3 Causes - a Message

ALLENTOWN CURIA - Three Causes Report for March 2024

An excerpt from Frank Duff’s Can We Be Saints?

Weapons and Aids

Devotion to Mary

“Show me how you say your Hail Marys,” said a great Saint, “and I will tell you how you love God.” The fingertips of other Saints – hardened by the use of their beads – show this same idea in practice.

You must have a tremendous love for Mary.

Read and pray, and pray again, until you get that love. Implore Our Lord to give you just the love for her that He would wish you to have. A great love for her is a great sign of sanctity.

Do not treat her only as the Queen of all Saints.

She is much more than that. She is the most beloved Daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son, and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. When you pray to any one of these Three Divine Persons, let her be near to recommend your prayer.

And she is also our Mother.

Is this idea real to us? The love of our own dear earthly mothers is a wonderful thing. What seas of fire and water would they not go through for us! Yet their love is faint and weak compared with hers.

There is a beautiful traditional custom which unhappily seems less common than it was – the consecration of babies by their parents to this Blessed Mother. The terrible power of the Evil One over the bodies of people possessed by him should be the best recommendation of this devotion. More than he can do for evil, a millionfold, she can do for good.

Let us consecrate to her not only our children, but ourselves in the most solemn manner – remembering that what belongs to Mary is all for Jesus.

(Spanish Translation)

ALLENTOWN CURIA - Informe de tres causas para Marzo de 2024 

Un extracto de Can We Be Saints de Frank Duff? Armas y ayudas 

Devoción a María "Muéstrame cómo dices tus Ave Marías", dijo un gran santo, "y te diré cómo amas a Dios". Las yemas de los dedos de otros santos, endurecidas por el uso de sus cuentas, muestran esta misma idea en la práctica. 

Debes tener un tremendo amor por Mary. Lee y reza, y reza de nuevo, hasta que consigas ese amor. Implora a Nuestro Señor que te dé el amor por ella que Él desearía que tuvieras. Un gran amor por ella es un gran signo de santidad. 

No la trates solo como la Reina de Todos los Santos. Ella es mucho más que eso. Ella es la Hija más amada del Padre, la Madre del Hijo y la Esposa del Espíritu Santo. Cuando reces a cualquiera de estas Tres Personas Divinas, deja que esté cerca para recomendar tu oración. 

Y ella también es nuestra madre. ¿Esta idea es real para nosotros? El amor de nuestras queridas madres terrenales es algo maravilloso. ¡Por qué mares de fuego y agua no pasarían por nosotros! Sin embargo, su amor es débil y débil en comparación con el de ella. 

Hay una hermosa costumbre tradicional que, por suerte, parece menos común de lo que era: la consagración de los bebés por parte de sus padres a esta Santísima Madre. El terrible poder del Mal sobre los cuerpos de las personas poseídas por él debería ser la mejor recomendación de esta devoción. Más de lo que él puede hacer por el mal, un millón, ella puede hacer por el bien. 

Consagramos a ella no solo a nuestros hijos, sino a nosotros mismos de la manera más solemne, recordando que lo que pertenece a María es todo para Jesús.

ALLENTOWN CURIA - Three Causes Report for February 2024

An excerpt from Inside the Legion of Mary by Rev. Francis J. Peffley

“Perfection for Mary”

“One consoling thing to keep in mind is that we are not expected to show perfection but are expected to intend it.”

“The question is how can perfection be applied to the every day insignificant duties we go through in our state of life? They do not seem to hold the prospect for perfection! Frank Duff thinks otherwise. He claims it is possible to put into each of our daily occupations as much, or even more care than Michelangelo put into his masterpieces! He insists the answer lies in our motive and the degree of care we take with each act “which is being inspected by God” who sees the heart.

What is needed is some sort of “technique” to be worked out, a conscious pattern to follow every day, moment by moment, as best we can. Our founder’s article offers three components for this spiritual project. The first is to “aim consistently at good performance,” just as a craftsman or artist who takes great pride in his work. The second is “add an extra something to the task as a conscious, deliberate expression of your desire for perfection.” Frank Duff says these first two lead us to the third component in the goal of perfection for Mary. He says that in developing this habit of perfection it is necessary to crystalize it in a phrase or word which is repeated along with the “extra touch.” He recommends the phrase “Perfection for Mary.”

