16 October, 2016: Rev. Frank Giuffre/Philadelphia Senatus
Reading: Handbook, p. 15 (Chapter 4, Section 4: “Must ‘live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us’.”)
Most of us have probably heard of the story of St. Francis who was one day walking the roads and came upon a repulsive-looking leper, full of rot and sores. Francis, horrified by the sight, was tempted to run away in utter disgust. But catching himself, he turned instead and ran up to embrace this unfortunate man, seeing the image of Christ behind the disfigurement and stench.
If we are honest enough to admit it, we have our own “lepers” in this life. We may even run into them daily. They can be various people we just do not “care for.” But they can also be situations we despise, duties we prefer to avoid, or places we honestly abhor entering. Yet, as this story of St. Francis reminds us, it is precisely in these faces, places, and spaces of time that we will likely encounter the person of Christ who never promised a meeting only in the best of conditions, but did in fact say He would be found in “the least of [His] brethren” (Mt 25:40) – and that means among the most unfortunate of people and circumstances. Therefore to “run” from them equates to running from Him.
Our Handbook reading today reminds us that real love “must be more than appearances,” but a “readiness to give oneself entirely” (H, 15). And we do not “give ourselves entirely” when some person, some situation, some assignment, or some location is considered “off limits” in our practice and service. Legion members must be willing to lay aside selfish preferences and concerns when the good or salvation of a soul is at stake. They must embrace and not race from the challenging. They must not draw “lines in the sand” which indicate how far they are willing to go. Instead the legionary must be willing to venture forth to whomever and wherever they are drawn by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Mother of God, letting nothing stand in the way. Only those of such generous love and service will do “really fruitful work” (H, 15) for souls and realize the aim specified in our “Standing Instructions”: to “see and serve the person of Jesus Christ” (H, 109) – and to do so wherever He chooses to appear, not just where we want Him to appear!
Today, I would like to ask each of us to consider who – or rather – what is our Legion “leper?” Which are the works of the Legion, who are the objects of Legion love, and what are the Legion assignments that we avoid, refuse to accept, fail to include among the apostolates of our praesidia, and ultimately flee from? Maybe it is “doing the difficult work” of evangelization. Maybe it is visiting a nursing home or hospital. Maybe it is making the effort at extension. Maybe it’s organizing a junior praesidium. Maybe it’s having to do crowd contact. Maybe it’s spiritually assisting individuals of a certain race, economic class, or age. If we want real change in the Legion, if we want to grow the Legion, and if we want to be more effective in our mission in the Legion, we must identify these lepers and – here’s the tough part – we must embrace these lepers with joy and resolve, rather than run from them. These lepers show us where our Legion love needs to deepen and how we can give of ourselves more generously in the service of Jesus and Mary, extending our reach in our work for souls.
The great mystic, St. Gertrude, had many visions of our Lord. One of these happened during “Mardi Gras.” St. Gertrude begged Our Lord to tell her how she could be of some service to Him then so as to make up for the sins committed during those decadent days before the start of Lent. Our Lord answered: “My daughter, you will never do me a greater service than that of patiently bearing, in memory of My Passion, whatever tribulation befalls you, whether internal or external, and of always trying to do those things which are most contrary to your desires” (emphasis added). If we in the Legion really want to make Our Lord happy, why not fulfill His own wishes? Why not face squarely what we find “contrary to our desires” in the Legion? For it will likely be that, in embracing those “Legion lepers,” we will almost surely embrace of our Legion Lord.