life-after-RC

The Maciel Cocktail

For some reason, various commenters have been drawn back to Diogenes piece of almost exactly a year ago, in which we find:

Maciel deserves to be reviled by the Legionaries of Christ. By "deserves" I mean his revilement is a debt of justice owed all Catholics by the Legion. This is not on account of Maciel's sin of sexual weakness, nor even on account of the sin of denying his sexual weakness. The fact of the matter is that Maciel was publicly accused of specific sexual crimes, and that out of moral cowardice he enlisted honorable men and women to mortgage their own reputations in defense of his lie. The lie was the lie of Maciel's personal sanctity, which Maciel knew to be a myth, and which the fact of his paternity (putting aside the more squalid accusations) proves that he knew. To the villainy of sacrificing the reputations of others, Maciel added the grotesque and blasphemous claim that the Holy See's sanctions were an answer to his own prayer to share more deeply in the passion of Christ, as an innocent victim made to bear the burden of false judgment in reparation for the sins of mankind. The Legion cannot share Catholic reverence for the Passion and fail to repudiate Maciel's cynicism in portraying himself as the Suffering Servant.

This is exactly right and we'd all benefit by reading the whole piece which was prescient, given the limited information in the public square at the time. The year since has only added layers and illustrations of that Christ Complex of the founder, which has trickled down to his congregation.

As one commenter notes:

I keep going back to this article by Diogenes in Feb 09. It says it all about the pain of comparing Maciel to the Suffering Servant and now the confusion we all feel that the LC seems to be comparing themselves to the suffering Christ carrying their cross (that they could have stopped by calling Maciel out on his sins). Maciel not only made that claim [of being a suffering servant] but the LC promulgated it all over the internet on their LC website... The LC needs to proclaim Maciel's life as blasphemous or there is no going forward. Nice apologies will not do.

So we have a very interesting mix of appalling lies:

1. Maciel is nailed to Cross, innocently suffering barbs and accusations from those who are enemies of the Church; and
2. The constant sleight of hand, which equates the Movement to the Barque of Peter, having the special guidance of the Church, the consolation of the Holy Spirit and the privilege of suffering particular trials for the love of God.

The last commenter is right -- this is a particular form of blasphemy, which has a layer of the "impenitence" that Pete Vere pointed out. Why should they apologise if they are the victims? If people on the outside simply don't understand their mission? And if they are the elite squad that is "too big to fail?"

The more the current members of the Movement speak, the more they reveal the toxic elements of deeply confusing hubris. The Movement = Church and the members "come as Christ." No apologies, no regrets and no fear. They cannot revile Maciel because of the charism he left them. Get out of their way, for they need to build his Legion.

"It's [still] all about us!"

Is it possible that the assessment in this first section actually indicates that he thinks the members of the Movement have been shy (!) about sharing their faith? Rather than any introspection or self-assessment, he reminds them to go full-throttle with spreading their version of the Good News.

Spiritual Reflection

I read this yesterday night in the chapel and it simply blew me away: “All around us, potential converts abound. The tragedy is not only that they lack faith, but that we seldom ask them to embrace it. A non-Catholic lawyer was asked on his deathbed by his Catholic partner of twenty years, “Now that you are nearing your end, how about coming into the Church?” The dying man raised his eyebrows. “If your faith meant so little to you during the twenty years you have known me,” he replied, “it cannot make that much difference now.” (The Priest Is Not His Own by Fulton J. Sheen, p. 63).

 

While I would certainly give some credit to the Catholic lawyer for at least trying, the story made me think that we can’t wait until the last minute to share our faith. It needs to be an ongoing, everyday dimension of who we are. That way, when opportunities and critical moments do arrive, we will have a little more credibility that might just make the difference when it really counts.

 

Visitation Process

For all our priests and brothers who wished to see Archbishop Chaput during the visitation to the midwestern zone of the Atlanta territory, he made himself available. Bishop Aquila of Fargo, ND, too, made himself available for the Legionary priests and brothers who work in the western zone of the Atlanta territory; he was appointed by the Holy See to assist Archbishop Chaput at his request. The experience has been incredibly reassuring. The visitators are the Holy Father’s representatives and you could say it’s “Peter” himself helping the Legion to come through this incredibly difficult chapter of our history. I am deeply grateful to Archbishop Chaput and Bishop Aquila for their dedication and example of pastoral care for us.

 

Please be assured of my prayers!

God bless,

Fr. Scott Reilly, L.C.

Did this man seriously just rejoice in the care the Church is showing towards the Legion? Seriously? We've heard the "difficult chapter" mantra enough to consider investing in coffee mugs and T-shirts, although someone else has beaten us to the looped recordings that they distributed to all members for playing at their bed-sides. 

