Legion of Mary

“Faith without good works is dead” that we must endeavour to help the less fortunate, especially those in need of love, which Mother Teresa understood when she said: “The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty, it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.” A hunger Pope Francis recognised when he said:

“As Catholics we must consider our responsibility to bring God’s love and salvation to the world. That we need to leave the comfort of our parishes, go out into the streets and share the good news; as each one of us can think of someone who is living without hope, thinking that they can find happiness in alcohol, drugs, etc.”

The Legion of Mary inspires us in a gentle but positive way to enrich our faith and share our love. Firstly, members attend a weekly meeting, centred on prayer, especially the Rosary, that beautiful chain that links heaven to earth. There’s discussion too, on how best to please God and make Him known and loved in the community. A love that is visible when members call on the lonely, to offer them a listening ear, in what, may otherwise have been a silent day. The sick, to offer them comfort and sympathy in the midst of their sorrow and pain. Also, absent Catholics, to let them know that Jesus had not for one moment forgotten them, and is longing for their return to the Mass and Sacraments; and of course non-Catholics: people here in Glastonbury who are just waiting for an invitation to come to our church.

So in the words of St. Teresa of The Child Jesus: “Let us work together for the salvation of souls. We have only the day of this life to save souls and to give them to the Lord as proofs of our love.”

Please contact the Parish Office to find out more about the Legion of Mary at the Shrine of Our Lady of Glastonbury.