Prayer for the Beatification of the Servant of God Frank Duff
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people of many religions and none. One Curia reported preparing around 50 children and adults for First Holy Communion. Trinidad and Tobago Regia: Our Lady Refuge of Sinners Curia, San Fernando has 7 praesidia attached with 75 active and 461 auxiliaries and 6 junior praesidia. Among works done are home and hospital visitation and teaching catechism. The Regia is recruiting-conscious, and 6 Catholics schools were visited with the hope of starting a praesidium. Mother of the Church Curia, with 8 senior and 2 junior praesidia, carries out home and hospital visitation. 15 lapsed Catholics were brought back to the faith, 15 adults received Baptism and 45 children made their First Holy Communion. PUERTO RICO The hurricane caused great damage. They are finding it difficult coping with the disasters. The Virgen Islands has l Curia and 4 praesidia. Much prayer is needed. Prayer for the Beatification of the Servant of God Frank Duff God our Father, You inspired your servant Frank Duff with a profound insight into the mystery of Your Church, the Body of Christ, and of the place of Mary the Mother of Jesus in this mystery. In his immense desire to share this insight with others and in filial dependence on Mary he formed her Legion to be a sign of her maternal love for the world and a means of enlisting all her children in the Church's evangelizing work. We thank you Father for the graces conferred on him and for the benefits accruing to the Church from his courageous and shining faith. With confidence we beg You that through his intercession you grant the petition we lay before You................. We ask too that if it be in accordance with Your will, the holiness of his life may be acknowledged by the Church for the glory of your Name, through Christ Our Lord, Amen. All Legion Councils, praesidia and individual legionaries are encouraged to actively promote the Cause of the Servant of God, BULLETIN - April 2018 Frank Duff, through the widespread dissemination of the Frank Duff Telephone: 872 3153 & 872 5093 prayer leaflets, through the organizing of Frank Duff prayer groups Fax: 872 6386 and the holding of Masses to commemorate his life. This prayer can Website: http://www.legionofmary.ie be obtained from the Legion of Mary website www.legion-of-mary.ie email: [email protected] CONCILIUM LEGIONIS MARIAE Favors attributed to the intercession of The Servant of God, Frank Duff De Monfort House should be reported to: Morning Star Avenue Legion of Mary Brunswick Street De Montfort House Dublin 7, Ireland Morning Star Avenue North Brunswick Street Dublin 7, Ireland 12 Concilium Allocutio April 2018 By Fr. Bede McGregor OP praesidium. Visitation of a nursing home, the housebound, transporting people to Spiritual Director to the Legion of Mary Mass, circulating the Pilgrim statue, visiting funeral homes, assisting immigrants, The Divine Office and the Legionary and organising the weekly Stations of the Cross in Lent were some works mentioned. The parish council invited Sherbrook Curia to organise the “Hour of The Handbook tells us: ‘Spiritual Directors and Presidents shall endeavour to Grace” prayer event on the 8th Dec. They also presented blessed Miraculous increase their Praetorian membership, but shall as well, keep in touch with existing Medals or a Crucifix to 30 children preparing for Confirmation. The Frank Duff members so that they may not tire in their chivalrous undertaking.’ It is in this context canonisation prayer is available in French, English, Spanish and Arabic and they that I would like to offer a reflection on the Divine Office. have recommended that each praesidium run a monthly Frank Duff prayer group. Edmonton Comitium: A praesidium noted that a growing number of families First of all Frank Duff, our founder, never recommended anything in the welcome the Pilgrim statue and that often it is the children who lead the prayers. Handbook that he himself had not lived and deeply considered and prayed over. So the Mary Queen of Martyrs Curia noted that as a result of approaching 16 auxiliary Divine Office played a very significant part in his interior life. Fr. Michael Brown S.J. members, 10 were recruited to active membership. taught Frank how to say the Office and in 1917 at the age of 28 he started praying it. At Vancouver Comitium: 13 praesidia and 2 Curiae were visited. One first he found it very tiring and gave it up for a few days but then started again and praesidium visited 29 homes with the Pilgrim statue. Two members greet continued praying it for the rest of his life. Towards the end of his life he was able to say: parishioners and visitors, distributing the parish bulletin before and after weekend ‘Since I first started saying the Office in 1917 I have never missed a line of it.’ In those Masses. They use this time to promote the Legion of Mary and recruit new days the Office was in Latin and considerably longer that it is now! For Frank the Office members. Every Friday they help in the showing of religious movies in Holy was not simply an obligation but a great privilege. As he put it: ‘I have looked on the Rosary Cathedral basement. 85 visits were made to hospitals and nursing homes. Divine Office as pure communication with God.’ He reported to Fr. Bradshaw that he Mother of Unity Curia lists two junior praesidia presenting their Annual Reports. began to appreciate that the essential element of prayer is, not the asserting of oneself, but Their works include acts of kindness that teaches them compassion and service to the acknowledgement of one’s own nothingness and unworthiness and the praising of others. They promote the Legion to classmates and invite them to visit their God’s infinite beauty and goodness.’ praesidia, and encourage friends and relations to become auxiliaries. In his foreword to the Shorter Breviary published by the Legion of Mary he DOMINICAN REPUBLIC writes: ‘Why should people say an Office? The special value of the liturgy is that it is the Senatus of Santo Domingo: The Comitium Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe official prayer of the Church, the voice of the Mystical Body, in which all our poor voices with 6 attached Curiae has 612 active members, 308 auxiliaries, 25 Praetorians, intermingle with the voice of Our Lord and take on the quality of His prayer. This places and 11 Adjutorians. They visit the sick at home, in hospitals and in clinics. 3,296 liturgical prayer on an eminence over our personal prayers.’ St. Augustine is the great children were prepared for Baptism and 667 for First Communion. There were theologian of liturgical prayer and he writes: ‘We pray to Him in the form of God; he 4,124 prison visits and 105 to psychiatric hospitals. A praesidium with 13 prays in the form of the slave (i.e. ourselves). There he is the Creator; here he is in the members organised a camp for 75 children and plans to form a juvenile creature. He changes not, but he takes the creature and changes it into himself, making us praesidium. They gave 9 pre-baptismal catechisis classes to god-parents. one man, head and body with himself. We pray therefore to him, and through him and in him; we pray with him and he prays with us; we recite this prayer of the psalms in him Senatus of Santiago de los Caballeros: The Regia of La Vega orgainised 6 and he recites it in us.’ Abbot Eugene Boylan summarises the teaching of St. Augustine Retreats in different parts of the city. 93 children were baptised and 237 prepared as follows: ‘This is the great importance of the Office: It is the prayer of Christ said by for Confirmation. 6 couples were prepared for and received the Sacrament of Christ to the Father of Christ, and when we recite the office, we enter into Christ, we put Matrimony. In addition, 7 marriages came from their Patrician groups and the 7 on Christ, we are one with Christ. In each of us the Father sees and hears Christ, his well pairs are now legionaries. The Comitium Inmaculado Corazón de Maria de Puerto beloved Son in whom he is well pleased… it is a question of replacing ourselves, and of Plata reported on hospital and prison visitation, 250 children baptised, 200 getting rid of ourselves, and of substituting for ourselves the person and the prayer of confirmed, 502 received First Holy Communion, and 12 adult Baptisms. 44 Christ.’ In other words the praying of the Office is a way of abiding in the praying Christ couples were prepared for marriage. A Protestant lady and her son were prepared and making his prayer our own. for Baptism. The Comitium Reyna de las Virgenes prepared 9 couples for marriage, which was jointly celebrated; the couples are now joining the Legion. One of the most important things for us to remember about praying the Divine Office is that it is essentially the worship of God. It is about Adoration of God. Saint Haiti Senatus:Many reporting praesidia and councils are long established Pope John Paul 11 put it very memorably when he said: ‘A moment of true adoration has with two Curiae having been set up in the 1950’s. There is much emphasis on greater value and spiritual fruit than the most intense activity, even apostolic activity extension/recruiting and 2 Senatus members recently carried out a 3 day training itself.’ It should be helpful to remember that the praying of the Office is a sublime session in an attached Comitium.