He assures legionaries who take on this principle of perfection that instead of an added burden, it carries the burden. It supplies a motive for interest and effort. It turns tedium into refreshment. It gives meaning to each link of that galling chain which binds us. It opens a window and lets in light so that the dullness shows up as full color. It puts wings on us so that we soar to celestial heights.”

ALLENTOWN CURIA - Three Causes Report for January 2024

An excerpt from Inside the Legion of Mary by Rev. Francis J. Peffley

“Perfection for Mary”

“Frank Duff’s early article on “Perfection for Mary” should be made known to all legionaries

because it opens the door to real intimacy with her. Although the word perfection can be

intimidating, legionaries by the very nature of the purpose of their organization – personal

holiness – are expected to work for spiritual perfection. To be a perfect mountain climber does

not mean the mountain must be climbed perfectly straight up, but negotiated diligently, with

the motive to eventually reach the peak. Frank Duff writes, “I am not punning when I say that

the motive for that quest of perfection must be our motives. If our motives are not in order and

vivid to us, no sustained effort is possible.”

He goes on to point out that it is not sufficient that our motive be a vague one of love of God.

There should be a notion of the different Divine Persons for example, or of the actual

personhood of Our Lady.

Perfection for Mary can be understood by legionaries if it is remembered that they are all the

time working in union with her, for her Son. Frank Duff says that if we are to enable her to

fulfill her motherhood we must enter fully into it and work according to her method. This

means the practice of having her at least indistinctly before our minds at all times, and

sometimes even distinctly before our minds, while trying to do everything well, in the way we

imagine her as doing it.

ALLENTOWN CURIA - Three Causes Report for November 2023

An excerpt from Frank Duff’s Can We Be Saints?

A Right Idea of Duty

We are to do what it is our duty to do – and at the right time.

Duty is not something which is to be thrown off with our working clothes, as so many people imagine. If it is as

strictly our duty to keep an appointment or a secret as it is to do our work. A duty goes before even

“Devotions.” It is our duty to wash the dishes, do not run off to Benediction instead.

There are many duties in the day which seem less important than others, and for this reason we think very

little of setting them aside to suit the convenience of the moment. Such conduct is wrong, and it does dot

build up a strong character. The real value of our day lies in the exact performance of all our obligations. The

greater ones take care of themselves – their importance makes them easy to do. So look particularly to the

small things.

Consider your whole day as a picture where every line has its proper place and where the smallest may be the

most essential. Do everything that you are supposed to do, and do it down to the tiniest detail – not because

somebody is supervising you, but simply because you are supposed to do it.

There is a proverb: “Death is light as a feather. Duty is heavy as lead,” and a life lived in devotion to duty is

going to be a hard life. But it is going to be the life of a Man.

Here is a lesson from the Far East:

A Japanese craftsman was observed to be spending days in perfecting the inside of an article he was making.

He was asked, “Why waste all this time? Nobody will ever see your work.” He replied, “Do I not see it myself?”

To this answer, may not we, as Christians add, “And God sees it, too.”

ALLENTOWN CURIA - Three Causes Report for October 2023

An excerpt from Frank Duff: Founder of the Legion of Mary & Champion of the Rosary

By FR. DONALD CALLOWAY, MIC

“A devoted son of the Church, Frank Duff spent at least four hours a day in prayer. On most days, he would even sacrifice his lunch break to spend an hour in prayer. The rosary was always part of his daily prayer routine. He was very fond of recommending the daily rosary to everyone he met. He had a unique understanding of the rosary, saying it is the “prime devotion to the Holy Spirit.” What he meant was that when a person prays the rosary, they are immediately overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, since Mary is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit and can never be separated from her spouse. This dimension of his thought is quite fascinating, since people rarely associate devotion to the Holy Spirit with the recitation of the rosary. In the mind of Frank Duff, the rosary opens up hearts to the workings of the Holy Spirit because in the rosary we celebrate and remember the principal interventions of the Holy Spirit in the drama and mysteries of salvation.”

