Allocutio at July Concilium Meeting by Fr. Bede McGregor OP

The Legion and Youth
*******************************
This month the Church will celebrate the 28th World Youth Day. Blessed John Paul II wrote that: ‘World Youth Day is the Church’s Day for youth and with youth. This idea is not an alternative to ordinary youth ministry, often carried out with great sacrifice and self-denial. Indeed, it intends actually to consolidate this work by offering new encouragement for commitments, objectives which foster ever greater involvement and participation. By aiming to foster greater fervour in apostolate among young people, on no account does the Church desire to isolate them from the rest of the community, but rather make them the protagonists of an apostolate which will spread to the other ages and situations of life in the ambit of “New Evangelisation.”

I think it might be useful for us to reflect, in the context of World Youth Day, on the place and role of young people in the Legion. Certainly this is one of the major themes of the Handbook and perhaps today in some parts of our Legion world this is an especially urgent and important topic. Pope John Paul tells us: ‘The principal objective of the World Youth Days is to make the person of Jesus the centre of the faith and life of every young person so that he may be their constant point of reference and also the inspiration of every initiative and commitment for the education of the new generations. This is the slogan of every Youth Day ... the Days have been like an uninterrupted and pressing call to build life and faith upon the rock, who is Christ.’

Let us ask the question: Is one of the principal objectives of every praesidium in all actuality to make the person of Jesus the centre of the faith and life of every young person. Is Jesus the constant reference point and inspiration of every Legion initiative and apostolate? There is absolutely nothing better that the Legion can offer young people, indeed anyone, than a meeting with Jesus. This is the quintessential mission of Mary; this is her eternal apostolate, to give Jesus to every human being. This is therefore the mission and identity of the Legion. This is what Frank Duff means when he says the Legion is pure Christocentrism. This is the key to understanding the Handbook in which we read: ‘References to our Blessed Lord have not been indexed; for every word of this Handbook has Him in mind and therefore he should be found in every part of it. In every place, in every circumstance and happening the legionary should meet Jesus and no less than the poet be able to exclaim: ‘I see his blood upon the rose and in the stars the glory of his eyes.’

Another characteristic of World Youth Days is the spirit of joy. Pope John Paul II writes: ‘World Youth Days have proved themselves to be not conventional rites but providential events, occasions for young people to profess and proclaim their faith in Christ with ever greater joy.’ Let us ask ourselves is joy an authentic characteristic of our Legion meetings? Can we recruit new members especially among the young if there is very little evident joy and friendship in our ranks. Mary is the Cause of our Joy. In union with her we must be a cause of joy if we are going to attract new members, especially young ones to the Legion.

As we know, the quotations in the Handbook from the saints and a whole variety of spiritual writers are carefully chosen and very significant. There is a lovely quotation about St. Francis that really sets a great headline for us legionaries: ‘Francis’ entire life was attended to this basic note of joy. With imperturbable calmness and cheerfulness of mind he sang to himself and to God songs of joy in his heart. His ceaseless endeavour was to keep himself interiorly and exteriorly in a joyous mood. In the intimate circle of his brothers he likewise knew how to sound the pure key note of joyfulness and to make it swell to such full harmony that they felt themselves raised to an almost heavenly atmosphere. The same joyful note pervaded the converse of the saint with his fellow men. Even his sermons in spite of their burden of penance became hymns of gladness, and his mere appearance was an occasion of festive joy for all classes of people.’ I feel sure that Frank Duff kept this ideal before himself and succeeded to a considerable extent to live up to it. He also put it in the Handbook for us legionaries to live it too.

Let me conclude this Allocutio on the Legion and Youth by simply quoting a passage from the Handbook that I think sums up a great deal of the Legion approach to youth: ‘Eligible persons may be deterred from joining because the atmosphere of the praesidium is excessively staid or stiff or otherwise uncongenial to them.

‘The Legion does not restrict its membership to the young, but the young must be specially sought for and catered for. If the Legion does not attract them, it is largely failing in its purpose, for the movement which does not appeal to the young will never exert a wide influence. Furthermore, the young are the key to the future. Therefore, the reasonable tastes of youth must be understood and allowed for. Bright, generous, enthusiastic youth must not be kept out by setting up standards which are inappropriate to the young or which may be nothing else than kill-joy standards.’ Frank Duff could really pack a punch when he needed to do so.
*******************************