Page 188 - 聖母軍團員手冊（英文版，2014年5月-2022年1月更新版）

Legion HANDBOOK D10944_1 26/02/2014 15:53 Page 183

CHAPTER 32 OBJECTIONS WHICH MAY BE ANTICIPATED 183
may be nothing else than kill-joy standards.
(d) The usual excuse: “I have not the time” is probably true.
Most people fill up their time. But it is not with religious
activities; these rank as a last priority. It would represent an
eternal benefit to those persons to make them see that they
are living according to a wrong scale of values. The
apostolate should be a first priority so that some of those
other things would yield place to it.
“A primary law for every religious society is to perpetuate itself, to
extend its apostolic action over the world, and to reach the greatest
possible number of souls. ‘Increase and multiply and fill the earth.’
(Gen 1, 28) This law of life imposes itself as a duty upon each person
who becomes a member of the Society. Père Chaminade thus
formulates this law:— ‘We must make conquest for the Blessed Virgin,
make those with whom we live understand how sweet it is to belong
to Mary so as to induce many of them to join us in our onward
march.’ ” (Petit Traité de Marialogie: Marianiste)

32
OBJECTIONS WHICH MAY BE

ANTICIPATED

1. “No need for the Legion here”
Zealous persons desirous of starting the Legion in a new area
may expect the objection that the Legion is not required in
that particular place. As the Legion is not an organisation for
the doing of any one special type of work, but is primarily for
the development of Catholic zeal and spirit (which can then be
applied to the doing of any work desired), such an objection
usually amounts to a statement that there is no local need for
Catholic zeal—an assertion which sufficiently confutes itself.
According to Père Raoul Plus’ compressed definition, “a
Christian is one to whom God has entrusted his fellow men.”
In every place, without exception, there is vital need for
such an intense apostolate, and this for many reasons —
Firstly, because those members of the flock, who are capable
of it, should be given an effective opportunity of living the
apostolic life. Secondly, because the stirrings of such an