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INTRODUCTION

In 1958 the first True Devotion tothe Nation Conference took place at thebirthplace of the Legion in Myra House,Francis Street, Dublin.

At first there was quite a revulsion offeelingat it. Many were distressed, angry; they feltthat a menace was being directed at the lifeof their beloved Society; that time-honouredideas were being hurled overboard andthat an unjustifiable revolution was beinglaunched in the Legion. To some extentthose fears were allayed before the end ofthat Conference. They persisted in certainquarters. But where today, in the Legion, isthere a trace of such dissent?

Where life is expanding and seekingoutlets, one must expect such situations.New ideas insert themselves and develop,causing anxiety. Then they slip simplyinto their place and it is seen that theyhave filled an unperceived gap. Definitelythere is in the Legion a principle of orderlygrowth, of design not our making, which isboth touching and strengthening because itsuggests the care of maternal power.

The Legion came into existence in theupper room at the end of the hall wherewe are gathered. The same statue of theBlessed Virgin which graced the firstmeeting stood before us. The first baby crywas a declaration of its dependence on ourBlessed Mother. From that moment its

attitude towards her was distinctive and, ina fashion, pierced the future. In June 1921Pope BenedictXv had granted the Feast andOffice of Our Lady, Mediatrix of all Graces.It is remarkable that a few months later theinfant Legion was building itself on thatdoctrine and with reasonable understandingof it. It was a true case of the duck enteringinto water and finding itself in its element.The word 'Mediatrix' was not used at thatfirst meeting, nor until some time laterwhen the legionaries learned of that Papalgrant. But from the first moment they hadthe inner essence of it. They understoodit in the perfect way of being able to put itinto practice. Out of that knowledge of heremerged that Legion scheme. The doctrineof the Mystical Body was only properlygrasped as the result of trying to understandher. Then with the doctrine of the MysticalBody came all its light on the nature of theChurch, the true basis of the apostolate,the function of the Sacramental system andprayer. All of these ingredients go to make upwhat we call the life of the Legion. Mary ourMother still maintains that legionary fabric,and it will strengthen or weaken accordingto the Legion's appreciation of her. TheLegion always realised that she was no meredevotion in the Church, but a necessarypart of Christianity itself, conjoined to OurLord and made by him a condition of theimparting of his grace. The De EcclesiaDecree, which is the first effort on the partof the Church to draw up a Constitution for

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itself, affords an astounding endorsement ofthat Legion attitude in all its aspects.

Let me mention one or two of its morestriking details. One is that Mary must betaught to the- world; that Catholics mustunderstand her essential maternal role.Having grasped it themselves, they must passit on to those outside the Church for theseare likewise her children, her separated butdearly beloved children to whom she is trulya Mother.:: That is an idea which we havealways been proposing. It derives from LeoXIII but has been imagined to be a Legionidea. Now it is promulgated by the Church•as part of Catholic Doctrine.

Another of those supposedly Legionideas now endorsed is that Mary is Queenof Apostles in the sense that the apostolatedepends on her, so that her co-operation inall work for souls, including those outside theChurch, must be sought. Success dependson that co-operation which she will give ifshe is asked.

THE SPIRITUAL AND THEMATERIAL

As she has that special part in Christianity,so she is the key to our problem of today:True Devotion to the Nation. In themystical Nazareth it is still a. question ofMary tending her Son. She is not interestedalone in feeding him and unfolding hismind. She is solicitous about every aspect ofhis life, his physical welfare, his comfort, his

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recreation, all things which would surroundhim and affect the life of the individual. Shesees him in all people. She looks on his life asa whole. It would be intolerable to her thathe should be afflicted in any department.It is certain that she would wish to remedyanything which was wrong. And this is thebasis of True Devotion to the Nation.

Of course first things rank first. Theessence of everything is the spiritual, theDivine things. But the body is inextricablyentwined with the soul, and material thingswith the spiritual; each affects the other. It .is not properly possible for us to concernourselves only with the soul of a person. Lovedoes not think along such lines of restriction.You love the whole person and you long toserve him in every way. It would constitute apeculiar position to talk religion to a personand to be indifferent to his misery. A naturalmother would not act in that way towardsher child, and neither would Mary towardsher mystical child. We are supposed to bethe agents of Mary, tending her child, unitedto her action. We must be as Our Lady tothe community.

