Legion of Mary Melbourne Senatus Australia -Prayer with Action- Catholic Organisation

In the beginning of our Christian era, the Church of the Gentiles was made possible, because both in the Mediterranean area and in those parts of Asia to which the messengers of Jesus travelled, there were expectant people who were not satisfied by what everyone around them was doing and thinking, but who were seeking the light which could show them the way towards truth itself, towards the living God.

In a fast-paced, ever changing world there are many with an open and restless heart, like the first Christians, who seek the light of truth. As in the past, I believe there is a growing realisation that it is not enough to be more or less like everyone else and to think like everyone else. Life has a deeper purpose.

It is time to hold up the Cross of Jesus to a new and restless generation. This Cross speaks of the Truth that prevails not through external forces but it yields itself to us only by the inner force of its own strength and veracity. This is a Truth that proves itself in love. It is never our property, but only received and handed on as a gift.

As Christians we trust the force of this truth. We are witnesses to this truth. We must hand it on as a gift in the same way as we have received it.

For one who is searching, this summons turns into a a spontaneous plea; a plea that is addressed especially to Mary who has given us Christ as her Son:

It is with this plea to the Mother of the Lord that the Legion of Mary carries its apostolate into the world. To Jesus through Mary is the call that lies at the heart of a spirituality that has driven Legionaries for over 80 years.

Thus we can help others find the right path and journey with them, step by step, filled with a joyful confidence that this way leads to the Light to the eternal life that only Jesus can give.

The association of Mary as mother to Jesus her Son finds succinct expression in the Eucharistic Prefaces for the feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Note the key phrases when we pray.

(Preface: Blessed Virgin Mary I)
“Through the power of the Holy Spirit she became the virgin mother of your only Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ WHO IS FOREVER THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD”

(Preface Blessed Virgin Mary II)
“when you looked on Mary your lowly servant, you raised her to be the mother of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord THE SAVIOUR OF ALL MANKIND”

(Immaculate Conception)
“Purest of virgins, she was to bring forth your Son, the innocent lamb who takes away our sins. YOU CHOSE HER FROM ALL WOMEN TO BE OUR ADVOCATE WITH YOU, AND OUR PATTERN OF HOLINESS.”

(Assumption)
“...... The Virgin Mother of God was taken up to heaven to be the beginning and the pattern of the Church in its perfection, A SIGN OF HOPE AND COMFORT FOR YOUR PEOPLE ON THEIR PILGRIM WAY.”

The Sacramental life of the Church opens one to the experience of a genuine encounter with our Lord. We meet, the Christ who forgives, the Christ who heals, the Christ who affirms, the Christ who gives Himself in the ultimate act of self-giving, sacrificial love. The Christ who is Son of God, and Son of Mary.

To appreciate the power of Mary in leading one to discover the Christ, we need to appreciate again and again the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Mystery of Salvation

The role of Mary in the work of man’s Redemption is a mystery revealed by God as part of His great saving plan for the whole human race.

If we wish to explain this mystery of Mary (her greatness, her unique gift) we find a necessary starting point in the words of the text in which Mary explains herself. She says quite simply, without affectation. “My soul glorifies the Lord. My spirit exalts in God my Saviour. For He has looked upon His lowly handmaid. Yes from this day forward, all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me.” Simply God is my Saviour, He who is mighty has done great things for me.

These words are the key to the whole life of Mary, the Mother of God. Mary stands out among the humble and poor of the Lord who confidently hope for and receive salvation from God. In the Sacred books of the Bible, the writings of the Old Testament, she read the history of her people ... a saving history which recorded the mighty deeds of God; the God who led His people from the slavery of Egypt to the land of Promise... the God who is continually active in the some times tragic, sometimes splendid events of Jewish history ... the God who was slowly preparing the world for the great honour of universal redemption... the coming of His Son into the world of men. With Mary, the times are fulfilled. The Son of God takes his human nature from her flesh. In this humanity drawn from Mary’s body, the Son of God lives out a mystery of salvation and redemption. In the experiences of His human life, in the mysteries of His death and Resurrection, He overcomes sin and death, He recreates us, reshaping the body of human lowliness into the body of His glorified and immortal existence. In dying he destroyed our death, our sin. In rising, He restored our life, our glory.