“Frank Duff always stressed that the rosary is the core of the Legion of Mary’s spirituality. As such, he desired that the rosary be prayed with dignity and respect. He did not want it prayed too quickly or in a chaotic fashion, but rather, with a meditative rhythm. He particularly emphasized that those praying the second half of the Hail Mary were not to start before the person praying the first half of the Hail Mary had said the Holy Name of Jesus. Duff considered the rosary to be so essential to the Legion of Mary that, when he wrote the Legion of Mary handbook, he said that what breathing is to the human body, the rosary is to the Legion of Mary.”

(Spanish Translation)

Informe de las tres causas para octubre de 2023 

Un extracto de Frank Duff: Fundador de la Legión de María y Campeón del Rosario Por FR. DONALD CALLOWAY, MIC 

"Un hijo devoto de la Iglesia, Frank Duff pasaba al menos cuatro horas al día en oración. La mayoría de los días, incluso sacrificaba su hora de almuerzo para pasar una hora en oración. El rosario siempre fue parte de su rutina diaria de oración. Le gustaba mucho recomendar el rosario diario a todos los que conoció. Tenía una comprensión única del rosario, diciendo que es la "primera devoción al Espíritu Santo". Lo que quiso decir era que cuando una persona reza el rosario, es inmediatamente eclipsada por el Espíritu Santo, ya que María es la Esposa del Espíritu Santo y nunca puede ser separada de su cónyuge. Esta dimensión de su pensamiento es bastante fascinante, ya que la gente rara vez asocia la devoción al Espíritu Santo con la recitación del rosario. En la mente de Frank Duff, el rosario abre corazones al funcionamiento del Espíritu Santo porque en el rosario celebramos y recordamos las principales intervenciones del Espíritu Santo en el drama y los misterios de la salvación". 

"Frank Duff siempre hizo hincapié en que el rosario es el núcleo de la espiritualidad de la Legión de María. Como tal, deseaba que el rosario fuera rezado con dignidad y respeto. No quería que rezara demasiado rápido o de una manera caótica, sino más bien con un ritmo meditativo. En particular, hizo hincapié en que aquellos que rezan la segunda mitad del Ave María no comenzarían antes de que la persona que rezara la primera mitad del Ave María hubiera dicho el Santo Nombre de Jesús. Duff consideraba que el rosario era tan esencial para la Legión de María que, cuando escribió el manual de la Legión de María, dijo que lo que la respiración es para el cuerpo humano, el rosario es para la Legión de María".

ALLENTOWN CURIA - Three Causes Report for September 2023

An excerpt from Frank Duff’s Can We Be Saints?

GOD IN HIS WORKS

All Things are but Signposts that Point to God

… There is always a tendency for the interest of any work to absorb us so that we forget why and for Whom we began it.

It is natural that this should happen. The work is visible; the supernatural is not; and we unthinkingly the allow visible things to push the supernatural into the background of our lives. This takes from us the value of all our acts as offerings to God.

Instead, a little thoughtfulness would turn those very things which we are inclined to lead us away from God, into visible reminders of His presence in the world.

When we see a Church, even though it is only a spire in the distance, it induces a feeling of reverence at the thought of his Presence with us in the Eucharist. But then Churches are rare. We want that feeling of reverence over all our life. We can make it habitual if we cultivate the practice of seeing Him in all things.

In the beginning, He created all things from nothing. But He did not then cease to work. It requires His omnipotent power to keep all these things there now. Were His Hand removed this second from any object we see, it would at once disappear from our vision into its original nothingness.

Thus everything we see should tell us that God’s Hand is upon it.

A sense of awe should fill us to think that we can touch what He is touching. The waving leaves on the trees tell us of the presence of the breeze which we do not see. Why not make trees and leaves and wind, and all else around us, speak plainly to us of the wonderful Power which holds them in existence?

We pick up an insect, or a flower, or bread, or a book. Each one proclaims Him to the thoughtful mind.

St. Bonaventure said of St. Francis of Assisi that he made everything in nature a step in the ladder by which he went to Heaven. He loved the very stones beneath his feet because they were the works of his creator.

All the Saints saw without effort God in His works. Everything was a cause of prayer to them. But there was a time when they were only beginners as we are. They persevered; shall we?