But I insist there is no abandonment ofour traditional scheme. There is no droppingof our spiritual programme, but only anintensification of it. We have not relaxedour rule against the giving of materialrelief. In fact we have become progressivelystrengthened in regard to it. We believeit to be our bulwark against the mere

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humanism which has absorbed so much ofthe Catholic apostolate. Too much of thealleged apostolate of today is but a cult ofthe material even though a spiritual glossbe imparted to it. With sufficient agenciesdevoted to the giving of material relief it isvital that the Legion should remain constantto its aim of seeking first the kingdom ofGod. True Devotion to the Nation isan effort to do this, and then to reach outto the 'other things'. This order of values isessential. The spiritual must be the motive.The prevailing tendency is to rule out thatmotive and to commit the people's lives tosecular and technical handling. This is noteven a distant relation to Christianity andwe must energetically try to impart truebalance.

But 'material relief' is to be correctlyinterpreted. It does not include thatrendering of services to the individual andthe community which constitute TrueDevotion to the Nation. While our greatpreoccupation is the spiritual, it must notbe viewed too narrowly, for that spiritualconcerns all life. All life springs from it andministers to it. If we have to distinguishbetween what is primary and secondary,it should not result in the neglecting ofeither. If we are dealing with the secondaryaspects stressed in True Devotion to theNation, it must not be to the detriment ofthe primary one. We must not for a momentlose sight of the soul. It is to the soul thatwe are really addressing ourselves through

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the means which we use, each of whichshould be viewed as a lever to uplift faith, topromote moral good.Mary's own outlook must be ours.

Whether she was attending to Jesus himselfor to the more remote operations of runningher home, she always had the interest ofthe Holy Trinity in clear focus. So in anysituation where we are in doubt, think ofher, how she would act, and she will giveus true direction. The legionary must seeJesus in his neighbour, who is all mankind,and then must serve him in every way, usingeach way to lead people on to proper levels of ~religion. Too much of common Catholicismis a veneer. I do not say that it is insincerebut it does not go deep enough to influencethe ordinary life. Included in that process ofChristianising must be the making of one'splace more happy, more prosperous, morebeautiful, more enlightened; the creating ofemployment, the stopping of emigration.One of the special means of aiding in that

process would be the fostering of honestdealing in every shape. So dislocatingis defect in this department that I havewondered if a ten per cent improvement incommon honesty would not bridge the gapwhich separates the improvement of theworld from a modest comfort.

WHAT IS TRUE PATRIOTISM?

If this is fulfilment of duty to the Churchand to one's neighbour it is, likewise,

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patriotism. This word opens up before usunknown, uncharted territory, for what istrue patriotism? There is no model of it inthe world. The nearest is the brand of self-sacrifice and devotion which develops duringa war. But this is motivated by hate morethan by love, and appropriately it is directedtowards destroying. So it is imperative thata correct model be somewhere provided.

This is doubly necessary having regardto the way in which the Modern Statetends to widen its functions. Animatedusually with the best intentions, it seeks tomanipulate people's minds. It moves more•and more towards thinking for each one,arranging his life in detail. By a creepingprocess it is appropriating to itself rightswhich Christianity has always regarded asbelonging to the individual.

This could work out to a pure tyranny.The modern idea attributes to the 'State' aquasi-omnipotence. Governments honestlyimagine that they have an unlimitedpower over the citizens. This could proveintolerable even if operated on lines of truedemocracy. But often enough it is a case ofthe dictatorship of a few persons.

This has all the colour of the menacedescribed in that novel "1984", which BigBrother looks into every room througha television apparatus and superviseseverything for the twenty-four hours ofthe day. It is towards something likethat dismal position that the State idea is

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steadily slipping. More and more is beingtaken into its scope. Possibly this mayresult in providing for every material need.But analysed, such an improvement looksdangerously like a comfortable slavery. Andinevitably that evolution will clash with theCatholic Church which ultimately has toinsist on certain rights for the individual,believing that God has given those rights."From the useful institution which it was,the national State has become the threatto civilisation that it now undoubtedly is".These words are not mine but Toynbee's.

That tendency towards taking over bythe State is largely due to the passivity ofthe citizens. Having been taught no senseof responsibility in respect of the defectsaround them, they do nothing towardsremedying them. So it is inevitable thatthe State is forced to intervene in regard tothe greater evils. Then the intervention andthe inertia are both progressive. The citizenfades away into a cipher put into a computerwhich will decide what is to be done withhim.

