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Legion HANDBOOK D10944_1 26/02/2014 15:53 Page 108

108 ORDER OF THE PRAESIDIUM MEETING CHAPTER 18
Most Holy. Therefore, love the Rosary and recite it every day with
devotion: this is the testament which I leave unto you so that you
may remember me by it.” (Pope St. Pius X)
”For Christians, the first of books is the Gospel and the Rosary is
actually the abridgement of the Gospel.” (Lacordaire)
”It is impossible that the prayers of many should not be heard if
those numerous prayers form but one single prayer.” (St. Thomas
Aquinas: on Mt 18)
5. The rosary is immediately followed by Spiritual
Reading, to be given by the Spiritual Director (or in his
absence by the President). Its duration should be limited to
about five minutes. The choice of spiritual reading is free, but
it is strongly recommended that, at least during the early
years of a praesidium, the reading be taken from the
handbook in order to familiarise the members with its
contents, and to stimulate them to study it seriously.
On the conclusion of the reading, it is the custom for the
members to make, together, the sign of the cross.
“Without any doubt, Mary is worthy of blessing by the very fact
that she became the mother of Jesus according to the flesh (‘Blessed is
the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked’), but also
and especially because already at the Annunciation she accepted the
word of God, because she believed it, because she was obedient to God,
and because she ‘kept’ the word and ‘pondered it in her heart’ (cf. Lk
1:38, 45; 2:19, 51) and by means of her whole life accomplished it.
Thus we can say that the blessing proclaimed by Jesus is not in
opposition, despite appearances, to the blessing uttered by the
unknown woman, but rather coincides with that blessing in the
person of this Virgin Mother, who called herself only ‘the handmaid
of the Lord’.” (RMat 20)

6. The minutes of the previous meeting are read and, if
approved by the members present, are signed by the
President. The minutes should strike a sensible mean between
excessive and inadequate length, and shall designate each
meeting by its proper serial number.
The importance of the minutes is stressed under the
Secretary’s duties. The minutes, being the first item of the
ordinary business of the meeting, hold, as it were, a strategic
position. By their quality and the manner of reading them,
they may set the tone, for better or for worse, of all that
follows.