Allocutio 05 May 17- Legion Handbook page 84-85 chapter 14 “The Praesidium”
A copy of “The Official Handbook of The Legion of Mary” can be found in the following link
A copy of “Theology of the Apostolate” by Cardinal Suenens can be found in the following link
When I first came to know IKEA, I instantly fell in love with their furniture. Yes, they are comparably cheaper than others. Yes, their display are fantastic and attractive, so much so that I’ve always felt that they are designed to make us buy things we don’t really need. But that is not what amazed me the most. It was their user-centered mindset. Not only they are making their items easy to assemble (coupled with those clear instruction/guide), they also are packing it as compact as possible. Customers don’t need to worry so much about spending days setting up their new table/cabinet/drawer, or thinking on how to store them away when they don’t need it any longer.
As legionaries, we are already privileged than any other lay Catholics, simply by the fact that we belong to a praesidia. The Praesidium system is well organized and, just like IKEA, it is always giving clear instructions as to what should be done & how. This, in return, would enable legionaries to channel more time & effort into doing the apostolic work, rather than wasted on “setting up the cabinet”.
Cardinal Suenens, in his book “Theology of the Apostolate”, described that legionaries are called to do “strenuous” and “disciplined apostolic work”. It is in line with the following part of our legion’s promise:
“I will submit fully to its discipline
which binds me to my comrades
and shapes us to an army
and keeps our line as on we march with Mary”
Tough work, that is!
Imagine this. You are given the challenge to prepare a special dinner for 2 persons in just 3 hours. The time would only be enough to cook up those unique menu, and yet you spent it to: figure out where the table & chair is, finding the utensils to cook, buying the ingredients. So much time is spent on other “pre-works”, and lo! not much is left for the actual cooking itself. The same thing would happen to legionaries and their apostolic work, if they weren’t supported by their Praesidium.
So let us rejoice, because with all its strict rules & guidelines, being in the praesidium actually helps us to care only for what matters.