If the people are shown a proper sense ofresponsibility, much of this would have beenavoided and healthy communities would bethe result. Most of the graver problems aredue to maladjustment of some kind, andwould yield to principles of self-help andChristian behaviour. So there is no needfor the individual to forfeit his rights to theState in order to be able to live.

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But this is a truth which must be practicallydemonstrated. This is of such importancethat God will help if we but play our part.The lack of a model in this particular caseresults disastrously in the absence of anyidea as to what patriotism is. In the case offlying, for instance, the correct theory waspresent long before the practical model wasattained. People understood what flyingmeant. They knew its laws and indeedeverything. about it. The one thing missingwas an engine which could lift more thanits own weight. The moment the internalcombustion engine was discovered, theproblem of flight was solved; all the laws andprinciples were ready. The usual procedureis that the idea precedes the working model,and eventually the model emerges. But itis different in that case of patriotism wherethere has been neither the proper idea northe working model.

Then what is patriotism? What areits basis, motives, scope? This degree ofuncertainty declares it to be an unknownquantity. It will be understood either as:

a) That wartime formula; or asb) A sentimental conception without

rational roots. As such it will be seenas a mere rivalry and rejected bysensible people; or as

c) A device for exploiting people. DoctorSam Johnson defined patriotism asthe last refuge of a scoundrel.

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Therein lies the extreme importance ofTrue Devotion to the Nation. It is thepractical working model which teaches usthe correct theory of Christian patriotismand shows how it is to be applied. If itcan be made to prevail, it would usher ina revolution infinitely greater than thatproduced by the discovery of the steamengine or electricity or atomic science,because it is in the superior moral order.One helping circumstance is that everybodyis at least in a hazy way searching for sucha thing; nobody is satisfied with thosecommon conceptions of nationhood.

For all its defects Ireland is in this matterthe best off by reason of its having Faith.If we could ameliorate our position in aworthy and striking way, we would secureimitation for the world which seems to bewheezing to death in terrible convulsions.We would qualify as that Nation visualisedin the Handbook of the Legion of Marywhich solved its problems and as a matterof automatic consequence attracts the othernations to learn from it. Moreover, andmore important, it would afford convincingevidence as to the power of Christianity,so much derided today as an obsoletesuperstition.

There is a further reason why the Legionmust enter on this new territory of TrueDevotion to the Nation. Big changesare about to accomplish themselves in theapostolate. Certain aspects of it have been

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seen to be based excessively on the economicand material. Many of them repudiateany programme of trying to win souls. Ifin certain places the Legion is taken upinstead of those other apostolates, it will berequired to undertake works which they hadspecialised in. Through True Devotion tothe Nation the Legion is enabled to attendto them inside its own framework of motivesand method.

There is another reason why we must workTrue Devotion to the Nation vigorously.Perhaps it is due to the Legion's vividprojection of the apostolic idea that there isa surge of new' societies and humanitarianprojects around us. Most of them have noreligious note in them. Add on new effortsby Communism. So that if we do not go atonce into that field we may find it largelytaken over by those agencies. This would beserious as presenting that position deploredin the Legion Handbook where we had beenanticipated and out-soldiered. Also it wouldmean that certain works are being left at themercy of purely human motives. How farwill these bring us?

NO NATIONAL IDEALISM

But a paramount reason lies in thenecessity of the country which is the taking-off ground for this project - Ireland. Let usbe frank about it: there is nothing in thecountry which could be described as nationalidealism. There is a poor realisation of duty

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or service of the community. It would be agreat mistake to think that our problemsare mainly economic. Actually there ismuch money flowing, hundreds of millionsof borrowed money among it. It is difficultto get labour. There is much drinking andmisconduct. There is insufficient publicspirit. There is a determined and partlyunnecessary emigration. There are jobsavailable but the people are determinedto go. Patriotism should be showing itselfin some sort of dutifulness towards one'scountry, at the very least in a willingnessto stay in it. But that is not in evidence.Some aspects resemble anarchy. Definitelythere is at work a malady, which, if it is tobe cured, will kill us spiritually and probablynationally. -

A group of us have just come back froma short trip which involved the staying ina different place every night. I would notsay that it evidenced a consoling religiousposition. In two of the places eleven peoplewere at Holy Communion in the morning,of whom we were seven. In another atSunday's Mass the priest appealed thateveryone should go at least monthly to HolyCommunion, and he pleaded that people benot ashamed of being seen going to the altarrails! This in the era of daily Communion!

