"Whoever can be trusted with small things can also be trusted
with big things.
Whoever is dishonest in little things will be dishonest in big
things too."
Luke 16:10
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux was made a Doctor of the Church
due to her developing the "The Little Way"; to do everything,
any little daily habitual action, with the utmost perfection,
"down to a tee", as we would say; something that is done with
absolute exactness.
To be aware of our daily behaviour and interactions, to be
awake, all the time, every "little" thing we do, reveals the
disposition of our heart, if we disregard fundamental rules
that may appear insignificant ( "small") we will apply the same
attitude to things on a larger scale.
The two are in principle the same thing.
It is about the integrity, or the lack thereof, of a person.
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day
your Lord will come."
Matthew 24:42
In any society there are rules and regulations.
In the Legion of Mary, an apostolat of the Catholic Church,
thus supernatural in nature,
the order of the meetings is of utmost importance, and must
be strictly adhered to.
The object of the Legion is the glory of God through the
sanctification of it's members, and thus unlike
any other worldly organisation, (which exists for the leisure
and pleasure of convenience for it's members).
One of the most basic principles of the discipline is
punctuality and faithful participation of meetings.
Of course, sometimes one is prevented from attending, due
to absence from home or illness, but when attending,
it is required to be on time for the meeting; concretely that
means arriving at least a few minutes before the start, so
that one has the time to say hello and to settle into one's seat.
Despite this, there are a few, always the same ones, who
habitually arrives after the prayers have started, and
even after the prayers have finished!, even during the reading
of the Handbook, even during the Allocutio by the Priest; the
Spiritual Director.
What is more, upon arriving, as the meeting
continues, they talk (loud whisper) to others, disturbing
everybody, and making it all about themselves.
Then, when they get a chance, they will interrupt the
proceedings by offering "heartfelt" apologies for them
being late, and to top it all off, more often than not, that
is met with profuse expressions of gratitude for
"having showed up at all"!
The very evening when the obligatory reading from the
Handbook was concerning the importance of timekeeping;
arriving on time and staying until the very end, and what
was required if that was not adhered to by a member, the
usual ones breezed in long time after the meeting had started,
and what was more, "needed to leave early", before the end.
When somebody referred to the reading that had
just been read earlier,
there was much heartfelt laughter and a total dismissal of it's
content.
Needless to say, the Priest was not present that day.
Where is the respect for Our Lady, for Frank Duff, for Saint
Louis-Marie de Montfort, for the Holy Catholic Church?
( They pray with their lips, but not with their heart)
Are they serving the Church or is the Church there to serve
them?
Pride is often said to be the deadliest of all sins.
If we are habitually late for the meeting that requires as a
fundamental principle to be on time, if we are habitually late
for Mass, which requires that we be there before it starts, it
shows that we put ourselves above God, it is arrogant, we are
so important so we are our own law.
It goes without saying that they will also be late for everybody
else as well, there is spiritual disrespect and dismissal of others
as being less important than themselves.
And why is it that it is always the same ones who are
always on time? They also have other things to do, but they
arrange their day, they prioritise what is most important, they
show respect.
Yes, but they might say; "we do so much for the Church, we
bring Holy Communion to the old and the sick, and
we go to Mass every day." (We are important, the Church
depends on us)
They have the same attitude to the Mass; they arrive
after the Mass has begun, and they always have
their phone at hand, in case they "have to take a call during
Mass".
It is actually scandalous, to always hear somebody's phone
ringing or bleeping during Mass, during the consecration,
even in front of the Priest to receive Holy Communion, and
they STILL do not turn it off for the duration of the Mass.
Do they really think that they are so important that they can
not leave their phone behind during Mass, or at least turn on
the silent mode?
Are they all on Stand-By A&E doctors and nurses?
Are they really at Mass?
Do they believe in the Real Presence?
If they did, would they always be late for Mass
and would they be "Eucharistic ministers"?
(an abomination and an affront to
The Body of Jesus Christ).
If they knew that it IS the Real Body of Christ
they would not, (nobody would have!), put
themselves forward to distribute it.
"The extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion"
was a proposal brought in to help the priest
"to save time", supposedly only for "extraordinary"
circumstances, like very large gatherings.
Is Mass something to be rushed, to
get over with as soon as possible?
Or is it to enter into the Real Presence of God?
The only person who should handle the Host,
is the Priest.
How come that a truly "extraordinary" large gatherings,
like the Traditional Latin Mass's annual pilgrimage to
Chartres, with over 20 000 faithful, manages without
them?
This practice, has in my opinion, hugely contributed to
the loss of belief in the Real Presence among church goers,
subsequently it has had a massive negative impact on the
priesthood itself, thus the Church.
The attention to all things, first of all the "small" ones,
is crucial, because everything leaves a mark, it affects
others, good or bad.
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