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Legion HANDBOOK D10944_1 26/02/2014 15:53 Page 206

206 BASIC DUTIES OF LEGIONARIES CHAPTER 33
to its logical conclusion, implies mortification because it
means taking trouble to put friends right with kindness and
delicacy. “I have become all things to all people” says St. Paul
“that I might by all means save some.” (1 Cor 9:22) The
efforts needed to check dangerous tendencies and cultivate
good habits also serve as atonement for our sins and the sins
of others in the Mystical Body. If Christ the Head suffered on
account of our sins, it is only right that we should be in
solidarity with him; if Christ the innocent one paid for us the
guilty, surely we the guilty have to do something our selves.
Every fresh evidence of sin inspires generous Christians to
make positive acts of reparation.
(c) Sacraments
Union with Christ has its source in baptism, its further
develop ment in confirmation and its realisation and potent
nourishment in the Eucharist. As these sacraments are dealt
with elsewhere in the handbook, here mention should be
made of the sacrament in which Christ continues to exercise
his merciful forgiveness through one who acts in his person –
a Catholic priest. It is variously called confession, penance,
reconciliation. Confession, because it is a frank acknowledge -
ment of sins committed; penance because it denotes change;
reconciliation, because through the sacrament a penitent is
reconciled with God, his Church and all mankind. It is closely
linked with the Eucharist, because Christ’s forgiveness comes
to us through the merits of his death – the very death we
celebrate in the Eucharist.
Let every legionary avail of Christ’s invitation to meet him
personally in his sacrament of reconciliation and to do so
frequently and regularly, “for by this means we grow in a true
knowledge of ourselves and in Christian humility, bad habits
are uprooted, spiritual negligence and apathy are prevented,
the conscience is purified and the will strengthened, salutary
spiritual direction is obtained, and grace is increased by the
efficacy of the sacrament itself.” (MC 88) Through
experiencing the benefits of the sacrament of reconciliation
legionaries will be encouraged to share them by inviting
people to confession.
To summarise, the salvation of souls and their sanctification
as well as the Christian transformation of the world come