That rural inadequacy compares badlywith the Adjutorian degree which theLegion is proposing to the people, namely,daily Mass, Holy Communion, Rosary and

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the saying of an office. With backing, thatprogramme could be made to sweep Ireland.

In those localities one felt that the lifeof religion had reached an irreducibleminimum, and. that it is not presentingthe true face elf Christianity. If there areany idealistic impulses stirring in thosecommunities, these are not derived fromreligion. Nor are those places capable ofwithstanding a moral or religious attack.Yet they are leisured, nothing stirring inthe early part of the day, and thus affordingscope for the Adjutorians, the Patricians,etc. The Patricians is a positive necessity;it is an efficient way of teaching the adultstheir religion. Need I add that there are nopraesidia in those places?

All that sounds bad. But we are far frombeing the only victim's of a misunderstoodcivilisation. All the other countries aresuffering similarly, or far worse. In a recentissue the London Times published a surveyof conditions on the English countryside.It shows a like unsavoury stagnation, butdeprived of the religious note which atleast we have. Beer, weekly bingo, and adiscontent with one's surroundings: theseconstitute a fine formula for the warping ofhuman material.

A better order does not spring up of itself.There must be some force.to animate it. Butnot all such forces are good. For instance,a Communist cell would be an energisinginfluence. It would be a bad one, but it would

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certainly set things moving in various ways.It would start every sort of hare; plans toreform, schemes for taking over the propertyof the "rich", promises to give something toeverybody. And somewhere in the picturewould be the weaning of people from thatenemy of progress, religion!

That stirring, that animating must bedone. But it must be approached on correctlines, that is, for Christian ends and outof Christian motives. My formula for thatanimating principle would not exactlyconstitute a sixty-four dollar question,because you all know the answer. It is awell-worked Praesidium. I do not suggestthat the Legion is the only animatingprinciple. But it is the only large-scale,recognised one which carries the religiousmotive to its full logical conclusion. It doesnot base its apostolate on a vague appealto Christian humanitarianism which couldmean absolutely nothing. Even unbelieversconstantly have that word 'Christian' ontheir lips. The Legion proposes as motivepower the doctrine of the Mystical Body inall its detail, including, of course, Our Lady.This doctrine obliges us to think in terms ofevery person in each place and of all aspectsoflife there, cultural, economic, recreationaland of development in every sense.

Commonly the absence of unemploymentis regarded as denoting prosperity, so thatthe people do not bestir themselves towardsdevelopment. That apparent prosperity is

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fictitious because those places are providingfor their children by the simple method ofemigrating them. The resulting positionis the opposite to true prosperity. For acommunity, like a family, should normallyprovide for itsi children. This can onlybe done by a continuous development ofindustry in all its forms.

All this must not amount to selfishlocalism. It must be expansive. Peoplesolving their problems in a small countryplace must at the same time be thinking ofthe whole country. More than that, thereshould be a holy internationalism. Here Ipoint to the movements which the Legionhas produced. They emerged in a particularplace, but an essential thought was: how arewe going to apply this to the whole world?Just now you are witnessing this legionaryinstinct at work in the Peregrinatio ProChristo and the Viatores Christi". Under thePeregrinatio movement at present (1970s)about 2,000 Irish legionaries give theirholidays and holiday money each year to goon mission projects in Britain. And alreadythis movement has caught on in places asfar away as Haiti, Venezuela, United States,Canada, the Philippines and will soon beimitated elsewhere. Under the ViatoresChristi movement some 200 Irish lay peoplehave already gone to work in missionarycountries. To the extent that we progresswith True Devotion to the Nation it will

*Viatores was part of the Legion system then.

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similarly be utilised for the benefit of theworld.

Is it necessary to point out that this sortof thing, done all over a country, builds upinto Christian patriotism? Necessarily thatChristian love must concentrate initially onthe people one meets, but it must ambition.to help everyone. If patriotism is basicallyreligion, then the Legion is perhaps thebest organisation to implement it because itunites the two ideas.

EXAMPLE OF COMMUNISM

There is also a primary psychologicalconsideration to be reckoned with. Man is notmeant to be alone. In the individual residesan extraordinary quality of helplessness. Itmust be supplemented if he is to be madeeffective even in the mildest degree. Thisdefectiveness is at its greatest in the moralorder. But the gaining of a helper makesall the difference. A few working togetherstimulate each other on to courage andconquest. As a special exemplification ofthis I again give the case of Communism.A handful of them can take possession ofand control a nation. They accomplish thisby binding themselves together in a tight,single-minded unity, and then by strikingat any unity outside themselves. Therebythey throw the population into individualisolation and consequent helplessness. Themechanism for this is universal spying andfear. No one has any real communication

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with others and therefore cannot lean onthem, is afraid even to express his thoughtsto another.

