A Date with the Lord

I came 45 minutes early for mass at my parish, so I was reading my Legion handbook while waiting for my choir-mates to come and for mass to start. Incidentally, a local Legionary who was also early for Legion meeting glanced upon the little red book I was holding and, after taking a moment to realize what it was, excitedly asked me, "Hey, you're Legion too?" That was the start of a memorable ten-minute conversation with the Legionary named Ed, my first official contact with the Legion in my parish here in Manila.

We talked about the usual things - our devotion, contact work, and other experiences in the Legion. He mentioned something which struck me: once, during one of his house visitations in the neighborhood, he came across a born-again Christian with a lot of questions. He told her he was no expert on doctrine because he wasn't a priest, but he did encourage her to go for mass. He advised her to imagine Mother Mary walking beside her each time she walks to attend mass, and to imagine having a date with Jesus who was waiting for her in the church. Wow. I was blown off by that thought! How beautiful it is to attend mass with this in mind - not even the strongest of winds or heaviest of rains could bring down one's fervor and one's eagerness to meet a loved one on a date, let alone to meet our Ultimate Lover at mass! And to have Mary bringing you to Her Son!

True enough, I found these lines on the Legion handbook:

"Her motherhood is particularly noted and experienced by the Christian people at the Sacred Banquet - the liturgical celebration of the mystery of the Redemption - at which Christ, his true body born of the Virgin Mary, becomes present.
The piety of the Christian people has always very rightly sensed a profound link between devotion to the Blessed Virgin and worship of the Eucharist: ... Mary guides the faithful to the Eucharist." (RMat 44) - Pt. 3, Chapter 8: The Legionary and the Eucharist

By the way, that born-again Christian eventually got baptised into the Catholic Church. It's always amazing how the Legion works through the ordinariness of its members. And thanks to my encounter with Ed, I was able to participate mass with a new sense of enthusiasm and purpose today - the beginning of many exciting dates with the Lord to look forward to.