When you plant a rose, there is no chance that it will actually grow. One must nurture it, and give it the right conditions. It requires patience and time, those days where you think you have killed it, and those days where it only just makes it through the scorching hot day. Somehow, the journey is hard, but in the end, you have a beautiful plant, that is glorious in colour and scent.
The roses procured from the market for this day were like any ordinary rose. When bought, they hold their shape for the next couple of days, unless put in direct sunlight or heat, in which case, they normally droop and well die. Our Legionary roses, not only held their shape, but fully opened up in such magnificence that one can only guess that there was something extraordinary at play. I have never seen the like before. Regardless of what it was, it couldn’t have been any more perfect, as for me, it was truly symbolic of our Legion and its expansion.
We live in such a time of mockery and disrespect for our Lady, our Lord, their churches, their clergy. But within our communities, a love is blossoming and numbers are growing, not only to our church itself, but also to the Legion of Mary. On this Day of Formation, we heard about our fellow Praesidia over the globe. And this is our growth:
2 Praesidia in Kansas City, America
2 Praesidia in New Zealand
2 Praesidia in Tynong, Melbourne
4 Senior Praesidia in Oxley, Brisbane
3 Junior Praesidia in Oxley and 1 in Park Ridge , Brisbane
1 Junior Praesidia in Mackay, Queensland
1 Curia in Oxley, Brisbane
1 Curia starting up in Tynong, Melbourne
1 Curia in Kansas City, America
Kansas City and New Zealand are fairly recent with only having been established less than two years ago. The list is endless. This is over 100 men and women, boys and girls, devoting their time and energy to apostolic works in the name of Our Lady. And those numbers do not even include our Auxiliaries who tirelessly devote their prayers to the Legion and its cause.
And it only gets bigger.
I encourage you all in your prayers, in your works, in your efforts. We are blessed with the resources that are at our disposal, let these not go to waste, and let us go out with a burning desire, a refuelled flame, to conquer in the name of Our Lady and to bring ourselves, and those around us, to that everlasting peace in heaven.
God bless, Legion of Mary
If you would like to join the Legion of Mary, as an Active or Auxiliary Member, you can email [email protected] or come to a meeting located at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Oxley.
Senior Praesidiae (Ages 18+)
Our Lady of Good Success – Weekly, Sunday 8:25am
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs – Weekly, Sunday 8:25am
Our Lady of Perpetual Help – Weekly, Sunday 8:25am
Our Lady of Sorrows – Weekly, Tuesday 6:40pm
Junior Praesidiae
Notre Dame du Laus (High school age) – Weekly, Sunday 8:25am
Morning Star (Primary school age) – Weekly, Sunday 8:25am
Our Lady Help of Christians (Primary school age) – Weekly, Sunday 8:25am
Our Lady of the Way (at St Philomena’s School, Park Ridge) – Weekly, Wednesday