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Allocutio at the November 2021 meeting

November 27, 2021

Allocutio delivered by Sr. Susan Mary Nsubuga, President Senatus of Uganda

The Souls of Our Departed Legionaies (Handbook Ch. 17)

The title of the Spiritual reading indicates that the departed Legionaries are part of us and they belong to us. They require prayers from each and everyone of us.

Think of the souls crying and asking for your help. How many times have you remembered the souls in Purgatory? Purgatory is a place of pain and suffering. All that souls in purgatory require from us are Mass, prayers and acts of charity among others.

There are numerous graces obtained through praying for the souls in purgatory.

In our Legion prayers, we remember all our departed Legionaries. In November, each Legionary who has passed on is prayed for. It is indeed a blessing to die a Legionary.

Each Praesidium should endeavour to pray for the deceased Legionaries in this month of November and individually, each Legionary should make an effort to pray for our brothers and sisters-the departed.

Allocutio for September 2021

September 20, 2021

Allocutio delivered by Rev. Fr. Lawrence Mandela, Spiritual Director from Muhorro Comitium, Hoima Diocese

Remember, renew, rejoice and Recruit

Allow me Brothers and Sisters to use this time to congratulate us all upon reaching a hundred years mark of the Legion of Mary. As on 7^th Sep 2021. It was on 7^th Sep 1921 when Frank Duff started the Legion of Mary, this we find in the Official Hand Book of the Legion, the very first chapter under the title Name and Origin. It is this chapter we are reflecting on for our allocutio for this month of September. However, September is a special month, rich with the feasts, especially the two feasts of the Exaltation of the Cross on 14^th Sep. and of Our Lady of Sorrows on 15^th Sep. I will therefore try to blend all these together and also integrate them with this Sundays mass readings (25^th Sun. Ordinary Time Year B.)

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 100 years is not yesterday. It is worth celebrating and it is a blessing for us who are present to witness this celebration. So as we try to reflect on this reality, we transport our minds back in time of guided by different writing, especially the Handbook and being driven by the Holy Spirit, we shall find ourselves at the Myra, Francis Street, Dublin Ireland. This was the place for the Legions humble beginnings. It was 8:00 PM 7^th Sep. 1921, that beautiful evening which was the vigil of the feast of Our Lady’s Nativity saw the humble beginnings of our Legion. It saw those beautiful souls, a little group we are told came together, little did they know that they were to be the instruments of the most loving Divine providence. Their being unaware of this, points to the humble beings of the Legion. We are told it was not a thought-out organization. It only sprang up spontaneously. Which force brought it forth if not the Holy Spirit who keeps inspiring His Faithful. Again, what does this phrase ring in our minds? “There was no premeditation in regard to rules and practices, a suggestion was simply thrown out.” This to me shows that the Legion is not a human concoction, but a Divine Working. The Holy Spirit controlled everything. It is why we start the legionary meetings with the invocation of the Holy Spirit. And surely who looking at the whole Legionary System will doubt the Divine hand at work? It is always very absurd for Catholics who fail to enroll as legionaries because of the rules and practices. You will agree with me that orderliness is a sign of Holiness, and smartness is a twin sister to Sanctity. Likewise a disordered life; a life of confusion is the working on the evil one. Is St. James not asking us in our second reading today? (James 3, 16-4,3). “where do all wars among you come from?” He answers this with another rhetorical question, “is it not your passions that make war within your members?” so, sisters and brothers, a life of passions, a life without discipline, without rules and practices will lead only to wars and confusion. The legionary system is invariable because the rules and practices of the legion are by divine inspiration; all rules and laws of course are of God. And since God is love, they are laws of love, and are to be applied and adhered to in love, short of this it is the devils hand. For us legionaries we are an army; The Legion of Mary, modeled on the army of Ancient Rome-well organised and disciplined. But unlike the Roman Army, we are for the service of a spiritual warfare. Ready to render ourselves worthy to our powerful leader Mary Immaculate the Mediatrix of all graces. And this total rendering is through our loyalty, our virtues and courage. Therefore, dear legionaries, if we are to crush the head of that ancient serpent, we have to crush all the disordered passions and lead orderly lives. In the Hand Book we have read that, “the whole life of men, both individual and social shows itself to be a struggle, and a dramatic one, between good and evil, light and darkness.” And surely looking back at the ahundred years since the humble inception of the legion we can testify that the legion has passed through a lot, good and bad, the wars and natural calamities so many to mention. 100 years has not been a walkover.

