The New Handbook

A Veritable Gutde to the Lay Apostolate

THE NEW HANDBOOK

RE PRINTED FROM MARIA LEGIONIS JUNE, 1937

The Handbook of the Legion of Mary has been written with a view to providing Legionaries with a knowledge of their organisation, of its purpose, its methods, the means to be employed and the part which they themselves have to play in forming its character and doing its work. Everyone knows that work, to be properly done, must be planned beforehand. Zeal and effort, Without guidance and judgment, will do little good, however well intentioned. The Cure of Ars once said to a person who questioned him: "I will allow you to communicate often on condition that you get your parish priest to complete your religious instruction." A thorough knowledge of what we should do and how we should do it is absolutely necessary especially in spiritual matters. It is not to be wondered at, then, if infinite pains have been taken with the preparation of this Handbook which is meant to equip Legionaries for the most urgent work of our time-the lay Apostolate.

Taking the handbook as a whole it might well be called the Handbook of the Lay Apostolate. One would expect the handbook of an organisation' to deal principally, if not entirely, with the constitutions, rules and early documentary records. Here however it has been realised that the most important thing of all is the personal factor -those who work the Legion and those for whom it is worked. It is not surprising, therefore, that the spiritual formation of the individual worker-a fact so much emphasised by Pius XI-has been made the primary object of the Legion, and the first section devoted to it. This embodies the early traditions of the Legion's devotion to Mary-the spirit of its founders-which built it up and gave it life and strength. All available works of authority on devotion to Mary and Catholic Action have been studied and made to contribute. It is unnecessary for us to stress the importance for Legionaries of studying this section closely if they wish to secure that formation of character which their organisation and work require.

For daily spiritual reading or quiet meditation during retreat such paragraphs as The Devotional Outlook of the Legion, the Legionary and the Church, the Spirit of Mary in the Legion, Spiritual Aids, Legion Fruits, Idealism and Action will be found full of attraction, inspiration and encouragement, pages to which we can turn with profit again and again-which remain in our hearts like a friendly atmosphere. We feel that here we are in the true native climate of the Legion, and we return frequently to breathe in the spirit which fills those pages in the hope that it may dwell in us, and that we in turn may help to convey it to others.

Besides the character of the Legionary, we find also portrayed in these pages the character of the Legion itself, both in its broad lines and minute detail. Constitution, rules, details of organisation, and modes of procedure, may be very matter-of-fact things, but they are of supreme importance in an organisation. It may derive its strength from the spirit of its members, but it in turn transcends the limitations of the individual and accumulates in itself the strength and virtue and fidelity of each unit. The Legion as a body, its meetings, religious and social functions, companionship, the loyalty and confidence it inspires, the strength and support it gives and the field of charity it provides are powerful factors which can only operate with full effect when all relations are properly adjusted, traditions respected and system enforced.

The perfection and integrity of the Legion, from which flows its effectiveness, have been the anxious care of those who forged its constitution, and much practical experience of human nature in its individual and social aspects is embodied in these paragraphs. To enable all Legionaries to understand the system and officers to operate it perfectly, has been the earnest wish of those who compiled the Handbook. Whoever studies this section closely will find that it amply repays him in the guidance and protection from mistakes which it affords.

IT is, however, in the Legion at work that the world is interested. Its impact on men, its power to bring good to perfection and overcome evil by it, must react strongly both on the members themselves and on those outside. The Handbook contains much practical advice on this matter. The sections on works to be undertaken and avoided, external aims and suggestions, the attitude to the down-and-out, extension and recruiting, and auxiliary membership, contain invaluable advice drawn from long experience and tested by daily service of the most devoted kind.

The writer cannot conclude this survey of the new Hanbook without saying a word about the Legionary and the Handbook in the past. He has known the Legion sufficiently long to be intimately acquainted with very many members. Now one of the outstanding results attained in the past was that the spirit of the old handbook (studied and fostered until it appeared unmistakably in the members) animated and elevated the whole organisation. May Our Lady, Queen of the Legion, obtain by her prayers the same success for this new Handbook throughout a much wider sphere. (REV.) M. L. DEMPSEY.

NOTE: It was thought this article from the early years of the Legion would be of interest today, since the printing of a new, amended handbook is imminent. - The Editor Maria Legionis June1994