Frank Duff's clarion call to Juniors ..
The following article is the text of an address given by Bro. Duff, as President, Conciliurn Legionis Mariae, to the Junior Legionaries of Annunciata Curia, Cork, Ireland at the Congress held in Bandon, Co. Cork in 1944. It is equally relevant to-day!
Thanks to Cork Comitium for the text. - Ed.
I am greatly privileged to be able to talk to such a large body of young Legionaries, because, if you realize in the future the hopes which are being placed in you, you will be doing great work for the Church.
I want to strike a solemn note in talking to you to-day because we are warned by the Legion that while there are junior and senior Legionaries, the juniors are never to be treated as babies, or even as children; that we have got to take you very, very seriously.
You are young, and there are certain types of work that you cannot be given, but otherwise we must behave to you just as we would to our senior Legionaries. In fact, in many ways we must take you a lot more seriously. Because we know what our senior Legionaries are doing, and to a certain extent we know what they can do, and will be doing; but we do not know what you can do. You are a mystery to us. You certainly do not know yourselves; neither does anybody looking on know, and we, therefore, look on you with a certain amount of fear. We do not know what will proceed from you in the future, when you are grown up. It is important that big things should proceed from you, because you are being born into a world which is very different indeed from the world of your parents. In some ways they were a guide to you, but at the same time their religious life was plain sailing enough. What is going to happen when you will be men and women? What sort of a world will you be living in? It is going to be a strenuous one.
Religion is coming in for a bad time, and it looks as if communism is going to be an oppressive force in many places. If so, those who love religion are going to have a very hard time. If they aim to do something for it, they are going to have a hard battle, and perhaps even here circumstances will not be so good. That is the world you are going into and you must enter it as active Catholics; you must go into that world as Legionaries, as Soldiers of Mary. That is what you are preparing for. Surely these hopes that are being reposed in you are not going to be without realization!
Legionaries in Training
You are Legionaries in the course of being made. Those over you are hard at work on you. You are like soldiers that are being trained, and in a short time you will be thrown into the thick of battle. I look upon you, and many look upon you, as being the hope of the Church. The Catholic who believes in the Church, and loves it up to the point of being prepared to work for it, that is the only sort of love that means anything ..
The Legion demands of you that you love the Church in a practical way. To work for it, to suffer for it, and if needs be, to die for it. The things that are being taught you in the Legion are of extreme importance, not only to the Church but to the Nation. You are being taught ideals of duty, discipline, hard work, the love and the serving of your neighbour, and all these things without payment, reward or even thanks.
These things are essential for Ireland. A very great statesman has said to me that he regards the Legion of Mary as fundamental to Ireland, which means that the Legion stands for the qualities without which Ireland cannot be a great nation. In other words, it means that if the Legion ideals spread in Ireland and are taken up by the people and lived, Ireland will be great. If not, Ireland will only drag on a sort of existence, never being a great nation in the world. Is that going too far? I do not think so.
Juniors are not Babies
I repeat to you that the Legion's outlook on you is very serious. It insists that you are not to be treated as babies. From time to time we receive letters from different places stating that the Handbook is too hard and too long for juniors. They demand another book for them with all the ideas put into simple talk such as you would give to babies.
We have always given one answer: "Young Legionaries are still Legionaries".There is nothing in the Handbook which they should not be capable of understanding, if it is explained to them like any other school book.
Just take an Algebra in your hands. It looks terrific to you, and you cannot make much of it. Naturally it is difficult to you before you start studying it. But the teachers would laugh at you if you said: "Oh that is too difficult for me The idea of the class is to teach you to understand it. The Legion looks upon the Handbook and admits that it is difficult for you, but it insists that you are real Legionaries. Therefore, you must make an attempt at the real Legion book. The Legion appoints officers who will instruct you in it. They are there to explain it to you. You should try to learn the ideas in the Handbook. Between the covers of it you have everything you are expected to know in the Legion. There are only about 300 pages in all. If you wanted to become a doctor, how many thousands of pages would you have to learn? You must, therefore, when you find it difficult, say to yourself: "Well, the Legion looks on me as a grownup person and I must try to act as a grown-up person, and I must try to get to understand all that is in that document:' If you do not understand; ask your officers. The fact that they have been made officers means that they understand the scheme
How the World Treats Children
There are certain works, which you are not allowed to do, and which we will not be allowed to give you. At the same time you would be able for a great number of those things. The possibilities of the young are immense.
