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Legion of Mary Catholic society, St. Vincent de Paul parish, Ikot Ekpene (2026)

04/12/2025

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28/03/2025

Allocutio
Concilium News
March Allocutio 2025
To know Christ crucified
Fr. Paul Churchill, Concilium Spiritual Director

To know Christ and him crucified (1 Cor 2:2). That is how St. Paul put it just over 20 years after the events of Good Friday. But we too, nearly 2,000 years later, also need to know him no other way. Every time we celebrate Mass, every time we pray before the Blessed Sacrament, every time we pass a Church, let us remember that the Person there is the one who has been crucified and still bears the wounds of that crucifixion in his body. There is no other way of remembering him, of being conscious of him.

We just might think of him occasionally as the eternal Son with the Father, or the Word made flesh in the Virgin’s womb, or the child born in the stable in Bethlehem, or the great preacher and miracle worker in Galilee. But the great reality now at this moment is that he is the One who was crucified, died, was buried and has Risen from the dead, bearing the wounds of his Passion. And whether it is to a doubting Thomas who demands to see the wounds made in his hands or whether it is a more recent Margaret Mary Alocque to whom he shows his wounded heart, it remains the same reality: Christ crucified, risen but still with his wounds. That is why we have the 5 studs in the Pascal Candle.

St Paul says, “We preach a Christ crucified!” (1 Cor 1:23). Every time we come before him to pray, be it is Church or in the privacy of our home, be it in the Mass or any other Sacrament, let us always keep before us that reality: this is the one who still bears the wounds of the Cross. That is the only way to know him and relate to him.

And let us never forget that the reason he is so is because of our sins. He still bears the wounds of our sins. Even in eternity we will worship the Lamb in whose blood we have all been washed (Rev 7:13-14). In fact, in the Book of the Apocalypse or Revelation there are 28 references to the Lamb and many of them refer to him slain or to his blood by which we are washed clean. This is his current reality and how he will be in eternity.

When you come to pray to him, when you ask his help, how do you visualize him? Remember his wounds every time. Remind yourself that it is because of your sins he suffered all this. This must be the starting point of every encounter with him.

When Jesus accepted the wooden frame of the Cross, he accepted something even heavier. He took on the sins of the whole world. As said through Isaiah, “He was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our sins” (Is 53:5).

The decision and intention to crucify Jesus had imbedded in it all the sins of the world. Hatred and jealousy on the part of the Sadducees and Pharisees, the betrayal of truth by Pilate, the option by Pilate and the apostles to go to save themselves and opt for personal comfort. And then maybe the silent majority. We can read into that moment also the absolute abandonment of compassion. Prayer and reflection will show more. This is the weight he carries; this is the burden he knows he must bear so that the reign of sin can end.

But then he crashes to the ground. His physical strength has left him. But perhaps his spiritual strength is also under strain. Yet he knows he must get up and keep going to the end. And as he gets up, she is there, the one he addresses as “Woman!” That person in creation he most depends on. He has always depended on her. Now more than ever. Because he sees in her, not just his mother, but the one full of grace and beauty and loveliness and compassion and the purest love. She shows him that the human race is beautiful and worth fighting for. From her he gets strength to go on and complete his mission.

He has this reinforced by Simon who willingly lends his shoulders to the Cross despite being forced to. Veronica shows him a spontaneous kindness and indeed as his ordeal goes on, he finds himself rewarded. Young John is there with his mother, Magdalene and the other women, the good thief defends him and seeks his intercession. And did he, just as he died overhear the Centurion say, “This was a good man, this was a son of God”?

In death he returns to the Father in eternity and carries his endured passion and death up to his Heavenly Father. And it becomes eternalized so that at each Mass we can have direct contact with it. But as his resurrection experiences show he still bears his wounds. That is how we must look at the Lord on the Altar, in the Tabernacle, in our private spaces, every time we turn to him. He is the Lord who bears the wounds of our sins for which he gave himself totally.

In his earthly existence he depended on one person above all. On her Yes depended his entering our world, on her breasts he depended for his first milk, on her gentle hands he depended to take his first steps, on her guidance he kept out of the public eye before she cleared him to go ahead with his ministry at the wedding in Cana, symbol of the wedding feast of the Lamb who was slain for us.

St Paul said, “By my sufferings I make up what is lacking in the suffering of Christ” (Col 1:24). Our Lady lived that. She asks us to do the same. And I just wonder this: will Our Lord ever be cleared of those wounds of the Cross? Perhaps, but even then only when the last of the redeemed arrives in Heaven. But maybe it will be our joy to behold him forever bearing those wounds which show us the depth of his love and the wonder of his suffering. By his wounds we are healed.