This Christ is the Son of God and child of Mary, His Mother; He is the Redeemer, the Saviour the One Mediator. “For there is one God and one mediator of God and men the person of Jesus Christ who gave Himself a ransom for all.”

The mystery of Mary is an essential part of this saving plan of God. She does not obscure or diminish the unique mediation of Christ; rather she serves the mystery of Redemption and displays the power of Christ’s salvation. Mary bears witness to the redemption. She displays the mighty deeds of God right from the very beginning of her life. At the first moment of her existence she is redeemed from sin by reason of the merits of her Son. She, who is to give flesh and blood to the Son of God is preserved from original sin, given a unique holiness, a unique intimacy with God from the first instant of her life. This is the mystery of the Immaculate Conception.

At God’s command, the young virgin of Nazareth will be addressed by the angel messenger as “full of grace”. Thus, Mary shows forth the mystery of the Redemption at the first moment of her existence by her own deliverance from all sin by reason of the merits of her Son… the God made man.

But the last moment of her earthly existence is just as significant as the first … it falls into the same pattern and manifests the mighty works of God. Her life on earth concludes with the mystery of the Assumption… the mystery of her bodily glorification. In this event she shares in Christ’s victory over death in His Resurrection and Ascension. The flesh of Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer, has been transformed by the power of Christ’s Resurrection: she is the first person in whom the mystery of the Resurrection is fully effective. The glory of Christ’s resurrected Body shines out now in the body of Mary, which reflects, as in a mirror the glory of the new creation. And Mary is assumed into the state of bodily glory fully re-united with her Son and Saviour.

This mystery of the Assumption is consistent with the whole pattern of her life. Through out her life, she served the Mystery of Redemption. As a young woman, she became the Mother of God and gave to the world the Redeemer… the Christ who was to renew all things and re-shape the destiny of Man. As the handmaid of the Lord, she stood by that Cross unwavering in faith, uniting herself with a maternal heart to Christ’s sacrifice, lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim which she herself had brought forth.

Mary was chosen for her singleness of heart, for her purity of character, for her strength of faith. She was promised the strength that she would need to fulfil her high calling. At each step along the journey, she continued to say “yes” because she held a defiant trust in God, the One with Whom nothing is impossible.

Pope John Paul II said in his speech at Ephesus in 1979: “Mary is the ideal model for the Church in her way of life. Through her we pass from the old People of God to the new – from Israel to the Church. She is the first among the humble, the faithful meek awaiting salvation. And she is the first among the saved who hope for the coming of the Lord in humility and obedience. She is the first fruit and the perfect image of the Church.”

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“A BEAUTIFUL STORY TO BE TOLD”

The Legion of Mary in Oceania 1932 to 2005

Joachim O'Brien o.f.m

The astonishing expansion of the Legion founded in the midst of the Great Depression in Melbourne. Within twelve years it expanded to practically every dioceses in Australia. It moved offshore into Japan in 1950; into the Pacific islands 1954; was engaged in the extension of 'Catholic Action' and led an Australia-wide apostolate towards non Catholics. The Legion was actively engaged in the Vatican Council and its aftermath, all leading to the papacy of Pope John Paul II, the Jubilee AD 2000 and to the 'New Evangelisation'. This "Beautiful Story" is not only one of the Legion, but of the Church within these often eventful times 1932-2005…..$7.00 per copy.

Copies of the Book “A BEAUTIFUL STORY TO BE TOLD” are available from

Legion of Mary, Melbourne Senatus, 456 Queensberry Street , North Melbourne 3051 for $7.00 plus postage.

or From Legion of Mary, Arlington Regia 820 Gibbon St. #203 Alexandria, VA 22314 USA

Send mail to melbsenatus@legion-mary.org with questions or comments about this web site.