KOTA KINABALU – The religious men and women of Kota…
Over 100 Legionaries renew their consecration to their Queen
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KOTA KINABALU – Some 124 members of the Legion of Mary (LOM) renewed their consecration to their Queen on 12 March 2016 at the Church of Mary Immaculate Bukit Padang here.
As near to the feast of the Annunciation (March 25) as possible, the whole worldwide Legion both individually and collectively earnestly seeks each year to celebrate the Acies. The Latin word, Acies, means “an army ranged in battle array.”
According to Frank Duff, the founder of the Legion, “The Acies is the great central annual function of the Legion, so that it is necessary to stress the importance of attendance on the part of every member. The essential ideal of the Legion, upon which all else is built, is that of working in union with and in dependence on Mary, its Queen. The Acies is the solemn expression of that union and dependence, the renewal – individual and collective – of the legionary declaration of fealty.”
Led by Fr Alex Sipanul, Spiritual Director to the Comitium, followed by the Religious and lay spiritual directors, office bearers, members (active and auxiliary) of the Kota Kinabalu, Inanam and Penampang Curiae (15 senior and two junior praesidia) walked in reverent pairs to the Legion altar, placed the right hand on the staff of the Vexillium, and recited the consecration in Malay or English: “I am all yours my Queen and my Mother and all that I have is yours.”
After all the members had made their individual consecration, the longer Act of Consecration to Mary Queen of the Legion was recited by all present. The ceremony ended with the rousing Battle Hymn of the Legion, followed by a simple fellowship at the canteen.
The KK Chinese Curia will have its Acies on Sunday March 20 at 2 pm at the Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The Legion of Mary is a lay apostolic association of Catholics who, with the sanction of the Church and under the powerful leadership of Mary Immaculate, Mediatrix of All Graces, serve the Church and their neighbour on a voluntary basis in about 170 countries. The first meeting of the Legion of Mary took place in Myra House, Francis Street, Dublin, Ireland, on 7 September, 1921. It spread to Sabah in 1950 through Father Desmond McLindon mhm.
The basic unit of the Legion is called a praesidium, which is parish based. A parish may have more than one praesidium. All the praesidia in a parish or several parishes constitute the curia. To be an active legionary means to attend the weekly meeting and to carry out a weekly apostolic task (e.g. teaching catechism, visiting the sick) in pairs. Auxiliary members are those who associate themselves with the Legion by undertaking a service of prayer in its name. The administration of the Legion is carried out through various councils at local (Comitium), regional (Regia) and national (Senatus) level. The central council, the Concilium Legionis Mariae, meets monthly in Dublin.
The Cause for Beatification has been introduced for three legionaries: Servant of God Frank Duff (1889-1980); Venerable Edel Quinn (1907-1944), Legion Envoy to East Africa; and Servant of God Alfie Lambe (1932-1959), Legion Envoy to South America.