This is another appalling example the "poor us" syndrome, with "the pope loves us" frosting. If Father Reilly is reassured, I would assume that it's simply because his brain is on "auto-pilot" and his skin is set to "thick." I remain hopeful that if all the priests and brothers entered into their conversations with AV representatives with this obtuse view of the situation that the Church would realise that there's nothing worth salvaging.

We. Will. Not. Play.

Friends, let's consider this comment and the positive response it received on this thread:

A concern is that the dioceses that ban or restrict LC and RC are seldom bastions of orthodoxy. Saint Paul-Minneapolis and Miami come to mind. Will this not play into the LC/RC claim that they are persecuted for their orthodoxy?

The Archbishop of Miami made it clear in his terse letter that the Legion had broken established rules. It broke rules -- which cannot be justified by orthodoxy. An ordinary has authority over his diocese by right of an unbroken line of succession from the apostles. Yes, there are liberal bishops, flakey bishops, inattentive bishops and down-right bad ones, but that doesn't justify deception by the Legion.

The same thing happened in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. The archbishop left town, and came back unexpectedly to find the Legion rifling through files and accessing information to which it had no right. The archbishop went from being a supporter (who assisted at LC ordinations) to an enemy in the flash of the eye. That meant that the Legion did like-wise: undermining the archbishop's support among the faithful by pointing out the access that Dignity had to the archdiocese. Yes, they did. Yes, sometimes it's difficult to keep the darker elements out of the Church (to which they cling for legitimacy and a perverse pleasure of corrupting).

BUT: What is the difference between the tactics of Dignity and the tactics of the Legion??

The Archbishop Flynn called the Legion out for creating a "parallel church," and from then on, the Legion waged a constant whisper campaign with the intention of undermining his authority. I don't give a fig about "orthodoxy" if it's touted through a methodology that carries the same amount of fidelity and duplicity of irreverent homosexuals. We cannot play this game.

People saw the light when Archbishop O'Brien (with good "orthodox" credentials) noted that it wasn't the theology but the methodology. We maintain that charge -- and cannot fall into the slippery crevice of promoting orthodoxy through devious methods.

I am reading the horrific account of the North American martyrs, whereby the lives of heroic Jesuits were made even more awful by the neglect of the ordinary back home: Cardinal Richelieu. That Machiavellian old fox back in France was, ahem, distracted, and thereby the men were denied the safety they needed to further their mission. And so they furthered their mission through greater hardship, brutal tortures, savage treatment and exposure to the elements. NEVER once did they bad mouth the Cardinal or betray the integrity of their Jesuit formation by deceit or stretching the rules.

That the Legion mentions their mission in the same breath as such Jesuits is blasphemy. We will not become distracted by "orthodoxy" or the purported lack of integrity of various bishops. That's cheap, duplicitous, distracting and unworthy of real Catholics.

What's in that Bahamian account?

Over the last week or so, we've looked at many components of the scam, but now it may be time to ask one of the most painful questions of all: how much did it cost you? No, not the lost hours with your family, not the friendships, not the alienated family members, not the credibility that will take years to reestablish, but specifically:

How much did you spend on this Pipe-dream of a Kingdom?

Since Pure Fashion has come across our radar screens as an expensive (and questionable) way to catechise your daughters about virtue, I'll rehash for you the numbers I first offered concerning one fashion show in April, 2007:

In Atlanta, there were 60 models, each of which had to pay $450 to participate. Additionally, each young woman had to raise $1000 in sponsorship from friends, family and businesses. Then each participant was responsible for selling 20 tickets to the fashion show at $40/each. Thus we have each girl bringing in $1000 + $450 + $800 = $2250 x 60 for a net total of $135,000.

Now what does that money go for? The clothes are donated. The accessories are donated. The hair-styles are donated. The venues for meetings are free (i.e. Pinecrest). The speakers are in house, meaning volunteers. The photography for the event is donated (and if participants want pictures, they are purchased separately). The $40 ticket price ostensibly covers the venue. So we'll separate out that money to conclude that the Legion walks away with $87,000 each year.

The school tuitions that you paid for are hard to factor because you may have had to pay for private education regardless (though parish schools are famously flexible in working out deals for families with numerous children. LC, not so much.) What we do know is that many of those funds went straight to Integer (gosh, I hate stock photos!), who then decided what your plant needed for operations. There are the camps, the overpriced books, the multitudinous fund-raisers (where grandparents, aunts, neighbours are hit up repeatedly for "charity"). The travel expenses you incurred didn't usually help the Legion directly (unless they had some insider's deal with "Candy" at Elite Travel in CT) but now looking back, we see that it was money that your family could have used for other things. There are the boarding fees for Apostolic Schools, the kitchen in RI, the sox and underwear drives for the seminarians, the special collections and birthday gifts for MM, and the repeated pleas to help with the heating bills (which went to make sure that the hearty men of Cheshire were always at a cozy 60 degrees F. in their New England winters.)

