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Legion HANDBOOK D10944_1 26/02/2014 15:53 Page 140

140 THE PATRONS OF THE LEGION CHAPTER 24
St. Gabriel is the Angel of the Annunciation. It was through
him that the compliments of the Holy Trinity were addressed
to Mary; that the mystery of the Trinity was first stated to
man; that the Incarnation was announced; that the
Immaculate Conception was declared; that the first notes of
the Rosary were struck.
Reference has been made above to the concern of St.
Michael for the Jews. Perhaps the same can be said of St.
Gabriel and the Muslims. These believe that it was he who
communicated their religion to them. That claim, though
unfounded, represents an attention to him which he will seek
to repay in a fitting way, that is, by enlightening them in
respect of the Christian revelation of which he was the
custodian. But he cannot by himself effect that trans -
formation. Always human co-operation must play its part.
Jesus and Mary have a strangely dominant place in the
Koran, being shown there almost as in the Gospel but
without any function. That holy Pair will be kept thus waiting
in Islam until someone goes to help them to explain and
assert them selves. It has been proved that the Legion has a
gift in that way and that its members are received with
appreciation by the Muslims. What rich substance for
explanation lies in all that Koran material!
“The scriptures show us one of the highest of heaven’s nobility sent in
visible form to announce to Mary the mystery of the Incarnation.
Mary was asked to become the Mother of God by an angel because by
her divine mother hood she would hold sovereignty, power and
dominion over all angels. ‘It can be said,’ writes Pope Pius XII, ‘that
the Archangel Gabriel was the first heavenly messenger of the royal
office of Mary.’ (Ad Caeli Reginam). Gabriel is honoured as patron of
those who undertake important missions, who bear important news
for God. He bore God’s message to Mary. In that moment she took the
place of all mankind and he was representative of all the angels. Their
dialogue, which will inspire men to the end of time, made a treaty on
which will arise ‘new heavens and a new earth’. How wonderful, then,
was he who spoke to Mary; how wrong it is to reduce his role to one of
mere passive recitation. He had been fully enlightened and gave
evidence of the widest possible resource. Reverent to Mary, he met
fully every enquiry she made, for he was God’s spokesman and trustee.
From the meeting between Gabriel and Our Lady came the renewal of
creation. The New Eve reversed the ruin wrought by the first Eve. The
New Adam, as the Head of the Mystical Body which includes the

angels, restored not only mankind but also the honour of the

angels tarnished by the false angel." (Dr. Michael O'Carroll,

C.S.Sp.)