ALLENTOWN CURIA - Three Causes Report for August 2023

From Maria Legionis edition 2 of 2023

https://www.legionofmary.ie/news/article/maria-legionis-issue-2-of-2023

excerpts from “The Frank Duff Library” By Máire Ní Chonalláin and Dolores NÍ Chearra

“…It has been a real privilege to take care of Frank Duff ’s books and to put them in some kind of order. To bring the library up-to-date we reorganised the books so that all the items on the same topics would be grouped together. We managed to achieve this to a large degree. The principal subject of the books in the library is Our Lady, Mary, the Mother of God, under all her many titles and many attributes. Most of them are in English, but quite a few are written in French. As is well known, Frank Duff read the ‘True Devotion to Our Blessed Lady’ by Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort, and that changed his life.

It is awe-inspiring to see all the books that are in his collection that have been written about Our Mother Mary, the layers and layers of insight and meaning to her life, a simple woman who is Queen and Mother of the whole world. It must be one of the largest collections of books about Our Lady in all of Ireland!

There are some 2,250 books in the library. He accumulated a considerable number of books himself, either by his own means or as gifts.

Frank Duff was no stranger to writing and he wrote several pieces about the work of the Legion and how it is Our Lady’s work we are aiming to do: notably ‘Can we be saints?’ and ‘Miracles on Tap.’ He would likely have got inspiration for his contributions to the Legion of Mary Handbook Legio Mariae, and to the journal Maria Legionis, from the many books about Our Lady in his library. …  He was also a reader of the lives of the saints and of the lives of many outstanding lay and religious men and women. It would have been impossible for him to read all the books in his library from cover to cover but he definitely read and re-read many of them and inscribed the ones of which he made particular use with his signature and a tick on the title page….”

(Spanish Translation)

ALLENTOWN CURIA - Informe de tres causas para agosto de 2023

De Maria Legionis edición 2 de 2023

https://www.legionofmary.ie/news/article/maria-legionis-issue-2-of-2023

Extractos de "La biblioteca Frank Duff" Por Máire Ní Chonalláin y Dolores NÍ Chearra

"...Ha sido un verdadero privilegio cuidar de los libros de Frank Duff y ponerlos en orden. Para poner al día la biblioteca, hemos reorganizado los libros de modo que todos los que trataban de los mismos temas estuvieran agrupados. Lo hemos conseguido en gran medida. El tema principal de los libros de la biblioteca es Nuestra Señora, María, la Madre de Dios, con todos sus títulos y atributos. La mayoría están en inglés, pero bastantes están escritos en francés. Como es bien sabido, Frank Duff leyó "La verdadera devoción a Nuestra Señora", de Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort, y eso cambió su vida.

Es impresionante ver todos los libros de su colección que se han escrito sobre Nuestra Madre María, las capas y capas de conocimiento y significado de su vida, una mujer sencilla que es Reina y Madre del mundo entero. Debe de ser una de las mayores colecciones de libros sobre Nuestra Señora de toda Irlanda.

Hay unos 2.250 libros en la biblioteca. Él mismo acumuló un número considerable de libros, por sus propios medios o como regalos.

Frank Duff no era ajeno a la escritura y escribió varios artículos sobre el trabajo de la Legión y cómo es el trabajo de Nuestra Señora lo que pretendemos hacer: en particular "¿Podemos ser santos?" y "Milagros de barril". Es probable que sus contribuciones al manual Legio Mariae y a la revista Maria Legionis se inspiraran en los numerosos libros sobre la Virgen que tenía en su biblioteca. ... También fue un lector de la vida de los santos y de la vida de muchos laicos y religiosos destacados. Habría sido imposible para él leer todos los libros de su biblioteca de principio a fin, pero sin duda leyó y releyó muchos de ellos e inscribió aquellos de los que hizo un uso particular con su firma y una marca en la portada....".

ALLENTOWN CURIA - Three Causes Report for May 2023

From Maria Legionis edition 1 of 2023

https://www.legionofmary.ie/news/article/maria-legionis-issue-1-of-2023

Edel Quinn liked Strong Tea and Cream Buns!

By Fr. Claudio Rossi, S.J.

When Fr. Rossi was Spiritual Director of the Clifton Diocese Curia, Bristol, in 1993, he sent the following letter to Concilium which was published in Maria Legionis. It is reprinted hereunder.