For instance, at the Horse Show in Dublin you get children of eight riding thoroughbreds over eight foot fences; children of ten, famous musicians, great swimmers; and boys of fifteen flying great bombers. That is the way the world treats the young people. You must not look on yourselves as being unable to do great things because you are young. Many things you are not allowed to do because you are so young and we are not in a position to let you do them, as there would be a great deal of criticism, and we can not stand up to too much criticism. You will have to be kept back from doing some of the more difficult works for a while. Later on you will be getting very difficult works especially if you work in the cities. You will get tasks which will cause the blood to flow backwards in your veins
The Perfect Spirit
The tasks which you are given are simple things. You might be inclined to say: "Any person, even a baby, could do that Therefore you might be inclined to be careless or not to bother about them but that would not be to act as a Legionary. You should do them all in a perfect spirit and in a perfect way.
Remember, many people are in the same position as yourselves though they are not so young as you. Take for instance the great Seminary of "All Hallows" where they are preparing men for the Priesthood and for the Missions. In that College there are two Praesidia. One, for the men who are about to be ordained; the other for those who will be ordained in two years' time. They are not children and yet because they have to find all their work within the Seminary their work is very limited. It is work that all of you could do too.
But they do not say it is silly to be giving them such work because it is too petty. They just do what is given to them, and they try to put the perfect spirit into every job. You must think of one of those grown-up Legionaries who sets to work to sweep a shed. He does not grumble. He gets the brush, and fills himself with the idea that it is his Legion work. Then he tackles it with all his heart and in the spirit of realizing that he is serving Our Lady by doing it.
I have referred to very difficult work. So now I will give you an example. A woman was encountered in Dublin over twenty years ago - that is a long time before any of you were born. She was met going into one of those Protestant places which offered free food to Catholics who would attend a Protestant service. She used to go there every Sunday morning. The Legion had a picket outside. Legionaries stood there in all weathers, spoke to the Catholics going in, pointed out how terribly unworthy such conduct was, and told them where they would get a Catholic breakfast free. This woman was very hardened. She was a most dreadful looking person. She had been leading a bad life all her life. Not only did she persist in going in, but she used to curse and strike the Legionaries who tried to stop her. On one occasion, she spat at the Rosary Beads which they had in their hands. Seven years went by and during all the period the Legionaries were on duty there, their work caused them to be struck and insulted. Perhaps they were inclined to say to themselves that they were doing no good, because most of the Catholics pushed by them and went into the place. One day that woman came along and was as usual reproached by a Legionary outside. She cursed and went inside. After about one minute she came out again and made straight for the Legionary, so that he thought that she was going to attack him. Instead, she said in gentle tones which he had never heard from her before: "Do you know what day it is today?" calling him by his name. "Yes, Lizzie;' he replied, "It's Passion SundaY.' Then, in the same gentle voice she said: "I thought of that when I was in there, and I am never going to go there any more:' He then said to her: "That is a fine resolution, and God grant that you keep it, but I do not think you will unless you settle things in the right way first:' "Do you mean to go to Confession?" she said. The Legionary told her that it was just what he meant, and said to her: "Why not do it now?" She made up her mind, and off they went to Confession. She had not been to Confession for over forty years. Everything was settled up and she never again went to that place. That did not mean that she reformed in all directions. She was traveling and drifting about for some time. After that she came into one of our great Hostels. She went to the Sacraments about three times a year. She continued to drink, and was like a devil when that happened, and then Legionaries had to bear the burden of her misbehavior.
Twenty Years on One Case!
It was not a Legion solution to put her out. But it was heroic not to. Once at a Praesidium meeting, I heard read out a list of recent breakages which she had performed in the Hostel. It was like an air-raid. This went on year after year. Then she fell into bad health and went to hospital. Dying, she sent for the chief Legionaries who had been in touch with her all those years, and apologized for all the ill-treatment she had given them. She declared that she realized all the time what they had done for her, and appreciated it. She died a very beautiful death. Perhaps only for the Legion she would not have died a good death in the Church.
They had been fighting for that woman's soul for over twenty years, that is as long as the Legion had been in existence. Working for twenty-three years on one case! Does it not seem very hard? You might be inclined to regard that as very tough work. But it is easier to do that kind of work than to do your own. Much easier, because there is an excitement and variety about that difficult work which yours has not got. You simply do not know what is going to happen. Again and again the picket was arrested by the police. Innumerable fights took place. The first time I was put on picket, a drunken sailor drew a knife on me and endeavoured to stick it in my ribs, and only that he was so unsteady, I would have been killed.
Not Working Alone
It is not difficult to persevere with difficult work. It is easy, because it is so full of variety, so exciting. Take the Hostels in Dublin where blows and knocks are always going. Crowds of Legionaries pour in for that work because of the variety.
But you have not got that variety and you must hold on to the work for other and better reasons, namely because you are doing your task for the Legion and Our Blessed Lady. Always, and in every wearisome task, have that idea in your mind. You are not doing it alone. Our Lady is there working with you. So put your heart and soul into it. In that way you are preparing yourself to be a true Legionary, and fitting yourself for the great battle of life. If you do your little tasks well and with all your heart, I can assure you that you will be a very perfect senior Legionary later on.