“We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.”

28/03/2025

Concilium News
Legionaries should undertake the 33-day preparation for Consecration to Jesus Through Mary for the Jubilee Year

33-Day preparation for consecration to Jesus through Mary

The 33 Day Preparation for Consecration to Jesus through Mary, follows St. Louis Marie de Montfort’s method for total consecration to Jesus through Mary.

It is a powerful way to renew our Marian consecration, deepen our spiritual life, and strengthen our apostolic mission. In this Jubilee Year — a time of grace, renewal, and conversion — this journey allows us to entrust ourselves fully to Mary, who forms us into true disciples of her Son.

By embracing this preparation, we unite more closely with Christ, drawing from Mary’s example of perfect faith and obedience, and become even more effective instruments of His love and mercy in the world.

19/03/2025

THE GIFT OF THE ACIES

BY FR. BEDE MCGREGOR, SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR OF CONCILIUM

We could easily think of the Acies as our personal and collective gift to Mary and indeed it is so. But it is first the more profoundly Mary’s gift to us – to each individual legionary and to the whole Legion. When we celebrate the Acies, this great central annual function of the Legion, each of us renews our consecration to Mary with the simple words: ‘I am all yours my Queen and my Mother and all that I have is Yours.’ Those are truly tremendous words. We promise to give ourselves totally to Mary. We give to her all that we are and all that we have or do without any exception whatsoever. Nothing in our lives is withheld from Mary. That is the most basic truth and commitment of the Legion. The Handbook puts it very succinctly and strongly: ‘The essential idea of the Legion, upon which all 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 Legion declaration of fealty. Hence it is manifest that any legionaries who can attend and yet fail to do so, have little or none of the spirit of the Legion in them. The membership of such persons is not an asset to the Legion.’

But it is critical that we remember that the total gift of ourselves to Mary is simply a response to her sublime gift of herself to us. Our consecration to Mary is the very least we can do in response to our enormous debt to her. So we need to meditate often on what we owe to Mary. She gives herself utterly to us holding nothing back and even more importantly she gives us Jesus and in him access to God our Father and the Holy Spirit. She is the Mother of the divine grace within us, our created sharing in the inner life of the Trinity. The Handbook recommends that we prayerfully study the Marian Synthesis, Appendix 11 of the Handbook as a preparation for our celebration of the Acies. Another way of preparing would be to once more make our own Frank Duff’s article: Our Debt to Mary.

The Handbook says the Acies should take place on the Feast of the Annunciation or as near to that date as possible and there are compelling reasons behind this recommendation. The conversation that took place between God and Mary at the Annunciation changed the whole history of mankind. The Incarnation took place in direct response to the words of Mary: ‘Here I am ... the slave girl of the Lord ... let it be done to me according to your word.’ Everything begins from there. Everything begins and must be shaped by the Incarnation and Mary is the privileged instrument and channel of the Incarnation. In God’s plan and by his decree the redemptive Incarnation begins in the womb and heart of Mary. There would be no Jesus without Mary and there would be no Church without her and nor would there be any Legion without her free consent to the will and plan of God. These are some of the thoughts behind Frank Duff’s recommendation that the Acies should take place as close as possible to the feast of the Annunciation.

Occasionally I meet people who feel I exaggerate the place of Mary in the life of the Church and in each one of us. Let me quote Pope Benedict on this point: ‘The Icon of the Annunciation more than any other, helps us to see clearly how everything in the Church goes back to that mystery of Mary’s acceptance of the divine Word, by which, through the action of the Holy Spirit, the covenant between God and humanity was perfectly sealed. Everything in the Church, every institution and ministry, including that of Peter and his Successors, is ‘included’ under the Virgin’s mantle, within the grace filled horizon of her ‘yes’ to God’s will.’

We all know that the discovery of the truth of de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary was the fundamental turning point in the life of Frank Duff. It must be the radical turning point in the life of every legionary. This is where every renewal of the Legion must begin. Recruitment without this offering of the Secret of Mary is worth very little.

So the lovely celebration of the Acies is the expression of our total devotion to Mary, our Totus Tuus, but it is first an expression of our thanksgiving to Mary for all that she is and has done for us as our Queen and Mother. Mary is first totally ours – our divinely gifted mother and Queen.