In my first parish after ordination in Harare, Zimbabwe, I met Mrs. Yolande Le Clezio who told me that as a young girl in Mauritius she had known Edel Quinn. While she remembered her for her great goodness, all she could remember in any detail was being taken by Edel to a tea room when Edel had said: “We Irish like our tea strong.” It was in 1976 that I met Mrs Le Clezio. Now in 1993 who should I meet in Bath, England, but her sister Mrs. Marie Please. Mrs. Please informed me that she was the first president of the junior praesidium commenced by Edel Quinn. She remembers above all Edel’s “lovely bright shining eyes” and the “peace and incredible joyfulness” she radiated. She remembers Edel exhorting the young legionaries to be generous, kind and compassionate in their legionary work. She, too, recalled being taken to tea by Edel, and Edel’s remark: “We are going to have lovely cream buns!”

Yes, the saints are lovable because they are human.

ALLENTOWN CURIA

Three Causes Report for December 2022

Frank Duff became acquainted with St. Louis Marie De Montfort’s “Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin” long before he founded the Legion of Mary, and it can be said that he grasped the deep theological basis of the De Montfort Way as no one else of his time, and he lived it every moment of his life. It was the key to his holiness.

Here are some indications of Frank Duff’s personal holiness:

1. He lived in the constant presence of the Blessed Trinity.

2. He had an intense love of Jesus in the Eucharist; attendance at Holy Mass and the reception of Holy Communion were essential parts of his daily life.

3. He led a life of close union with Mary, the Mother of God.

4. He possessed a deeply inspired knowledge of God and of Catholic theology.

5. He had a warm love for the Church, for the Pope, and for the priests.

6. He was greatly respected for his deep humility and shy, quiet reserve.

7. He led a most simple, frugal life. (His bedroom had the barest of furniture. He had no automobile or chauffeur. He traveled around Dublin on his bicycle, even when he was almost 90 years old.)

Monsignor Albert Norrell testified that on one of his many visits to Dublin as an Active member of the Legion to see Mr. Duff, he became so sick that he had to be taken to the hospital, where, upon examination it was determined that he would need immediate surgery. Frank visited Al the evening before, and asked him what was wrong. When Al told him of the great pain he was in, and how they were to operate on him the next day, Frank said to Al: “there is no need for an operation. You have nothing wrong with you; get dressed and we will leave now.” Al dressed and left with Frank. The pain left him immediately and never returned – Al was perfectly well.

Excerpt from “The Legion of Mary School for Saints” by Rev Msgr. Thomas Falls, S.T.D., Ph.D.

ALLENTOWN CURIA

Three Causes Report for August 2022

A favor attributed to the intercession of the Servant of God Edel Quinn

Following a superficial injury, Fr. Robert Hilton, a priest on the teaching staff of an English seminary, developed a very bad ulcer on the side of his knee which steadily grew worse in spite of careful treatment in hospital and in the infirmary of the seminary.

At the end of three months a nurse who dressed the ulcer described it as “very angry and like a real hole in the knee.” Three months later a different nurse said it was “a deep hole into which one could put one’s finger; the wound was full of pus and very raw.” The doctor described it then as being “one and a half inches in diameter with a sloughing base extending to the lower tissues;” He warned that it would take a long time to heal. The ward sister of a hospital where the priest spent some weeks, also at that time, was fully convinced that the ulcer would take perhaps up to a year to heal if, indeed, it ever healed. The patient left the hospital to be cared for by the very competent infirmarian of the seminary, a religious sister. A few days later, seeing that the ulcer had defied all medical treatment and was continuing to deteriorate, she began to pray earnestly for the cure through the intercession of Edel Quinn, and was wholeheartedly joined in her prayer by Fr. Hilton himself. Very soon after the start of this prayer the ulcer began to show improvement and within two weeks the heavy discharge of pus had completely ceased while the ulcer was seen to be healing from the base deep down. The prayers continued and each day showed a further improvement. By another ten days the ulcer was completely healed. The doctor subsequently made a statement describing the cure as a most extraordinary phenomenon and entirely unexpected. He was personally convinced that the cure should be attributed to the invocation of Edel Quinn and not to the medical treatment which, in this case, had proved of so little avail. (U.K.)

