Page 63 - 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 62

62 THE LEGION APOSTOLATE CHAPTER 10
4. THE PRIEST AND THE LEGION
The idea of the priest, with a devoted band pressing round
him to share his labours follows the example of our Lord
whose prepara tion for the conversion of the world was to
surround himself with his chosen ones, whom he tutored and
filled with his own spirit.
That divine lesson was learned and applied by the apostles,
who called on all to help them in the winning of souls. As has
been beauti fully said (Cardinal Pizzardo), it may well be that
the strangers from Rome (Acts 2:10), who heard the preaching
of the apostles on the day of Pentecost, were the first to
announce Jesus Christ in Rome, thus sowing the seeds of the
Mother Church which St. Peter and St. Paul soon after
established officially. “What would the twelve have done, lost
in the immensity of the world, if they had not gathered
around them men and women, the old and young, saying:
‘We carry with us the treasure of heaven. Help to scatter it
abroad’.” (Pope Pius XI)
The words of one Pontiff have been quoted. Let those of
another be added to demonstrate finally that the example of
our Lord and his apostles in relation to the conversion of the
world is divinely meant to form pattern for every priest in
relation to his own little world, be it parish, or district, or
special work:—
“Happening to be one day among a group of Cardinals, the
Holy Father (St. Pius X) said to them:— ‘What is the thing
most neces sary at the present time to save society?’ ‘Build
Catholic schools,’ said one. ‘No.’ ‘Multiply churches’, replied
another. ‘No again.’ ‘Increase the recruiting of the clergy’ said
a third. ‘No, no,’ replied the Pope. ‘What is most necessary at
the present time is to have in each parish a group of laymen at
the same time virtuous, en light ened, determined, and really
apostolic.’ This holy Pope, at the end of his life, counted for
the salvation of the world on the training, by the zeal of the
clergy, of Catholics devoting themselves to the apostolate by
word and action, but above all, by example. In the dioceses in
which, before being Pope, he had exercised the ministry, he
attached less importance to the census of parishioners than to
the list of Catholics capable of radiating an apostolate. He con -
sidered that in any class whatever, chosen ones could be