"Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?" - Song of Songs 6:10
11:2 AN INTENSELY ORDERED SYSTEM (pg. 68– pg. 69) Dear Sisters and brothers, peace to you all.
As temperatures plunged and snow and ice whipped the state last week, much of Texas’ power grid collapsed, followed by its water systems. Power outages spiraled through the winter storm ultimately cutting off more than 4 million people. Grocery stores shut down, hotel rates skyrocketed, frozen pipes burst across the state, and the water that did come out of the tap was often undrinkable due to dangerously low water pressure levels. At one point, an estimated 13 million people were under a boil-water order, this was nearly half of Texas’ population. For those people who fled to the homes of relatives, neighbors, or hotels had to also consider the risks of contracting or spreading the coronavirus.
I reiterate our situations last week because we have all seen how very important it is to have properly functioning power and water systems to mitigate the risk from threatening storms, thereby reducing loss of life and property damage.
In the handbook, it also mentions the importance of the order and systematic way of LOM. The book says the LOM provides an intensely ordered system… “it promises, in return, perseverance and conspicuous growth in the qualities of Christian perfection, namely, faith, love of Mary, fearlessness, self-sacrifice, fraternity, prayerfulness, prudence, patience, obedience, humility, gladness, and the apostolic spirit.”
Even with the best system in place it still needs people to operate and maintain it properly to facilitate the best usage, and ensure a prolonged life.
As far as how to have proper management and usage, the handbook states:
1. Provision sufficiently. 2. Make it a mode of life rather than the doing of a work. 3. Serve endeavoring since it is the very backbone of our whole spiritual life. 4. Form the pattern for workers in common and, other things being equal. 5. Discipline in the interests of efficiency, not overdoing it, and narrowing the appeal of the organization. 6. We all need to view the object of LOM as the permanent lay organization.
Let us also add #7, that is, pray and ask for higher intercessions that come directly from our Mother Mary and submit ourselves for the sake of humble and obedience.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, under the direction of Mother Mary, and the leadership of LOM, let each one of us pick up our responsibilities to operate and maintain the system so that we don’t waste our enthusiasm and zeal for the continuation of this beloved LOM.
May God bless all of us in His two loving hearts. Dcn. George