Some people might disappoint you, discourage you, give little meaning to what you do or serve; but we still treasure those people. Not because we lack of members, simply because they are human. We are always tempted to think like "what value does a person have if he does not do anything worthy enough?" But person's value does not come from what he/she does. No one is as bad as the worst thing he/she ever did in his/her life. Neither is someone ever as good as what he/she manage to achieve for everything is given from the mighty. We believe that everything comes out of nothing, from God's hand. With this faith, we can see that someone is precious simply because he IS. That's what I see and what I feel from being in NUS Legion of Mary. People would usually turn down other people who they think might not be able to perform as what is expected. In some occasions, they do not even give a damn about these people, ignore them as if they do not matter at all. It is very sad because those who are needy will never be able to improve and will stay crooked until the end. In legion, we are very eager to bring as many people as we could to what we believe is good. "...so that - the battle of life over - our Legion may reassemble, without the loss of any one, in the kingdom of Your love and glory..." (Legion's prayer)
And therefore we are trying our best to "be loyal; be understanding with others and demanding on ourselves" (St Josemaria Escriva) No one is left out. What you need to have is a willingness to serve, and everything will be given unto you. You could learn about the thing that matter most in your life; your faith, and you are surrounded by people with this value, ready to help you any time, sometimes even when you don't ask at all. Not saying I am an already good one, but I wish to be a good legionary and bring more people in to let them really see how this religious organization could be an answer on how we are supposed to live this life. You need to be professional, you have to be responsible of whatever mandate you are trusted to, you need to think to win people's heart and bring them closer to God; organize events, facilitate forums, public outreach, meetings to keep everyone on the right track, you have to give your best and make the best of your effort to please your ultimate CEO, God. But putting everyone into a pressure cooker is not the way we do our works. What comes out of love is always far better than something that comes out of fear.
I wish every legionary could see this value. It is okay to be inexperienced and unknowledgeable, it is okay if you make mistakes. So long as you have the desire to do better, you'll definitely reach there.
And I wish people outside the Legion could also look deeper on Legion of Mary. It is more than a stereotypical rosary praying group full with aunties, or the only CCA an incompetent people could get in cos it requires no interviews and it will have no power to boost your CV and all you have to do is just pray. We have a lot of great Legionary role model who lived heroic lives. In NUS itself, I have a number of seniors (pretty much all of them) who live with this value. They are great friends to everyone, passionate students, heroic leaders and devoted prayers.
And the secret, as my senior shared with me : "..it's not about being senior - somehow this wonderful spirit is passed to every member who joins..."
"In this life we cannot do great things.
We can only do small things with great love."
(Mother Teresa)
