WELCOME TO SENATUS OF LOS ANGELES
Our Lady, Queen of Angels
Who is she that comes forth ...
Upcoming Events
- Senatus MeetingThu, Jul 16Christ the King Church
- 105th AnniversaryMon, Sep 07Christ Cathedral
About the Legion of Mary
The Legion of Mary is an international association of lay Catholics finding Jesus through prayer, works of mercy and evangelization rooted in Marian spirituality and commitment to the Holy Spirit.
OBJECT
The object of the Legion of Mary is the glory of God through the holiness of its members developed by prayer and active co-operation in Mary’s and the Church’s work. The unit of the Legion of Mary is called a praesidium, which holds a weekly meeting, where prayer is intermingled with reports and discussion. Persons who wish to join the Legion must apply for membership in a Praesidium. The Legion sees as its priority the spiritual and social welfare of each individual. The members participate in the life of the parish through visitation of families, the sick, both in their homes and in hospitals and through collaboration in every apostolic and missionary undertaking sponsored by the parish. Every legionary is required to carry out a weekly apostolic work in the spirit of faith and in union with Mary.
Allocutio: Matthew 6:5-13 Prayer
By Fr. Joseph Dass (June 2026)
In the gospel of Matthew, we heard Jesus say: "This is how you are to pray and gave us the perfect prayer: The Our Father.”
Paul Harvey, a writer, gives us this beautiful anecdote about a 3-year-old boy who accompanied his Mom to the grocery store. Before they entered the store the Mom gave instructions to her little boy; “Now you are not going to get any chocolate chip cookies. So don’t ask” She put him on the child’s seat and off they went, up and down the aisles. The little boy was doing fine until they came to the cookie section. Seeing the chocolate chip cookies, he said, “Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies? “I told you, not even to ask. You are not going to get any at all,” said the mother. They continued down the aisle but in their search for a certain item, she had to back track and they ended up on the chocolate chip cookie aisle and once again the boy pleaded, “Mom can I please. I told you, you cannot have any. Now sit down and be quiet.” Finally they arrived at the check out counter. The little boy sensed that the end was in sight that this might be his last chance. So, he stood up in his seat and at the top of his voice shouted, “In the name of Jesus, may I have some chocolate chip cookies, please?” Everyone in the checkout lane laughed and applauded. Do you think that little boy got his cookies? You bet. The other shoppers, moved by the little boy’s plea pooled their resources. As a result, the little boy and his mother left the store with 23 boxes of chocolate chip cookies.
The disciples said to Jesus: “Lord teach us how to pray.” We notice something here. When did they make this request? Was it after Jesus had given them the lecture on prayer? Or was it after Jesus had preached a powerful sermon on the power of prayer? – NO. St Luke says, the disciples observed Jesus praying by himself at a distance and when He had finished they said to Him, “Lord, teach us how to pray.” They saw the power in Him. They saw how important prayer was to Him.
According to a Gallup Poll:
87% of all Americans pray; 50% pray for petitions; and 70% claim their prayers are answered. The French philosopher and Mathematician, Blez Pascal says,” Prayer is one of the ways God has chosen to share his infinite power with us”.
The three forms of prayer, namely: Vocal, Meditation, and Contemplation are summarized in these simple words. Vocal Prayer - To talk with God, No breath is lost: Talk on! Meditation -To walk with God, No strength is lost: Walk on! Contemplation – To wait on God, No time is lost: Wait on!
Bishop Sheen used to say: The person who thinks of himself says the prayer of Petition. The person who thinks of his neighbors says the prayer of Intercession. The person who thinks only of loving and serving God says the prayer of Abandonment to the will of God, and that is the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemani and that is the prayer of the saints.
Frank Duff Reading Reference: Writings of Frank Duff, Mary Shall Reign, # 8, Excerpt from – “The Spirit of Home Visitation, See Christ in All”, p. 72
Therefore, you must go to them in the spirit of that third Standing Instruction, which bids you to see Christ in each member of the family, and to behave to Him as Mary herself behaved to Him. Higher than that you could not aim, but you must not aim any lower. That extreme example is not unattainable. Out from that person whom you visit, Our Lord is radiating the help to enable you to proceed in the perfect way. While Mary, who walks hand in hand with you is filling you with her own spirit to enable you to fulfil your mission. This effort to recollect yourself should be made before entering into each home. It is not enough to go about your work with vague good intention. The difficulties are too great for that. A vivid principle must animate your action.
This effort to get your motives into order at each door will create psychologically, and still more spiritually, the right complexion of mind and of soul in you, so that you enter the home mindful of the dignity of each person there, properly respectful to each one. You must go with reasonable frequency to each home. Visitation should not be a sort of hit and run business. An isolated call without prospect of seeing the people again for a long time is not visitation according to the Legion idea. It is not possible to develop an acquaintance on such a foundation. Vital to the process of showing interest in people is that you will know their names. It is disturbing commentary on the modern set-up that we can deal with people closely even daily for a long period – for instance in shops, office or restaurants – and in the end have to confess ignorance of their names. One is tempted to generalize drastically: No names, no influence! An anomaly in this visiting is that the house may not be a home. The home is the family living in the house. Do you ever meet the home in that sense? The cry among you is that you do not; that a large proportion of the family, especially the young adult element, is always out at their own enjoyments. You must not let them evade you like that. As a first step towards tracking them down, you must try to know them, though absent. Talk about them in the ordinary friendly intercourse which should have developed. Find out what are they following up. Get some idea of what they are like. They are part of the home, so you have a responsibility for them. You must not be satisfied with perfunctory visitation which deals with people whom you find and no more. Announcements • Confidentiality of Paramount Importance: “It is treachery to the Legion to repeat outsi