19/03/2025

THE RENEWAL OF THE LEGION (ACIES)
It is that time of the year when the Legion throughout the whole world, both individually and collectively, renews its commitment to the Mother of God. The Handbook puts it very simply: “Bearing in mind the importance of devotion to Mary in the Legion system, each year there shall be a consecration of legionaries to Our Lady. The consecration - which shall comprise both an individual and collective consecration - shall take place on the 25th of March or on a day close thereto, and will be known as the Acies.” The first Acies meeting took place on the 29th of March 1931 just ten years after the founding of the Legion. It was a simple, beautiful, inspiring and formative celebration and is now the great central annual function of the Legion. It is a magnificent principle of renewal for the Legion.
The Handbook explains the core meaning of the Acies as follows: “The essential idea 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.” The words of individual consecration to Mary are brief but they include everything most precious to the Legion spirit and vocation. “I am all yours, my Queen, my Mother, and all that I have is yours.” This brief formula of consecration sums up the whole teaching of St. Louis Marie de Montfort and the Legion.
The Handbook gives us an important reminder that the words of our consecration to Mary ‘should not be mechanically or thoughtlessly pronounced. Each one of us should compress into it the fullest degree of understanding and gratitude.’ What we publicly and solemnly proclaim must be first nourished and rooted in our hearts. Our whole personhood and all that we possess both in terms of material and spiritual goods we give to Mary. Absolutely nothing is held back from her. As legionaries we are defined by this total consecration to and dependence on Mary. And of course it means that all we are and possess is given to Jesus but through and in Mary. There is no better way of being totally christocentric - centred in Christ.
Sometimes it might happen that we become overwhelmed with meetings, discussions, many tasks, difficulties and vexing questions from within the Legion and from outside it. So it is vital for us to remember that the Legion revolves around a person - the person of the Mother of God. That is why the Legion altar is so important for us. It tells us who is running the Legion. The Acies should have the same effect. We recall the oft quoted words of Cecily Hallack in her book on the Legion: “The Legion does not fight as a collection of people dedicated to Mary, but as Mary.” We desire to be a continuation of the presence and work of Mary in the world - putting everyone in saving contact with Jesus. Mary is not simply the patroness of the Legion. She is so much more. She is our Mother and Queen and we seek to be the instruments of her maternal care for the mystical Body of Christ and the whole of human kind. All these thoughts come to our minds and stir our hearts as we celebrate the annual Acies. It is our relationship with Mary that puts warmth in our hearts amid the relentless efforts and sometimes stress of the apostolate.
As the years go by in our membership of the Legion we should be able to make our consecration to Mary with greater love and understanding. A help towards this is the constant prayerful study of the Handbook as a whole and especially A Marian Synthesis contained as an appendix of the Handbook.
There can be little doubt that if we really put our mind and heart into this consecration to Mary at the Acies it will be an infallible principle of renewal for ourselves and the whole Legion. On the other hand, the Handbook rightly says: “Hence it is manifest that any legionaries who can attend, and fail to do so, have little or none of the spirit of the Legion in them. The membership of such persons is not an asset to the Legion.” I hope and pray that there are no legionaries who would not make some sacrifice in order to be with their fellow legionaries in making their total consecration to Mary, the Mother of God and the Mother of each one of us. Our consecration is our thanksgiving to Mary for all that she has done for us and for all she means to us. And we should never forget that every grace and blessing that we have received and will receive comes to us through her.

21/12/2024

It has been a wonderful year, still being in the business of our mother Mary, the call for the new evangelisation.
With the holy Mass and blessing from our Regia assistant spiritual director, we the members of Our lady Queen of apostles Regia council, ikot ekpene Akwa Ibom State called it a year.
Wishing you a merry Christmas and a prosperous New year in advance.
The Legion of Mary present a way of life to it members

06/12/2024

THE LOVE OF BEING A LEGIONARY
Honestly speaking, my commitment to the society of the Legion of Mary can be traced back to those memorable days at Onitsha archdiocese.
On this day 9 years ago, I and my noble committed praesidium members lifted Legion quiz competition maiden trophy for our Curia.
I represented the Curia just one week of joining the praesidium. What push me and others through was the confidence they had in me when I told them that I will participate in the competition.
We were to read 10 different chapters of the Legion handbook couple with the catechism of the Christian doctrine ( CCC) just under 1 week before the final competition.
Being a legionary is the best things that had ever happened to me.
19th December mark my 12th anniversary in the Legion.