Here in Uganda as we mark 100 years we are invited to meditate on the lovely theme: Remember, Renew, Rejoice and Recruit. Remember: memory is very important and so sweet to cherish. It helps us to reflect on our lives. So let us use it to see what we have gone through both in our individual lives and socially. Seeing how many milestones we have crossed together; we shall come to know that it has been God and only God who has brought us this far. And we shall also gain confidence to keep moving to the finishing line, irrespective of the hardships provided we are with our Lord. All we are called to do is to surrender all to Jesus, surrender all to Him through Mary. Remembering will help us to appreciate the value of our lives even in hard moments. For if you want to pick Roses get prepared to be hurt by thorns.

Dear legionaries, let us embrace the Cross of our Lord. And as we come to adore, venerate and exalt this Holy Cross; let us approach it with Faith and Courage. Because, the Cross of Jesus is the ‘Tree of Life.’ It brought back life, which we had lost in the garden of Eden through sin. We read in the first Book of the Bible Gen. 2,9 God put in the Garden of Eden, trees good for food. But there He also put the Tree of Life and also the ‘tree of knowledge of good and evil’. God told man never to eat of the tree of Knowledge of good and evil. But that ancient serpent deceived man to eat it, man disobeyed and ate, he sinned. We read in Gen.3,24, God banished man from the garden lest he eats of the tree of life in a state of sin and there remain eternally in a state of sin. God however, out of His great love started a mission of saving humanity. And this was accomplished with the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, who saved us all by His death on the Cross planted at Calvary. The Cross of Jesus is the Tree of Life as we read in the last book of the Bible, Rev.2,7 “…those who prove Victorious I will allow to eat of the tree of life planted in the garden of God.” we legionaries we have to prove victorious, we have a role to play; to carry our crosses daily and follow Him. We prove victorious when we attain our object, the object of the Legion. “The Glory of God through holiness of its individual members, developed by prayer and active cooperation, under the ecclesiastical guidance, in Mary’s and the Church’s work of crushing the head of the serpent and advancing the reign of Christ”. For us life is a battle, a battle we must win. Sin is that fiery serpent that kills; it is only overcome by looking at the poison-less bronze serpent on the tree. Our Lord Jesus who was sinless but put on the Cross to heal those who get poisoned by sin. So let us embrace that cross. Jesus had the most positive attitude of the cross. He took all our sins, upon Himself. In the state of sin and pain we must rush to Him to be healed. Let us have that childlike confidence in him. If we unite our crosses, the sufferings, the pains in life, we get to know that for us Christians all these are moments to rejoice. St. Peter will tell us Rejoice, rejoice when suffering. Do not be upset and angry when suffering. (1 pet. 4,12-19). And st. James will say count it all joy when suffering. (James, 1,2). And St. Paul; ‘I rejoice in my suffering…’ (Col.1,24). So suffering for us Christians is a moment of Joy not being angry. For when there is a cross on our shoulders Jesus is closest to us not far away from us. So, every pain, every suffering we unite it to the Cross of our lord and the sorrows of our Lady. Our Lady of Seven Sorrows. Arch Bp. Fulton J Sheen, in his book, Worlds First Love, Mary Mother of God tells us in Chap. 10 entitled Love and Sorrow that “Our Lord allowed Mary to suffer trials… In order to convince mothers with sorrows that trials can be overcome and that the final issues of life are not solved here on earth. For if the father gave His Son a Cross and the Mother a Sword, then somehow sorrow does fit into the Divine plan of Life.” Therefore, any pain, any suffering, any cross, any sorrow when united with our Lord’s Cross and Our Lady’s sorrows will yield for us life. The head of that ancient serpent will be crashed by our Lady’s Immaculate feet and the reign of Christ advanced by ever raising His Cross in Victory. The Cross of Christ is for us not a shame, not a destruction, nor a rejection, not a punishment or defeat, but a victory. “Christians are the only people in history who know that the story of the universe has a happy ending” (Fulton j. Sheen). For us legionaries we are fully aware of this fact the reason we pray, ‘…the battle of life over our legion may reassemble without the loss of anyone.’ Our mother Mary knew it too and she sang of it in the Magnificant. We are to imitate her, we are to remember God’s Mercy and rejoice. This will help us to renew. What we fail to understand in life, we keep in our hearts and offer to Mary. We keep meditating and praying over it until God fulfils His hidden plans in our lives. Unfortunately, human tendency is to complain about every pain, to tell our sorrows to everyone else except God.