Excerpt from “The Legion of Mary School for Saints” by Rev Msgr. Thomas Falls, S.T.D., Ph.D.

ALLENTOWN CURIA

Three Causes Report for July 2022

A favor attributed to the intercession of the Servant of God Edel Quinn

“I wish to inform the Legion of my remarkable hearing recovery, which I attribute to the intercession of Edel Quinn. Previous to my experience, I had been deaf for many years and found it necessary to wear a hearing aid.

During the year, I became interested in the life story of Edel and decided to offer up a Novena that she would intercede and cure my loss of hearing – this she did.

On August 4 last, while watching television, my hearing aid suddenly failed to function. On pulling it out, I discovered that I could hear very clearly. The aid was no longer necessary. There is absolutely no medical explanation. All this I owe to Edel Quinn.” (Ireland)

Excerpt from “The Legion of Mary School for Saints” by Rev Msgr Thomas Falls, S.T.D., Ph.D.

ALLENTOWN CURIA

Three Causes Report for Sunday, April 3, 2022

Words of Life, on the Eucharist, by Edel Quinn

Resolve to be in chapel at least 10 – 15 minutes before Mass.

Keep Our Lord company in the Blessed Sacrament.

How pale is our love of Christ, how little we are ready to do and sacrifice for Him even in little things, when it costs an effort.  Try and overcome this by the practice of little sacrifices.  How few hearts give Him full entry!  He would pour Himself into souls but they will not receive.  Even His priests have so many other interests; how few are wholly His!  Can we not aim at emptying our hearts of everything, so that He may fill them completely, pour His love, His “merciful” love into them.  Let us be in the mind of Christ, taught by Mary, working for the Father, led by the Spirit of Love.  Cut out all else.  To cut out all, how difficult!  But can we give Him less, for really how little it is as reparation and gratitude?

 I am almost afraid of this enjoyment and sweetness in Our Lord these days.  Ask to be equally faithful when all is black.  Now rejoice, the Bridegroom is there. 

ALLENTOWN CURIA

Three Causes Report for Sunday, February 6, 2022

Words of Life, on the Eucharist, by Edel Quinn

I could assist at Mass the whole day long.

Mary loves Jesus in me, caresses and compassionates Him for all His wounds.  But, above all, she speaks her gratitude for the Eucharist, and gives thanks to the Eternal Father for that Gift.  Without the Eucharist, what a desolation life would be!

At Mass I united myself to the victim Christ, through Mary’s hands, for the glory of the Trinity, in Thanksgiving for everything, and on behalf of souls.  At Mass always to have special intention of offering and hearing it on behalf of those souls who cannot hear it themselves by reason of sickness, distance, work, or war.  Place this intention in Mary’s hands.

The weakness which He leaves in us must not hold us back from our desires.  It is our share in His sufferings.  What a grace to be let bear a little for Him!  Each morning at Holy Mass, the Bread of Life will help the body as well as the soul, if we have faith.  If we but touch the hem of His garment… and how much more we have than that!

ALLENTOWN CURIA

Three Causes Report for Sunday, December 5, 2021

Words of Life, on Apostolate, by Edel Quinn

For graces for others, how confidently we may pray, especially for the grace of conversion.  I asked Mary today to pour down graces on the Legion, to obtain graces of repentance for those who have gone away, to sanctify and enlighten all officers.

 One’s duty is not only to work, but to pray and sanctify oneself for those worked for.  May Mary this day give fresh fervor to those who are growing slack.  May she sanctify those who have been good to me for her sake.  May she turn to good all my errors and failures. 

 The harder the fight, the more one appreciates and values the victory.

 One must be prepared for the difficulties which arise on the way.  Even for the average person, to keep a good disposition under the daily preoccupations requires a constant battle.  It is, of course, natural that a soul which is specially gifted will encounter trials and difficulties which are unknown to mediocre souls.  The greatest saints were always subjected to the greatest trials.

Three Causes Report for October

St Thérèse of Lisieux and Edel Quinn, Ireland’s Little Flower

One of the striking aspects of Edel Quinn is her similarity to St Thérèse of Lisieux, the famous Carmelite nun.  

