Page 325 - 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 320

320 GO PREACH THE GOSPEL CHAPTER 40
turn against their fathers in God and drive them from them.
Here is the unique value of the Legion. It represents the priest
and carries through his plans; yet it is of the people, so that it
cannot be kept at arm’s length. It lives the life of the people,
so that the irreligious cannot destroy its work. Nor can they
prevent its approach by the smoke-screen of lies, which can
so easily be raised against a separated order like the clergy

What can they give in return for their life? (Mk 8:37)
What effort shall a man make for the salvation of his
neighbour? Assuredly, it must be a supreme effort — even to
the peril of death, were such necessary. Those great irreligious
areas must be evangelised with no less determination than are
the far-distant mission fields. It is not suggested that those
who cry “hopeless”, or those who allege “danger”, should be
entirely ignored. Possibly something they say will conduce to
the success and to the safety of the Legion campaign. But in
no circumstances should any word of theirs be allowed to
paralyse that attack. Great faith must be shown if mountains
of evil are to be removed: faith akin to that referred to by St.
Ignatius of Loyola when he said that so great was his trust in
God that he was prepared to commit himself to the deep in
an oarless, sailless skiff.
It will be found that martyrdom does not await the
legionaries, but that a remarkable degree of success does await
them. A fair number of souls are actually waiting for the first
direct appeal to them.

A method of approach. — In conditions such as those
supposed, where the most elemental obligations of religion
are being ignored, the first efforts of the legionaries might be
applied to the emphasis ing of that great central requirement
— attendance at Mass. Let a leaflet be secured which sets out
in simple but effective language the beauty and power of the
Mass. If the leaflet bears a coloured picture illustrative of its
subject, its effect will be enhanced. Armed with a supply of
these, the legionaries will undertake a home to home
visitation. To each person who will accept one, a copy of the
leaflet is given, accompanied, if possible, by a gentle
exhortation on devotion to the Mass. Legionaries need not be
reminded that their attitude in all circumstances must be one