That effected, the highly organised fewcan do what they like. It is because theycorrectly recognise in the Legion a counter-principle that Communism fears the Legion.The Legion works for religion instead ofagainst it, for unity instead of division;exhibits the.martyr-spirit instead of weaklyyielding. True, the Legion cannot avail of theCommunist mechanism of secrecy, spyingand fear, but love and grace will outweighthose things. If a sufficient number beinduced to assert themselves, it becomesimpossible to suppress a whole people likea flock of sheep.

In what way is the foregoing applicableto a merely nominal Christian community?Suppose a Communist cell to be operatingthere. It would not have the power to force itswill by direct action. In these circumstancesit would not sail under its true colours. Itwould work with supreme effectivenessby creating a wrong atmosphere, one ofcynicism, quiet pressure, jeering at anysort of idealism, at patriotism as a narrow,outmoded sentiment; at religion as asuperstition which has been disproved byscience; and so forth. Religion can be putcompletely on the defensive in places likethose previously pointed to where there isno praesidium, no Patricians, and where thepeople are ashamed to be seen going to Holy

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Communion! Surely there is some malignactivity there! I do not say that Communismis at the bottom of all those rotten attitudes.There are other agencies.

It is a matter of life and death that weorganise on proper lines. The Praesidiumis the perfect stimulant for that. It brings.together persons on a basis which more orless excludes really unworthy elements,that is, it summons them to prayer anddisagreeable tasks. Then it educates them inthe full Christian philosophy, doctrinal andpractical. Soon they understand each otherand this is the beginning of action.

They realise, too, that their ideas are heldby many in the community. In this feeling ofunity lies strength. If that Praesidium worksfaithfully according to its principles, it canaccomplish good. Better still, it can enablegood to overpower evil.

Definitely there is some moral forcein the Legion which make it effective indealing with the cynical, materialistic andfalsely intellectual brigades. It commandsa hearing for its views and it expounds itsspirituality and idealism without timidityor human respect. We do not find thelegionaries ashamed to be seen going toHoly Communion! But I repeat that withoutthe Praesidium those same compelling andessential ideas would be submerged by allthat cynicism and mockery and materialismwhich exercise a withering effect on themediocre Catholic. It goes without saying,

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however, that the Praesidium must be givenits chance by leadership and encouragement.

I think that the place without some formof organisation equivalent to the Legionis in peril. For there is no doubt that thematerialistic arid evil aspects are gainingground. If the Legion were to be eliminatedat a stroke, I believe that the effect onIreland would be like the breaking of thedykes which protect low-lying land, thatis, the oncome of a deluge. In the secondplace, I contend that the proper working ofthe Legion would cause good to prevail andwould lead on to a Christian order .

•Such are the principles of TrueDevotion

to the Nation and there in the Praesidiumis the machinery to put them into operation.I contend that they must work, becausethey are based on grace and the love of God.Those simple strivings will be effectivewhere statecraft and governmental powerare helpless.

AN EXAMPLE

As a crowning evidence of what can beaccomplished by the balanced scheme ofTrue Devotion to the Nation, I give acase in Ireland where the circumstances ofan entire district, twenty two miles long,were so uniformly deplorable that it wouldseem reasonable to call it hopeless. Sincethe previous century it had lost nine tenthsof its population, and the flow of emigrationpersisted. No marriage in the preceding five

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years, and only two children born. With anageing population extinction seemed to becertain. Every feature of failure present;self-help absent, family feuds so generalthat even sports did not exist; schools underclosing order. Disheartenment such that ithad become the very atmosphere, paralysingenergy and good intention.

The Parish Priest declared that it wouldrequire a miracle to revive the place, buthe added: "I believe in miracles". Buildingon his faith, True Devotion to theNation was set to work in conditions whichrepresented a supreme test for it.

What happened in the next five yearsforms an epic of all-round restoration. Ido not term it miraculous because I wouldthink that, though startling, it is really in thecommon order, only waiting to be evokedby proper procedure. It is not the will ofGod that communities be extinguished orlanguish in misery. A model sufficiency isavailable to all who reach out properly for it:neither too much nor too little, as the Liturgypetitions. God has pity on the multitude andwants to save it. But human co-operationmust enter in: such is his law and he insistson it.