The Praesidium Meeting
Where are you going to learn to understand all these things, and to know what the Legion wants from you? It is at the praesidium meeting. The praesidium is like a class. You come and you learn how everything is to be done. The chief teachers are the Spiritual Director and the President, but as well, everybody else must take a part in the meeting. You must not let it be regarded as the type of classroom where only the teacher speaks.
At the praesidium meeting, you must realize that you are all Legionaries; that you are all concerned in the work; and that you must be deeply interested in everything which is taking place. You must not have knowledge pushed down your throat. You must try to gain that knowledge. You must not hesitate to ask for information, and to propose your own point of view.
The most important thing of all is your report to the meeting. This is a way in which junior praesidia often fail. Reports are often very short and very uninteresting. Having heard them, you do not know what the person has been doing, because they have not really told you. Whereas, when a report is given it should paint a picture in everybody's mind. Make the whole thing interesting. If you are doing a routine type of work, it is very difficult to give a new account on it each week. But if you are going to say the same thing week after week, after a while nobody will pay attention. That kills the meeting. Therefore you must make an effort to change what you are saying.
Think of little new circumstances, something which did not happen the week before, no matter how trivial. Make your report different every week. In doing that, you help the praesidium; you help yourself; you make the meeting interesting. As you report, you are teaching the other members to make their reports.
If another member makes a report which is not clear to your mind, ask a question to have it made clear to you. If a discussion arises, all will learn the system from it.
The Purpose of Your Training
So much for the work. Now what is it that you are being trained to do in the world? What is it you are being educated for? It is that when you are bigger, you will go out and tackle the more serious work. You will deal with persons who consider Religion, a small matter, who do not value it, who are satisfied with going to Mass on Sunday. You will also have to deal with people who do not understand Religion. You are being trained for the helping of your neighbour in every possible way.
The Legion puts before you what is called the doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ. It tells you that the Church teaches that Our Lord lives in every person, and what you do to your neighbour, good or evil, Our Lord accepts it as done to Himself. In all the jobs, which the Legion gives you, it keeps on telling you that you are doing them for God; that you are not merely helping a person, but helping God in that person. That is one of the main notions of the Legion. It should always be kept before you, so that you will practice that Doctrine. You must not wait until you are grown-up to practice it. You must practice it now.
In particular you must practice it at home. Generally speaking children in the home are not very nice- a sad thing to say, but I am afraid it is true. What is your attitude to your fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters? When I look back on my childhood, I feel particularly ashamed of a great amount of my behaviour. I did not realize its unworthiness then.
How many of you set out to act as Legionaries in your own homes, looking for work, seeking out ways of helping your over-worked mothers? Very few. That is where the Legion of Mary comes in. It tries to remind you that not only is it your mother, father sister or brother with whom you deal, but with Our Lord, Who is in everyone of them; and that what you are doing to each of them, you are doing to Him.
Think of the struggle your parents have to run the home, how they have to slave to keep you clothed and fed. Their goodness is beyond imagination. But we are not in the least bit grateful; rather we grumble. We object even to do the smallest task at home. "Why is not somebody else asked? You are always asking me!"
That is the opposite of the Legionary spirit. The Legion puts before you that the first place to show the spirit of the Legion is at home. You must see Our Lord in your parents, sisters and brothers. You will set out to help and serve them. You are going to have a difficult time. If your mother sees you are willing to accept work, she will give it to you. You will get more than anybody else. Then you may be a beast of burden - but you will be a true Legionary. With what joy will the Legion, and Our Blessed Lady herself, look upon you!
The Real Test
A Praesidium was started in St. Mary's College, Dublin. It had been running for one year, when one day I met the Superior of the College. I inquired how the Praesidium was getting on. His reply was:
"I am very happy to tell you that it has changed the outlook of the boys. Parents say that the boys are different people. They are helpful where they were never before helpful:' In those boys there must have been a most extraordinary difference, when their parents came along wanting to know what was up. That is a joy for the Legion!
The first place you must show your Legion example and spirit is at home. That is the real test. If it is not breaking out at home, it is no use. Being a Legionary is not being one in spots. So go home and be the perfect Legionary. Help those at home, even if they are not nice to you; be their slave if necessary. The Queen of the Legion sees all that. You are working with her, and will make yourself very dearly loved by those at home, and you will make the Legion of Mary dearly loved too.
Our Lady always with You
A word about Our Blessed Lady. Your Society is called after her - the Legion of Mary. Everything you do is done under the leadership and in the companionship of Mary. Never let that idea out of your mind. Wherever you are, remember that you are working hand in hand with Our Blessed Lady all the time. She will be helping you, and making it more pleasant, and enabling you to do it better. She will bring it up and put it into the hands of her Blessed Son in heaven as your offering. Whatever your job is, she is doing it with you. She is with you at home.
FRANK DUFF