Legion of Mary Philadelphia Senatus

Maria Legionis Magazine Update from Philadelphia Senatus:

We have seen a precipitous drop in the number of subscriptions over the course of the pandemic. So we are kindly asking that every Legionary help in keeping our magazine viable.  Maria Legionis Magazine sells no advertisements and is solely dependent on subscription money to stay solvent. Frank Duff had the following to say about the magazine: “…Maria Legionis a most valuable supplement to the Handbook. Actually it is imperative that Legionaries, if they really want to be good members, should read the Legion Journal. If one does not read it, there is a very great tendency to stagnate. Unless members have before them the works and new ideas of other places, they will find that they will tend to lag behind.”

We ask that Praesidia bring up the idea of subscribing to the Magazine at their next meeting and individuals renew their subscription, if by chance it has lapsed, or start a new subscription.

Moreover we are recommending that Councils make a motion at their next meeting to purchase a number of subscriptions in bulk. These would be complementary magazines for Legionaries who may not be acquainted with the magazine, or they may be put in Church magazine racks with permission of the Pastor or may be used as a hand out on assignments.

Our Concilium Correspondent said the following in his June Letter:

“Along with existing subscribers, bulk-buying by the Senatus and attached councils of our magazine for this purpose would be so beneficial for all, for spiritual reading and for moral support at this time.

May I suggest, during this pandemic, the expense for all literature, including the Maria Legionis, should be covered by the Senatus, and attached councils, so that all might be complementary for now, so there will not be any physical contact required by way of payment in such public areas.”

The Maria Legionis magazine subscription form is available on line at https://philadelphiasenatus.org/maria-legionis-magazine/maria-legionis-subscription-form/

Order one copy! Order many copies!

(The nineteenth in a series of meditations on the  Mysteries of the Rosary by Rev. Addisalem T. Mekonnen, Spiritual Director of the Philadelphia Senatus.)

Why is it sometimes in order to move forward in life we have to go back to our beginnings?

During my pilgrimage to the Holy Land, I visited the Church of Dormition which was built because of a Jerusalem tradition that claimed that our Lady died and was assumed into heaven in Jerusalem instead of Ephesus. 

This tradition is based on apocryphal works of the second to the fourth century so their authenticity is uncertain and they are not accepted as part of the Christian canon of Scripture. However, according to biblical scholar Lino Cignelli, “All of them are traceable back to a single primitive document, a Judaeo-Christian prototype, clearly written within the mother church of Jerusalem some time during the second century, and, in all probability, composed for liturgical use right at the Tomb of Our Lady.” My tour guide gave what I thought was a very good explanation of the city’s claim to be the place of our Blessed Mother’ death and assumption into heaven. 

 Fr. Phillipi highlighted the point that Jerusalem is the most important place for a pilgrimage not only for Jewish people but also for Christians who converted from Judaism because this was their practice as Jews. Even St. Paul made it a point to travel back to the Church in Jerusalem for at least one of the special feasts of the Church because this was his custom as a Jew. Therefore, our Lady probably did live with St. John the Evangelist in Ephesus but they both returned for a special feast and then for dormition and assumption into heaven. 

 The main point is that in our journey of faith we can’t be stationary or cut off from our first encounter with Jesus but rather have an ongoing encounter with him and allow ourselves to be led by Him. The external process of moving from place to place doing work for our Lord does not necessarily reveal the interior reality of encountering and following Christ. This worker bee mentality seems similar to what our Blessed Lord was referring to when He refused to command Mary to help Martha. It was obvious that what Martha was doing was both necessary and praiseworthy because she was serving our Blessed Lord’s external needs but the conclusion that Mary was being idle is not true as well. Mary was physically still, but nevertheless she was moving toward Christ and following Him through her act of adoration.  The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

Luke 10:41-42 (NABRE) Martha was called to come back to Christ and choose the better part which is returning to His real presence before going about to follow Him by serving Him in our neighbor.

 I believe this tradition is true in that our Blessed Mother was called to go back to Jerusalem to die there just as Her Son died there and then experience her assumption into heaven. Even our Lady and the Holy Apostles were called by name to go back to their roots in order to encounter Christ again and experience both a death and resurrection. Perhaps for Lent we can try to go back to Jerusalem by going back to whatever spiritual practices helped us to encounter Christ in the past with a new found zeal. Or maybe we can reconnect with people who were instrumental in our conversion to help us find new ways to follow Christ. Our Lady was the first and perfect disciple so let us follow her in order to follow Christ more faithfully in our journey of faith to that heavenly Jerusalem. 

   Fr. Mekonnen

(The eigthteenth in a series of meditations on the  Mysteries of the Rosary by Rev. Addisalem T. Mekonnen, Spiritual Director of the Philadelphia Senatus.)

How the Mystery of Pentecost could be Defined as an Epic?

 The dictionary defines an “epic” as a long narrative poem recounting heroic deeds of a hero and it also has been loosely used to describe novels. Before the development of writing, epic poems were memorized and played an important part in maintaining a record of the great deeds and history of a culture.

 Later, they were written down and the tradition for this kind of poem continued. Epics often feature the following: a hero who embodies the values of a culture or ethnic group; something vital that depends on the success of the hero’s actions; a broad setting, sometimes encompassing the entire world and intervention by supernatural beings. The prime examples of the oral epic are Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

 The book of Genesis is a theological narrative that recounted how God created Adam and Eve for Himself along with the entire universe. Although it isn’t a poem in the strict sense of the word, nevertheless it does illustrate themes that create an atmosphere of mystery and hidden truths that draws the hearer or reader to comprehend the divine values in the context of a tangible human life. It is at Pentecost that the Catholic Church is revealed as the new earthly and Heavenly reality that God calls humanity to become citizens of through the Sacraments of Initiation. 

 In this epic adventure, God created creatures with a free will which was a huge risk because it gave both humanity and angels an opportunity to freely accept or reject God’s infinite love and life. God reveals Himself both in Genesis and the Acts of the Apostles as valuing both eternal life and love. They are in a certain sense book ends in that God, the Blessed Trinity, recreates humanity but not without humanity again freely choosing to accept the gift of this eternal life and love which is a participation in sanctifying grace. The originator, perfecter and ultimate end of holiness is God alone which is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Therefore, on Pentecost, St. Peter and the apostles preached about the epic Paschal Mystery that all are called to accept through the Sacrament of Baptism. The Paschal Mystery is the suffering, death and Resurrection of Christ Jesus and this is an epic narrative in which the listeners are called to have a participation in holiness so that they may become the living tangible oral tradition of this Salvation History. 

 The life of St. Peter and the apostles became different chapters of the same epic narrative as the Holy Spirit began to reveal how they can allow the mystery of Pentecost to inspire them to be faithful witnesses of the Gospel good news of the Paschal Mystery. It is through both the teachings and Sacraments of holy Mother Church that more heroes and heroines are participating in this epic narrative of Salvation History. It is the hope of Jesus our Savior, who embodies everything that our Heavenly Father desires for humanity, to not lose this opportunity we have to live a life in the Spirit that we may reveal this epic narrative in our own journey of faith.

Fr. Addisalem Mekonnen