What is a promise? A promise is “a declaration or assurance that one will do something or that a particular thing will happen.” It is a pledge, an oath, a commitment, a covenant.

 

We hear promises. We make promises. Some promises are kept. Some promises are broken. Broken promises can break trust. They can break hearts. We put a lot of value on promises, sometimes to a fault. We expect people to keep their word, and such an expectation is built on love and trust.

 

Promises, ideally, are self-less, that is probably why we value them. When someone makes a promise, it is more about others than himself. It takes a lot to make a promise. It is a vow. It is a covenant with someone else.

 

When Mother Mary committed herself to God, she made a promise of devoting herself and her life to God. It wasn’t an easy promise to make. She was young. She was about to marry the love of her life. She had her future ahead of her.

 

But a promise is best evaluated by action rather than words. What is important about word of honor is honoring one’s word. Mother Mary never abandoned her promise, no matter how difficult it was. She embraced her union with the Holy Spirit wholeheartedly. She consecrated herself to the Lord. Her covenant paved the way for our salvation. She made, and kept, her promise.

 

 

In our everyday life, we make promises. But do we always keep them?

 

Proverbs 25:14 says: “A person who promises a gift but doesn’t give it is like clouds and wind that bring no rain.” When we break promises, we also break other people’s trust.

 

If we are to follow Mother Mary’s example, we have to honor our word and keep our covenant sacred. But then, as I was reflecting on this, it also dawned on me that while Mother Mary made a promise, God also made a promise to her. God also empowered Mother Mary by blessing her with a family and a community that helped her keep her promise.

 

So when someone makes a promise, we also need to think about what we can do to help that person. What makes promises self-less then is not just the person committing to others, but others committing to helping the person, too. A promise, a commitment, a covenant is therefore sacred because it brings people together.

 

Today, as we make this promise, may we always remember and value this commitment to our legion and to our Mother Mary. May we keep our word, keep our faith, and keep our fervor in being active and dedicated members of her army.

 

Keeping this promise might not always be easy, but may we find comfort that we, as a community, as a legion, can help one another in reminding us of our covenant, as Mother Mary kept her promise to God, so did God also keep His promise to Mother Mary and to humanity.

 

Promise, however, has another meaning. Promise also means “the quality of potential goodness.” When we think something good is going to happen, we say: “That’s promising.” When a child is doing well, we say: “This child has a promise.”

 

It is quite interesting to note how one word, promise, can have two meanings.

 

When we refer to the Legionary Promise, we can think not just of the promise our members will make, but also the promise that comes with this prayer. The Legionary Promise reminds each legionary not only of the promise that Mother Mary made when she embraced her union with the Holy Spirit, but also of the promises she continues to make and keep as she leads us to her son Jesus. But the Legionary Promise is also a formal welcome to membership into the legion that comes with a hope that every addition to the army brings yet another promise to the fulfillment of the legion’s mission.

 

A promise refers to a covenant. It also refers to the potential for goodness. Today, as we make our promise, may this also be the start of something promising.