THE Acies is an annual function of the Legion of Mary that all members consecrate themselves in individual and collective solemn expression of their union and dependence on Mary, its Queen. The Sacred Heart Shrine was a sea of spiritual warriors in white last Sunday.
The allocution of Bishop Vicente Navarra of the Diocese of Bacolod reminds all legionaries that Mary requires a substantial work to be performed by its members weekly. This substantial work is embedded in spiritual and corporal works of mercy. To feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to harbor the harborless, to visit the sick, to ransom the captive, to bury the dead, to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to admonish sinners, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive offences willingly, to comfort the afflicted, and to pray for the living and the dead.
Legionaries should not be content on just being Catholics in church but they should be Catholics in the streets. The legionaries have the task of selling Christ and His gospel to the people. A legionary is an apostle of Christ and being a part of Mary’s legion, a legionary must stand up, be strong with our work.
In the Extraordinary Year of Mercy, where there is an emphasis on the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, the good Bishop reiterates that weekly assignments which are actually both corporal and spiritual works of mercy should be performed with more vigilance. Furthermore, he stressed that legionaries should be present among the poor.
Who are the poor? The poor are not boxed to the penniless or the homeless. The poor are found everywhere in regular homes and even in mansions. They are ubiquitous in the community-couples living in disharmony, children engaged in drugs and conflict with the law, juvenile delinquency, relationships severed by the lure of the world, government officials whose idea was to serve the public but have been corrupted with monetary desires, syndicates engaged in white slavery, and sex trafficking. The list goes on.
They are in need of help. They thirst; they hunger to return to the right path. They need an ear to listen to their woes; they need a hand to guide them.
This task is brought upon the legionary. It is a daunting task. To bring people back to Christ – to feel His presence which is so lost in this narcissistic world of self-gain and personal achievement.
A return to Christ starts by separating ourselves from the chains of vices and sins. Cutting ourselves from sin is the biggest stumbling block of feeling the presence of God in our lives. Evil is a relentless foe. Where there is reparation, the more he creeps into the very bowels of transformation.
That is why the Lord always sends His mother in the most precarious and perilous situations. Mary stood steadfast in hardship, in uncertainty, in pain and in sorrow. Like her, we can be brave and steadfast in trials, in frustrations, in doubt and in confusion, in agony and in illness. Like her we can say: THY WILL BE DONE!
Pope Francis has declared the Extraordinary Year of Mercy. Why extraordinary? A Year of Mercy takes place every centennial. Since the distance of a hundred years is too long, it was reduced to every 25 years. It is only the 15th year since the last year of mercy. But the world is in chaos. Hatred, killings, bombings, corruption, ruthlessness, and nastiness rule the universe.
The Year of Mercy is to shout to the world that God is present and abundant in His love. That He disposes of His mercy to all and that mercy has no bounds. As He indulges, so too must we fly to Him in repentance and renewal.
While the Acies was purely a legionary consecration to Mary and to be apostles of Christ, the formidable task is not limited to members of Mary’s legion. It is a challenge, a call for all to partake in this change to do what is good, decent, caring, generous and loving to everyone.
The Catholic Church is a church militant - militant in its pursuit to fight evil; militant to contest corruption-Militant not in active aggression but in gentle persuasion; militant to bring back Christ in our lives. Are we up to the challenge?