Serving

Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico

Legion of Mary

Mater Ecclesiae Senatus of Houston

 

 
Text Box: Fr. Daren’s Allocutio Rev. Daren Bryk, Companions of the Cross Spiritual Director of the Senatus March 2008 The forty days of Lent are days of spiritual renewal and days of deeper spiritual awakening! If we have relaxed some of our previous good efforts to draw close to our God, then this is the time that we are to take them up again. If we have been fortunate enough to hold fast to them, then we are to ask the Holy Spirit and Our Lady to inspire us as to what other practices and works will help us enter into an even deeper relationship with our loving God. As our intimacy with God grows by these practices, we consequently become more zealous and loving Christians, desirous to see the spread of the Kingdom of God. As Legionaries we become more desirous to see the Kingdom of God brought about especially through love and knowledge of Mary because it is Mary who will lead souls more quickly and deeper into the depths of God’s heart and love. One spiritual practice always worthy of more consideration and detail is personal prayer! Other than the daily recitation of the Catena, the handbook does not make obligatory any other daily prayers. The most obvious reason for this is that it may discourage a potential new member of the Legion from joining. However, once accustomed to the discipline of the Legion system and apostolate, the legionary is encouraged to set aside a regular time for daily prayer. For the Christian who is intent on making much progress in the spiritual life, what is an adequate time to spend in prayer daily? The saints tell us to try and spend one hour in personal prayer daily. A rector of a seminary once told his seminarians that if they were getting C’s and D’s in their studies, he would provide them with tutors and whatever help necessary to help them to pass their classes. Continuing he said that although they might be getting good grades, if they were not spending one hour a day in personal prayer, they were probably not called to the priesthood! This man is now a bishop in a diocese that is flourishing wonderfully by all accounts and has more seminarians than many dioceses that are much larger. No doubt his success is a testimony to his own holiness and prayer life. Likewise the legionary who has set a regular time aside each day for personal prayer will end up doing greater things for God, Mary and for the advancement of the Legion. Maybe for some, spending an hour in personal prayer each day might seem like a lot. If so, start with 55 minutes and over time work your way up to an hour! Perhaps for some people a half hour every day would be a good amount of time to start with until this habit is firmly established and entrenched in their daily routine. Prayer should not be seen as a burden but a “joy”. Did Jesus not tell us that the Kingdom of God is like a pearl of great price which one will sell everything to obtain? The Kingdom of God is encountered in the life of prayer. Prayer should become as natural to us as breathing. Certainly it will be dry and difficult at times but it will always lead to joy if we preserve. The rosary should be an essential part of one’s daily prayer that may be included in the time we set aside each day. The individual recitation of the rosary can seen as a regular time of meeting and “chatting” with the Blessed Mother. One should feel free to speak with her about everything that is going on in their heart and life, asking for her wisdom, insight, courage, strength or whatever is needed for our personal lives or ministry with the Legion. Besides the rosary, other elements of prayer should include spending some time for reflection and meditation on scripture even if it be just 5-10 minutes a day. Spiritual reading can be done during this time too as long as it is prayerful and reflective. An adequate time of praise or giving heartfelt thanks to God and the Blessed Mother for all the wonderful blessings bestowed is a wonderful way to use some of our time for prayer. Of course some time also should be spent in looking at our moral failings and asking God for his pardon and as well as His grace and insight to overcome them. There will be times in our personal prayer that we feel God or the Blessed Mother are calling us to just simply and silently rest in their arms, in their eternal embrace and receive their love being poured into our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit. While it is possible to present some of these important elements of prayer it can be difficult to tell anyone with absolute certainty how they should be praying every day because prayer is about relationship and intimacy with an infinite, loving God. Intimacy can never be standardized because everyone is unique and uniquely loved by God. Perhaps some wise words from John Paul II. Once when asked how he prayed, Pope John Paul II responded, “According to the Holy Spirit!” Sufficient to conclude, over time the legionary should become a person of deep and profound prayer, quick to sense, hear and follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. This was the way of the Blessed Mother and should be the way of all her children committed to serving in the Legion of Mary!