St Thérèse is called the Little Flower and Edel was named Edelweiss after the above little flower.  

Edel was born just ten years after St Thérèse died.  She wanted to become an enclosed nun like St Thérèse, except that she applied to the Poor Clare Order.  Edel was turned down due to ill health caused by the same Tuberculosis disease which had killed St Thérèse.  St Thérèse in her tremendous zeal, wanted to be a Missionary.  Edel, in her Legion of Mary zeal, became a tremendous Missionary of the Church in Africa.

There is a French connection too in the person of Pierre Landrin, for if Edel had not become a member of the Legion and then a Legion Envoy to Africa she might have married this French-man, Pierre Landrin, who had fallen in love with her.

Edel had a copy of St Thérèse's autobiography, Story of a Soul, which is kept safe in Concilium Headquarters.  Frank Duff had great devotion to St Thérèse and perhaps St Thérèse sent Frank Duff and the Legion a new Little Flower in the person of Edel Quinn.  

Perhaps also, if St Thérèse was told she could return to earth as a lay person and was asked what kind of lay person she would like to be, she might say a Legion of Mary envoy like Edel Quinn, so that she could do great Missionary work.

Therese died at the age of 24 (1897) from tuberculosis. Her feast day in the General Roman Calendar was October 3 from 1927 until it was moved in 1969 to October 1.

Edel died at the age of 37 (1944) from tuberculosis. The cause for her beatification was introduced in 1956. She was declared venerable by Pope John Paul II on 15 December 1994, since then the campaign for her beatification has continued.

ALLENTOWN CURIA

Three Causes Report for Sunday, September 12, 2021

Words of Life, on Apostolate, by Edel Quinn

Mary calls upon us: what an honour!  She offers us her instrument, the Legion.  Are we going to refuse her our indispensable co-operation?

Let us start the Legion, the rest will come; Our Lady will make plain to us what she wants.

The Legion will be the answer to all your problems.

I must enlist all my powers in the service of the Legion.

My vocation is a legionary one.  Envoy and Praetorian – consecrated to work for the Father by the Holy Spirit of Jesus and by Mary.

Try to live as Envoy and Praetorian to the fullest.  Leave the rest to others.

Ask Mary to secure these graces for us.  Expect great things, a burning love.  It is the Holy Spirit Who breathes these desires into us.

I promised to be there, and I explained that on no account does a Legionary miss a meeting.

ALLENTOWN CURIA

Three Causes Report for Sunday, June 13, 2021

Words of Life, on Mary, by Edel Quinn

With Mary, I must be a channel of grace to every soul – or rather, Mary through me.

Let us renounce our own human views to take on Mary’s, and so be led by her Spirit in all things.  Let us adopt her outlook, her thoughts in everything.  Let us not allow our natural inclinations to creep in.

When I make mistakes, ask Mary to settle matters.  She knows how stupid I am, how little I can do right by myself; but she is my Mother.  She knows how to make all things work together in balanced harmony.  I have the sense of her help and her possessive care.

Why could we not trust Our Lady?

We give our acts to Mary, then she takes such of them as have spiritual value and uses them to build up Christ in us.

Let us give ourselves completely to her, to be made all His, to be consumed unceasingly.

Be hers, in order to be all the more His.

I could never refuse anything to Our Lady that I thought she wanted.

In regard to Mary, I must preserve the attitude of a child to its mother.             Total Confidence!

Since God gave us His Son through her, let us go to Him through her.

As Jesus and with Him, to love Mary – Mary in me will love her Son.

Often remember Christ’s words: “Son, behold thy Mother.”  Like St. John, I must take her to my own.  Pray that the full efficacy which Christ put in that word “Mother” be developed by my acceptance of it.

Realize that Mary loves us because we are Christ’s legacy to her.

Let Our Lady do the work.

The Blessed Virgin wishes to continue giving Jesus to the world.  We are not Christians if we do not go to our brother and give him Jesus also.

With Mary, I must be a channel of grace to every soul -- or rather, Mary through me.

ALLENTOWN CURIA - Three Causes Report for July 2023

Excerpt from Frank Duff’s Can We Be Saints?

What is a Saint?

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 today 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.”

Who are Called to be Saints?

Every person that is born is called to be a Saint.