12/11/2024

LEGION OF MARY ALLOCUTIO

WE ALL ARE CALLED TO APOSTLESHIP

Last month I spoke about the conviction of the Legion of Mary that every human person without exception is called to be a saint. We need to proclaim that truth always and everywhere, to those who are willing to listen and especially those who are not willing to listen. The Legion wants all its members to be saints and to help as many others as possible to be saints too. The Legion strives for nothing less than this objective. This is what the II Vatican Council called the universal call to holiness. The Legion seeks to be a school of holiness. It sees this objective as God’s passionate will for us. As the Handbook puts it: “The success of the enterprise in hand is more by far to God than it is to us. Infinitely more than we, does he desire that conversion that we are seeking. We wish to be saints. He yearns for it a million times more than we.” (p18) But inseparable from that primary conviction about our call to be saints is the equally strong conviction that we are called, every Christian without exception, to be apostolic. We are called to take our part through Jesus and with Mary in the redemption of the world. We are called to be instruments of salvation each according to his or her capacity and particular way of life. To the extent that we are not trying to help others to save their souls we are failing to be Legionaries, indeed, we are failing to be Christians. Intrinsic to holiness is the call to be apostolic. It is hard to think of a greater privilege than to be an instrument of Jesus and Mary in bringing another person to heaven.
Chapter 40 of the Legion Handbook, ‘Go preach the Gospel to the whole Creation.’ (Mark 16:15), is a wonderful statement of the vocation of the Legion to the universal apostolate. It merits frequent reading, reflection, and above all putting into practice. Scripture scholars tell us that the whole New Testament was written in the light of the Risen Christ. In the light of the Resurrection every phase in the life of Christ took on a new and a great importance. The life of Christ was seen as the life of God Himself and therefore everything about Him took on infinite significance. But more specifically the New Testament was written in the light of the last words of the Risen Christ: “Go into all the world and proclaim the Good News to all creation” (Mark 16:15) In other words the whole New Testament is written in function of the work of evangelisation. As the II Vatican Council put it: “The Church is missionary by its very nature.” I think the whole Handbook too is written in function of evangelization. The Legion is totally at the service of the salvation of souls. Or to put it another way: the Legion is essentially missionary or apostolic just like the Church itself. When the Legion ceases to evangelize it loses its right to exist.
Frank Duff, our founder, was above all a lay apostle. Every chapter of the Handbook is suffused with an apostolic spirit. He is at his most eloquent when he is speaking of the salvation of souls.
It is worth quoting some texts which epitomise what is found throughout the Handbook: “Make no mistake about it. The faith must be brought to the notice of every person outside the Church. Timidity and human respect and difficulties of one kind or another must all be swallowed up in the supreme desire to share that gift of faith with those who have it not. The Gospel must be brought to every creature. The exertions to that end must be like those of people beside themselves, thought St. Francis Xavier. But others will counsel prudence. Yes, much depends on it in its true sphere, which is that of safeguarding necessary action, not crippling it. The rightful place of prudence in a system is that of a brake, whereas the error is almost invariably made of supposing that it is the engine.” He then quotes Cardinal Suenens: “By dint of repeating that people are not ready to receive the Gospel, one would end up by not being ready to bring it to them.”
Dear Legionaries, in a later Allocutio we will talk about Mary and the Apostolate. We will also talk about the Mystical Body of Christ and the Apostolate and all the other great themes of the Handbook on the primary task of the Legion to evangelize. But today I simply want to put a question before every Legionary and indeed before every praesidium, Curia and even Concilium itself: Can you honestly say that the salvation of souls in union with Mary is your primary preoccupation and if so what is the evidence of that in your life of prayer and apostolic action? We must always be going back to the basics if the Legion is to really be at the service of Mary and her Son. Frank Duff said that Mary could rightly say of herself: “I am Apostleship.” The spirit of the Legion is the spirit of Mary and therefore it too must be able to say in a sense totally dependent on Mary: We are Apostleship.

30/10/2024

NOVENA TO THE SERVANT OF GOD FRANCIS MICHAEL DUFF
DAY: 2
30TH OCTOBER

CAN WE BE SAINTS???(Frank Duff)

WHAT IS A SAINT ?

In the heart of every right-thinking Catholic, God has implanted the desire to become a Saint. Yet few make a serious attempt to realise the ambition. The cause for this is to a large extent discouragement, due to the misunderstanding of what a Saint really is.

What is a Saint? The answer usually returned to this question is: one who does extraordinary penances and works miracles. Now, this is an incorrect description, for neither miracles nor great penances are essential. The man who works a miracle does not raise himself in God's eyes by it; and, while penance in some shape is necessary, still the teaching of the Saints on this difficult question is encouraging.

