"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
11:3 PERFECTION OF MEMBERSHIP (pg. 69– pg. 70) Dear Sisters and brothers, as I am writing to you now, we are officially getting into the Holy week. Besides saying peace to you all, I’d also like to invite you to feel for Jesus and His loving Mother as they spent Jesus’ last week on earth and what we can do to exclaim as the pagan centurion found “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Today’s reading is pretty short, yet it is so profound and so connected with last section because God is love, and as a member of Mary’s legion, we need to be perfect.
Starting from the beginning of 11.3, “The Legion wishes perfection of membership to be estimated according to exact adherence to its system, and not according to any satisfaction or apparent degree of success which may attend the efforts of the legionary.”
The handbook has already pointed out that the success of our effort and the satisfaction of its result cannot make us perfect. However, in order to achieve the perfection of membership, there is nothing but to simply adhere to the system of the Legion of Mary.
What is the system of the Legion of Mary?
If we recall, in a previous section titled “AN INTENSELY ORDERED SYSTEM” it states: “the Legion places before its members a mode of life rather than the doing of a work. It provides an intensely ordered system, in which much is given the force of rule that in other systems is merely exhorted or left to be understood, and in regard to every detail of which it enjoins a spirit of scrupulous observance.”
Therefore, membership in the Legion of Mary is essentially based on discipline and commitment, and it is all matter of our attitude. If we do one thing at a time, we do one thing at a time well. If we join The Legion of Mary and become its member, we should commit ourselves and perform our duty well. As long as we commit well in devoting our time and prayer for the intentions of Mary, Mother of God, and serve well for her, “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” (as stated in previous section).
Now the question is how well is well enough in order to achieve the perfection of our membership?
Jesus taught us in the Gospel of Matthew,
“You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.” But Jesus said: “whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.” Jesus wants us to “go first and be reconciled with our brother, and then come and offer our gift.”
“You shall not commit adultery.” But Jesus said: “everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Jesus wants us cut off even the small sins that attach to us without hesitation. He said: “It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.”
“Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.” Jesus said: “But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” That is, Jesus wants us to manage well of our marriage, not to use divorce as the resolution of our own problems.
“Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.” But Jesus said: “do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.” Jesus wants us to be straight and simple in God’s eyes and do things in His favor.
“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But Jesus said: “offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.” Jesus wants us to be humble and love to overcome hatred.
“You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But Jesus wants us to “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.”
To draw to the end, Jesus said: “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
After reading all of the above, we have a very simple conclusion, which is, "to fully fulfill the will of God." This is exactly what Our Heavenly Mother did in her FIAT.
My dear sisters and brothers, allow me to modify a little of Petit Traité de Marialogie’s commands as my understanding of what we are reading.
“Mary has received us into Her Legion as into her loving and maternal bosom, so as to mold us to the likeness of Jesus, and thus make us her privileged sons; so as to assign to us our apostolic task, and thus give us share in her mission as Co-redemptrix of souls. For us, the cause, the interests of the Legion of Mary are identified with the cause, the interests of Mary.”
At last, I’d like to remind you as well as myself, it is so easy for us to ask other people to be perfect or at least to fulfill our expectations of the perfection in our daily life. Let us not do that simply because we cannot control the outcome of the other people. What we can do is to be generous to others, and subject ourselves to strict self-discipline. Amen.
May God bless all of us in His two loving hearts. Dcn. George