Page 329 - 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 324

324 GO PREACH THE GOSPEL CHAPTER 40
Church’s mission. One of the main objects of the Legion
system will be the bringing home of this responsibility to
each legionary, and the fitting of each one to bear it
creditably.
Among the duties found suitable for legionaries in the
mission situation are: (a) preparing the missionary’s periodic
visits to isolated stations; (b) instructing catechumens and
seeking new ones and encouraging their regular attendance;
(c) encouraging careless and lapsed Catholics to return to the
full practice of the faith; (d) conducting para-liturgical
services; (e) acting as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy
Communion; (f) caring for the spiritual needs of the dying
and for their Christian burial. Local needs will suggest other
examples of spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

Must legionaries be advanced in religious knowledge?
The degree of knowledge depends on the kind of work
required. Certainly for winning converts and encouraging their
perseverance a basic knowledge of the faith suffices. This is
amply illustrated by the rapid spread of the Church in its early
days. In many cases conversions were brought about by the
little, feeble and oppressed members of that powerful, rich and
enlightened society in which they lived. Here we do not speak
of formal instruction, which is always necessary, but of the
effort of one heart to pour its supreme possession into another
heart. It is accomplished most effectively when like deals with
like, but experience shows that social barriers can be readily
crossed. Each convinced Catholic, however imperfect his
knowledge, has a certain mental picture of his faith and
possesses the capacity to convey this impression to the mind of
another whom he seeks to influence. But he will not exercise
that capacity unless moved to do so by force of organisation or
other strong impulse. The Legion system provides that driving
force through motivation and apostolic assignments. As a result
of his formation, a member on his own initiative is likely to be
on the lookout for opportunities to communicate his faith.

The Legion means Mary at work
The introduction of the Legion means the application to
the work of the mission of two great forces: (a) the principle
of methodical organisation, which is always attended by

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