Our life as Christians is of self-sacrificing love. A life without self-sacrifice, without love is the source of Life’s greatest tragedies. Check what happened in Rwanda Genocide, and the World wars. Let us at 100years get our Rosaries and pray and pray to Our Lady for healing of the World, for Renewal. This is a moment to remember and renew and rejoice. True renewal is to remember and forgive all. Our Lady remembered all in her heart and kept praying over everything. She is calling us to pray for the healing of humanity. To unite all sorrows and pains in the world to her seven sorrows by praying the chaplet of seven sorrows. This is not the time to put our weapons down. No retreat no surrender. Even @100years the battle is actually starting afresh. Thus, this whole year of the centenary celebration up to 7^th Sep. 2022 is of intensifying the battle. It is of identifying the enemy. Just identify the enemy, do the divine positioning and shoot. The Rosary is a powerful weapon; a lot has been accomplished in the annals of history through this powerful prayer. It is a summary of the Gospel. It makes us remember divine mysteries, it renews us, it makes us rejoice, and it recruits. Therefore, it is our way to go @100years.

Rejoice: rejoicing is got from true happiness as opposed to worldly pleasures (passions). The ancient serpent pretending to be good, offers only worldly pleasure and takes away our true happiness. The devil is a liar and father of all lies. He lied to innocent Eve but cannot try it on Mary, lest he puts his head in danger of getting crushed. To rejoice let us avoid sin. We must ask the intercession of St. Joseph to keep us chaste and pure in heart, mind and soul. Then shall fully rejoice when we attain our absolute good; God himself. Otherwise, here on earth we still confess with St. Augustine, “my heart is restless until it rests in Him.” To succeed in all this we must travel with Jesus in this life’s journey. As we have heard in the Gospel text today (Mk. 9,30-37). ‘Jesus was journeying with His disciples in Galilee’. It is good to be in the company of Jesus always because He keeps teaching us and telling us secrets. We know that it is in Galilee where Jesus starts His mission and many times he went back there, even after His resurrection sent His disciples there. Going back to our roots, remembering is very important for us. The humble roots of the school of Jesus, and of the School of Mary. The root of Humility. The same humble roots of the Legion of Mary. A simple starting with a very big ending. Because of humility, in the Gospel today ‘Jesus did not want anyone to know that He was around’. Jesus is teaching us Legionaries to always be humble. ‘The Spirit of the Legion is of Mary herself; her Profound Humility…’. And more so to our officers Jesus is telling us today ‘If anyone wishes to be first, he/she shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” And let us receive this child Jesus which Jesus is placing in our midst today.

