The International Eucharistic Congress and the Legion

Concilium Allocutio January 2012
By Fr. Bede McGregor O.P.
Spiritual Director to the Legion of Mary

The International Eucharistic Congress and the Legion

Over the last two years and more the Officers of Concilium have discussed the best possible ways the Legion might be able to participate in and promote the International Eucharistic Congress to take place in Dublin in June 2012.

Despite numerous other urgent and important issues that the Legion has to deal with on a monthly and indeed a daily basis we have tried to give a significant amount of time, thought, planning and energy to the preparation for the Eucharistic Congress.

In the providence of God the last time the IEC took place in Dublin 80 years ago was a time of great grace for the worldwide Legion. Bishops, priests and laity came to Dublin from all over the world and many of them took the Legion back with them to their own countries. The Universal Church discovered this new movement of the lay apostolate gifted with a dynamic harmony between prayer and action, both christocentric and profoundly Marian and totally dedicated to the Holy Spirit. There were many other attractive features of its spirituality and organisation that became known and the Congress was seen as the great Epiphany of the Legion. Now we have another IEC in Dublin and we pray that we will be open to all the graces that the Lord will offer the Legion at this time. We pray that the worldwide Legion may be given the grace to cooperate fully with our Eucharistic Lord during this special time of grace for the whole Church.

The primary focus of the Legion apostolate is, of course, the Eucharist. The Handbook puts it very forcefully: ‘The Eucharist is the centre and source of grace: therefore, it must be the very keystone of the legionary scheme. The most ardent activity will accomplish nothing of value if it forgets for a moment that its main object is to establish the reign of the Eucharist in all hearts. For thereby is fulfilled the purpose for which Jesus came into the world. That purpose was to communicate himself to souls so that he might make them one with him. The means of that communication is chiefly the holy Eucharist. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (Jn 6:51-52)’

The position of the Legion is so clear and persuasive: its main objective is to establish the reign of the Eucharist in all hearts. Why is that so? Because the Eucharist is the infinite good. For it is the gift of Jesus Himself. The very purpose of the existence of Mary is to give Jesus her Son to every human person. To Jesus through Mary. So it is also the privilege and task of every co-worker of Mary to give Jesus to souls and there is no better way than to lead them to the Eucharist. The Handbook is merely echoing the solemn teaching of the Magisterium which repeatedly says that ‘the Eucharist is the source and summit of the total work of evangelisation.’ In the light of these few sentences we should begin to see how fundamental the Eucharistic Congress is not only to the whole Church but in a special way to the Legion.

There are many references to the Eucharist in the life of the Legion in the Handbook, but I would especially recommend the four sections of chapter eight. It would be a wonderful thing if every praesidium and indeed higher councils throughout the Legion world would read and study and pray this chapter of the handbook as a personal preparation for receiving the graces of the Congress. To do that would already be a source of great Eucharistic renewal for each of us legionaries.

Let me conclude by once more quoting the Handbook and inviting you to pray over it often: ‘Mary is the mother of that Mystical Body. As she once anxiously attended to the wants of her Christ-child, so now she yearns to feed that Mystical Body, of which she is, no less, the Mother. How her heart is anguished at seeing that her babe, in his Mystical Body, is hungry - even starving - by reason of the fact that few are nourished as they should be with the Bread Divine, while many do not receive it at all. Let those, who aim to be associated to Mary in her maternal care of souls, share her maternal anguish, and strive, in union with her, to allay that hunger of the Body of Christ. Every avenue of legionary action must be availed of to awaken knowledge and love of the Blessed Sacrament and to dissipate the sin and indifference which keep men from it. Each Holy Communion brought about is truly an immeasurable gain. Through the individual soul, it nourishes the entire Mystical Body of Christ, and causes it to advance in wisdom and growth and grace with God and men. (Lk 2:52)’ That is a truly magnificent passage in the Handbook. Read it slowly and often and even more pray it and put it into action.

May this year of the Eucharistic Congress be a year for the renewal of the Eucharistic apostolate of the Legion. Amen