What they direct is not bodily penances of a terrifying kind, but rather the strict avoidance of delicacies, softness, comfort. We are told to beware of injuring our health, and to eat enough plain food to enable us to work and pray without hindrance. There is ample opportunity for the severest mortification in the restraint of eyes and tongue, and in a warfare against the seven Deadly Sins.

Thus, there is another definition of what a Saint is. It is this: One who, with the object of pleasing God, does his ordinary duties extraordinarily well. Such a life may be lived out without a single wonder in it, arouse little notice, be soon forgotten, and yet be the life of one of God's dearest friends.

It is obviously an encouragement to look on sanctity in this way. When we see that those things which so terrified us in the lives of the Saints, because we felt we could not do them ourselves, are not the important part of their sanctity at all, we should feel heartened to begin to-day and make a serious effort for great holiness. Believe this: it is only the first few wrenches given to the will that really hurt. Perhaps the following words of Cardinal Newman will tempt us to take a step forward on the road:

"If you ask me what you are to do in order to be perfect, I say, first do not lie in bed beyond the time of rising; give your first thoughts to God; make a good visit to the Blessed Sacrament; say the Angelus devoutly; eat and drink to God's glory; say the Rosary well; be recollected; keep out bad thoughts; make your evening meditation well; examine yourself daily; go to bed in good time, and you are already perfect."

PRAYERS FOR THE BEATIFICATION OF SERVANT OF GOD FRANK DUFF

God our Father, You inspired your servant Frank Duff with a profound insight into the mystery of Your Church, the Body of Christ, and of the place of Mary the Mother of Jesus in this mystery. In his immense desire to share this insight with others and in filial dependence on Mary he formed her Legion to be a sign of her maternal love for the world and a means of enlisting all her children in the Church’s evangelising work.

We thank you Father for the graces conferred on him and for the benefits accruing to the Church from his courageous and shining faith. With confidence we beg You that through his intercession you grant the petition we lay before You . ............... We ask too that if it be in accordance with Your will, the holiness of his life may be acknowledged by the Church for the glory of your Name, through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

29/10/2024

Francis Michael “Frank” Duff
BIRTH 7 Jun 1889
Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
DEATH 7 Nov 1980 (aged 91)
Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
BURIAL
Glasnevin Cemetery
Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Founder of The Legion of Mary. Francis Duff worked for the Civil Service and was a member of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. While serving in that organization, he was exposed to the poverty of Dublin, where many were too poor to be able to even food. He eventually became President of the St Patrick's Conference at St Nicholas of Myra Parish. Some Protestant soup kitchens were giving food and a place to sleep for not attending Catholic services, so he set up Catholic soup kitchens to combat this. With the help of others, he formed what would become the Legion of Mary in 1921. He retired from the Civil Service in 1934 to devote all his time to the Legion of Mary. In 1965, Pope Paul VI invited Duff to attend the Second Vatican Council as a lay observer.

Family Members
Parents

John Duff
1863–1918
Susan Letitia Freehill Duff
1864–1950

Siblings

Isabel Maud Duff
1892–1949

Letitia Duff
1893–1894

Eva Lucy Duff
1894–1907

John Edwin Duff
1895–1949

Sara Geraldine Duff
1898–1975

Ailis Mary Duff
1902–1951
We will be looking at the life of the servant of God FRANK DUFF as we commerce the nine days Novena today and we also pray for his beatification.

PRAYERS FOR THE BEATIFICATION OF SERVANT OF GOD FRANK DUFF

God our Father, You inspired your servant Frank Duff with a profound insight into the mystery of Your Church, the Body of Christ, and of the place of Mary the Mother of Jesus in this mystery. In his immense desire to share this insight with others and in filial dependence on Mary he formed her Legion to be a sign of her maternal love for the world and a means of enlisting all her children in the Church’s evangelising work.

We thank you Father for the graces conferred on him and for the benefits accruing to the Church from his courageous and shining faith. With confidence we beg You that through his intercession you grant the petition we lay before You . ............... We ask too that if it be in accordance with Your will, the holiness of his life may be acknowledged by the Church for the glory of your Name, through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

18/10/2024

Maria Legionis Ed. 2 of 2024
Download the file at the file menu in the Legion group

18/10/2024

Concilium News
Maria Legionis Edition 3 of 2024
Please download it from the file menu in the Legion group.

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