We are on a journey, Legionaries!

So in our times today, where in addition to having COVID-19 and lack of fellowship, there’s also political division, sharp political division, rights being violated such as in New Jersey 10 people were arrested for praying in a synagogue, there’s political turmoil, violence, things that we see going on continually in Portland. So in these times that can kind of be frightening, we need to especially pray and not constantly consult social media, constantly we see the anxiety rises as you look at all these stories and things like that. It’s fine to see what’s going on, but we also need to engage deeper in our prayer life. Now more than ever prayer is necessary. And we need to encourage others to pray. We cannot let our faith grow cold. We cannot let our love grow cold.

First our love for one another as Legionaries. We look out for each other. We look out for the sick and the old in our parishes. But before we reach out to them, you, each one of you, look in your heart, and with Our Lady, say, “Fiat, I accept this journey, I accept this journey, my journey now, with the crosses God has allowed in my life.” Because you see, our journey has a destination, and that’s Heaven. There was a slogan for Harley Davidson, “The journey is the destination.” And that’s what a lot of people do; they live just for now, and for pleasure, and just focus on this world. We have to remember that we have a destination, and that’s Heaven.

Just like Frodo in the Lord of the Rings, he went on a journey, an adventure. Why? To destroy the ring of power. He had a purpose. We have to stay focused on our purpose.  We can’t be like the five virgins. The foolish virgins that fell asleep. The virgins that lived for now and didn’t bring extra oil. We have to stay focused on the Bridegroom, on Our Lord. For this we need faith, deep faith in God. God is everywhere. We have to not be afraid because God is with us. He has made a Covenant with us. Never will He abandon us.

Remember like Our Lady, her journey, which was filled with hardships. Just like Jesus was with Mary in her journey, Jesus walks with us in our journey. In the Eucharist, we get to adore Him, receive Him, we get to love Him, in our journey, too, and in Heaven. We abide in Our Lord. We take shelter in Our Lady’s mantle. Pray the Rosary every day, asking for her constant prayers. And when we’ve been receiving these graces, these gifts, our faith needs to be zealous. We need to continue not to be afraid.

Look at parish, look at the people that are in their homes, and as Legionaries, our bread and butter is reaching out, going out. So don’t let the fact that we can’t gather in parishes just shut us down. Remember that a lot of what we do is going out. And people are in their homes now, and maybe they need an image of the Sacred Heart to pray with. Or maybe you can make a little prayer book or something to give them, to grow in their faith and to pray more every day. Maybe it’s an image of Our Lady to bring to the Church. Pray about these things, “How can I bring this idea to my Pastor? Trust in his guidance, and pray for him. Because it’s hard for all of us. So as Legionaries we need to be leaven in these times, to keep the faith alive.

The Legion in some countries, kept the faith alive, when there was a lack of priests and missionaries. This was before the Legion, but in Korea it was laypeople who kept the faith alive when there were no priests. We need to keep the faith alive through prayer, through the Rosary. This is our journey. What is your journey? Your journey is to be a saint. God allows the struggles and the crosses to draw us nearer to Him. And trust through those, He makes us holy. Don’t say, “I can only be a good Legionary, a good Catholic, if we didn’t have COVID-19, if we didn’t have all these problems.” It’s in these, God is calling us to be saints. So let us be happy that we’re in this time together. This time we can bear witness.

Remember this last thought. Mary wants us to not despair. To love our neighbor, to love those that are lost, we pray for them. We love them. We know that if it wasn’t for the grace of God, we too, would be lost. We remember that she calls us to stand firm in our faith, like the mother in the Book of Maccabees. And the mother of seven sons, said “Do not fear this tyrant. God made you. Don’t worry you will die in this life. You have to hold firm to your faith, Sons.” She encouraged her children, and they all held firm to their faith. And Mary is the same way, she loves us, but with a true love, so she wants our true happiness that we hold firm to our faith and become saints, and go to Heaven. That we love God more than our own lives. Because in God is our eternal life. May God bless you. Happy Feast of the Assumption.

We ask St. Maximilian Kolbe to pray for us. He was a faithful follower of Our Lady, and his journey ended in offering his own life in sacrifice. He was in the starvation bunker. He was praying and singing to Our Lady, comforting the other men that were with him. So that we ask Jesus to help us, give us strength to keep loving in these times. God bless you.