When that self-help animated byfaith offers itself, it can effect marvels ofrestoration. This process need not be a slowone; it can be rapid and such was the casein that territory. In five years a new spirithad declared itself. The place had put itself

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on the tourist map. Early vegetables werebeing profitably grown. A knitting industryhad been launched. Every aspect of its defecthad shown striking amelioration. Therevival has taken in all sections of life, thespiritual, the economic, marriages, culture.There is no doubt that it will remain so anddo better still, provided, of course, that thesame positive thinking is maintained.

It is probable that this animation (notnecessarily of-the same kind nor in the samedegree) could be accomplished everywhereby the same methods. Obviously too it can beput in motion in every place simultaneously.Then is there not the presumption that anycountry could be rendered economicallysound and otherwise reasonably healthy in acomparatively few years? And it would be acase of true health, because the spiritual andmoral consideration would be prominent.

TOURISM

When it comes to choice of schemes, Iam not sure but that for us the heart of thematter lies in tourism. Some have taken adifferent view and reckoned that it lies inthe land, in the exploiting of the bounty ofnature. So I say that we must not depreciatethe one for the other, not omit the one forthe sake of the other.

Obviously we must think in terms ofeverything which affords a possibility;there is no necessary antagonism betweenthe different expedients. Tourism can

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reach its greatest heights where the land isunsuited to agriculture. As well it assertsitself comprehensively, germinating otherindustries.-

It should be our desire not only to help ourown country economically but also to showit forth in an advantageous light. The doing

,of this latter work must comprise everythingfrom cleanliness to making the most of thescenery and also exhibiting the customs,history and religion. On the economic planetourism has a particular value to Ireland.Many countries have to import the foodwhich they supply to the tourist. For Irelandit would mean the saving of the costlyexportation of its produce, some of it at aloss.

But note: accommodation is the firstrequirement, scenery taking second place.Therefore the effort should be made toinduce householders to cater for a visitoror two. In Scotland this is much developed.One is struck by the prevalence of the sign'Bed and Breakfast'. It is essential that theaccommodation reach certain qualifyinglevels. Another aspect is that if people canbe induced to take in visitors, it makesthem improve their own homes and raisetheir standards. Moreover, they shouldbe encouraged to do what they never doat present, that is, tell the visitors aboutreligion. This the visitor is anxious to hearas lending 'character' to their holiday, but itis denied to them out of a mistaken delicacy,

a reluctance to interfere with their beliefs.That could be a costly error from the Catholicpoint ofview. For the amount of appreciationforeign visitors show when trouble has beentaken to explain such things to them is oftenquite touching. It embellishes their holiday.They go away and talk about how muchthey have learned. It would be much as ifwe were visiting India and somebody tookthe trouble to bring us around the Buddhisttemples and explained them to us. But therewould be this difference between the twotransactions that God may seize upon thecontact at home as a means of bringing theFaith to the visitor.

CONCLUSION

I have finished. A gigantic task confrontsus far exceeding the greatest human effortand only realisable if the Holy Spirit be withus. But let us only set ourselves to it. TheLegion has already been used as the channelof great graces. Perhaps this will be anotherone because of its very necessity, because itseems to represent a logical outcome of thedoctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ.

Now, I give you a paragraph in the new(1970s) printing Legion Handbook whichdeals with this question of True Devotionto the Nation: "The Legion has acompelling motive for the service of thecommunity. It is that Jesus and Mary werecitizens of Nazareth. They loved that townand their country with a religious devotion,

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for to the Jews faith and fatherland were sodivinely intertwined as to be but one. Jesusand Mary lived the common life of theirlocality with perfection.

Every person and thing there was an objectof deepest interest to them. It would beimpossible to conceive them as indifferent orneglectful in any respect. Today the world istheir country and each place is their NazarethIn a baptised community they were boundmore intensely to the people than they wereto their own blood kindred. But their lovehas now to issue through the Mystical Body.If their members exert themselves in thisspirit to serve the place in which they liveJesus and Mary will move through that placeshedding their beneficial influences not onlyon souls but on the surroundings. Therewill be material betterment, problems willshrink; nor is true betterment to be gainedfrom any other source. It is this spiritualisedservice of the community which the Legionhas been propounding under the title" TrueDevotion to the Nation."

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