Lastly as we celebrate these 100years of this international Roman Catholic Lay Apostolic Movement. It is a sweet knowledge to learn that there is over 10million Legionaries Worldwide. And in Uganda as we clock 83years of the Legion on 24^th Sep. since 1938, we are over 400,000 legionaries. But what could have happened if there was no recruiting? So, to keep the legion alive and strong we must recruit, recruit and recruit. We need to enlarge the territory in South Sudan, enlarge the territory in Eastern and Northern Uganda and indeed enlarge the territory everywhere. Not forgetting the young ones. It is a beautiful thing to introduce our children to Mother Mary. Let us recruit them before the devil snatches them.

Remember, Renew, Rejoice, and Recruit.
Our Lady of Sorrows: Pray for us!

Allocutio for August 2021

August 15, 2021

Allocutio delivered by Rev. Fr. Ronnie Mubiru, Assistant Spiritual Director, Senatus of Uganda

Every August on the 15^th, it is an important feast for the Legionaries as we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

As we meditate in the glorious mysteries, Mary was assumed into heaven-body and soul. We pray for blessings from God through Mother Mary.

Congratulations to those named Assumpta. Happy feast day.

We celebrate the assumption in the moment of hardship where we cannot convene and gather and pray and chant songs of Mary and participate in Mass but again, we believe that the hand of God up there raised for you and me to be blessed, encouraged. Let’s not loose heart and courage. May we pray the rosary always. May we encourage each other. May we assist the elderly always.

This assumption comes at a time when we are preparing for the Centenary Celebrations-100 years of the existence of the Legion of Mary. We are in preparations. As you are well aware, on the 7^th September 2021, we shall be led by the Apostolic Administrator, Rt. Rev. Paul Ssemogerere in a Mass that is going to kickoff the Celebrations of the Centenary. Congratulations to you Legionaries in advance.

The Centenary is a moment for you and me to meditate on things like, when I enrolled in Legion of Mary, how have I moved? How has Legion of Mary added on my Spiritual life? How many Legionaries have I brought? How many people have I made leave the Legion of Mary? -our actions and behavior some times may lead to someone leaving the Legion.

Let us pray for each other, for the Legionaries who are sick, for the souls of Legionaries who have gone before us due to CoVID-19 or other illnesses and we pray for the better celebrations of the Centenary.

Allocutio for July 2021

July 18, 2021

Allocutio delivered by Rev. Fr. Kanamala Vincent Kibuuka, Spiritual Director from Kabuwoko Comitium, Masaka Diocese

Regular and punctual attendance at the weekly meetings of the Praesidium (Handbook Ch. 33 Section 1)

Meditating on the Spiritual Reading, in her book, “Let’s stop meeting like this”, Emily Axelrod says that the tools to save time and get more done (makes this observation), no matter what role you play in a meeting, how you show up is critical to the meeting’s success.

How can one fulfill this obligation in a passive manner when we are locked down? The handbook in Chapter 11 section 1 clearly puts the primary means of personal holiness. You can attend as many meetings but if our personal holiness is not nourished, our membership may not bear fruit.

This has come at the right time when we have to exercise passive attendance of our Senatus meeting. Our Spiritual role has been tasted. We have been scared-we have been scattered as the first reading of this 17^th Sunday in ordinary time has told us (Jer 23:1-6). We are like the sheep without a shepherd; that’s from the Gospel (Mk 6:30-34). The Lord is giving us the way-leave the crowd and have time for the Lord.

The readings of Sunday and the Spiritual reading call us to cling to Jesus our Master. Let disease not break us from our source of life and hope; He is our Healer-He is our Doctor-He is our life-He is our Saviour. Let us deepen our souls, our doubts, our troubles in His Most Precious Blood for It sustains, heals and guides us.

Our Spiritual Life heals automatically our bodies-our sick bodies because the Lord cannot dwell in a sick body. Let us use the moment of this fear and lockdown, to seek the Lord for He is always waiting for us but He is not seeing us. Let us come up to stop pretending that we are praying yet we are not. Let us be more serious with prayer dear friends. Let us pray every day-the rosary-our Christian Prayers.

May the intercession of our Lady of the Scapular help us to keep our sole obligation of the Legionary duty most faithfully.

LISTEN to the Audio recording through THIS LINK