First Hand Accounts

The other thread, once again, was too long. Let's focus on what we really know, rather than heard. Scipio asks:

Monk: I find your testimony quite accurate of the inner culture around Maciel. But maybe you could share with us something more. In your book you say you worked quite close to Maciel: did you ever see him celebrate Mass in a private chapel, say the breviary or pray the rosary? Did you notice lack of piety? Itis a very strong red flag against holiness

Comments

[The Monk]

Scipio,

The quick answer to the first part of your question is a qualified "no."

The second part ("Did you notice lack of piety?) is a tad more complicated.

Obviously a perceived "lack of piety" (in the sense of "religious devotion and reverence to God") would be a strong red flag against holiness. It's a very relevant question I think. So in an effort to give my candid answer, which may provide some "historical" perspective, I wrote a fairly detailed answer.

I don't want to abuse space here. So if you want to see the full version it's at:

http://www.monkwhostolethecow.com/2012/01/focusing-on-what-i-know-response-to.html

I'd be glad to address any questions, back here. I hope it helps us deal with "what we know rather than what we've heard" as Giselle says.

[pete vere]

Monk - I found your observations of Maciel's prayer life (or lack thereof) very interesting. In particular:

1 - The claim or suggestion he, a priest and religious, would be dispensed from praying the Breviary, which is the Church's public prayer.

2 - Your comment that MM never really seemed part of the community.

3 - That when he visited his hometown, you stayed with Mama Maurita but he did not, nor did he interact with her much while visiting his hometown. Speaking of Mama Maurita, since LC and RC have put forward her cause, what was her prayer/devotional life like when you stayed with her?

[M.I.]

Maybe it should also be considered that because of the very nature of the congregation, it mostly attracted a certain type of young men to it's ranks: active and efficient leaders, type-A personalities (as opposed to more 'contemplative' persons) who would be less likely to focus on Maciel's life of prayer and piety, and more in his energy/drive/charisma/activity/apostolic creativity, etc... So they would not notice these big red flags at the moment.
It's also evident that Maciel always controlled the information by dividing it... It seems that nobody could really have the whole picture because nobody knew everything! So astute it's scary...(and it still works that way today!)

[The Monk]

Pete,
In my experience, from the time I first stayed with her in 1965 through the last time I saw her in 1976 (a year before her death) Mama Maurita impressed me as a devout, traditional, and fervent Catholic. She possessed a simple faith and practiced simple devotions to an exemplary degree. I recall her forever worrying about the trials and tribulations of her son Maciel (before the revelations of scandal.) She prayed constantly for him, for his seminarians and the success of the Legionaries. Her prayers and the many handwritten letters she wrote to MM provide quite a moving testimony - especially in light of what we now know.

[Aaron]

Can you make any comment on the death of her husband and her relationship with him? I heard it was strained and that she did not assist him in his death bed, did not want to go to his funeral.

[The Monk]

I believe that at times his parents relationship was "strained," and was so especially towards the end.

That was often implied in MM's descriptions of his father. His primary relationship was with his mother. In the context of time and place, I guess this was not so unusual and it's not always helpful to judge the past by today's more enlightened standards.

I think we know as much as we need to know about the family which makes me reluctant to speculate about the dead.

[Mary Ann]

I posted my small first hand account elsewhere (not sure where!), but I have another first and second hand account.

A few years back, I received a call one day at my place of work (a ministry) - not sure how or why the person called there or how she got my name. She said that Legionaries were courting her widowed and ailing father and taking a lot of his money. They also wanted him to leave all his money to them in his will. This woman had health and life issues and she (and her child, as I remember), were living with and greatly dependent on her father. She wanted to know about Legion practices and how she could defend her father and her own future. She described the usual courtship tactics (visits, compliments, charm and good looks, high pressure), and spoke of the joy her father felt at finally finding an orthodox order, and of his distancing from his children. While there may be many dynamics in this case, it is another little glimpse into how the Legion affects families.

[WiserThanEver]

Talk about manipulative. They are absolute vultures.