This is a painful reflection, as I said -- the pinch was assumed cheerfully when we thought it was for a good cause. Now that the cheer has faded somewhat, the questions about off-shore accounts simmer in our heads along with all the other opportunities we missed out on over the years because funds were committed to this group.

We are not materialists, nor strictly mercenary, but we were defrauded in many ways, one of which was financial. It is entirely possible that you could consider a class action suit before it's too late. Remember: if the sought-after "anvil" falls, this money will no longer be accessible, so whatever response is out there, sooner would  be better than later. (The lawyers in our midst can guide this idea into a reality if they're inspired -- obviously we need legal tips for such a more.)

In the meantime, perhaps the more entertaining readers will remind us of those "charming lines" that LC's use to cloud our judgement and lighten our wallets. It was an art, we must admit, and here we are learning to be connoisseurs!

"Look at us!"

Like father, like daughters. Just as MM always presented himself as both perfect Legionary and model of vocational discernment, the consecrata are using themselves as model and inspiration for others. I debated whether to post this, being so, um, negative, but I think it needs to be said. Consider what Pete points out here:

Why does a woman choose consecrated life over a business career, husband and family or the opportunity to compete as a world-class athlete? The CD gives the answers.

As in Abraham's day, God continues to call, and souls continue to answer. The new CD "Count the Stars," created by the Regnum Christi consecrated women in Greenville, RI, tells the story of four women who heard that call and answered with their lives.

On the new CD, Luly Fernández and Lauren Hawkesworth both read their stories in first-person. Lisa Small reads Mary Maher's story, while Stephanie Kielhorn reads Dorrie Donahue's.

The "Count the Stars" audio book also features an original song, "Question Answered," composed by the sophomore class at Mater Ecclesiae College, the institution of higher learning where the consecrated women of Regnum Christi prepare for their life of service to the Catholic Church.

The CDs are on sale at the price of one for $15 or two for $25. For online or credit card payment options, or if you have other questions and comments, please contact Susan Girard at ....

It could be argued that this is no different than the Nashville Dominicans or the Sisters of Life campaigns that show smiling women to entice inquiries, but this comes across differently. First of all, these girls are very young. Many have pointed out the dearth of older 3GF's, although they have supposedly been around since the 1960's. There were three I knew of over forty, and one of those has since died. (Mrs Mee doesn't count for obvious reasons.) The takeaway from this is:

• We could have had money and prestige, which makes us special;
• We are the model of generosity, just listen to our stories;
• We are forging a new path in the Church that you'll find amazing;
• We are God's gift to the Third Millennium -- just listen!
• Our virtue has made us walking "stars" and you can be one too!

Our parish has lovely older Religious who teach in our Catholic school and CCD programs (have for decades) and I could never ever imagine them tooting their horn this way. They do their quiet work of asking girls to consider Religious life, but never with themselves as yardsticks of oblation. Giving a life is giving a life -- no matter what you've given up. The selling point with testimonies I heard over the years always promoted the 3GF "rock stars" that gave up six figure incomes, athletic careers or diamonds the size of Gibraltar as indications of their "worth" to the Movement. Wrong and bad. 

Some have defended the CD as a way to put necessary food on the table. I would remind the astute reader that the Legion just purchased another college, which may have been an imprudent decision if it had hungry members already. As for encouraging vocations to a movement under investigation, we've covered that territory already. (Likewise, the fact that these women aren't even really "consecrated" as they think has been discussed, and the fact they know so little about an authentic spiritual maturation process is obvious.)

The point I'm making is that very good and conscientious young women have no scruples about self-promotion and self-congratulation about virtue and worth -- because that's what they learned at the feet of their spiritual father. I wish them well, but that wellness must come about "apart from the founder -- and all his pomps and works."

Language cuts both ways

I am in awe of Pete Vere's simple yet profound insights posted here. What he may or may not know (not having been a member of the Movement himself) is the impact of the language he uses, specifically the "Legion-speak." The hook (of pride?) that hoisted many of us into Regnum Christi and nailed us there was the "unique privilege" of being a "co-founder." Imagine the thrill of walking with Saint Francis, Saint Dominic or any other founder of a religious community. It was a rare gift to be on site when spiritual history was in the making, and to be alive while MM was alive gave us that extraordinary opportunity which would soon pass. (Goodness, even typing this, it sounds like an infomercial: "Hurry, offer ends soon!"

Pete reminds us that everyone is a co-founder of sorts in his own family, filling a spot that no one else can, providing tailored love, support, resources, and guidance that our dear ones need and deserve. (Sure, he took a break to take his kids to the races, and even while typing this post, I was interrupted to arrange an ice-cream rendez-vous with various children downtown -- that's what family priorities are about.)

My husband and I are co-founders of something marvelous -- as are all married couples. It may be that I allowed Regnum Christi to feed my inordinate pride that ought to be confessed, not encouraged. (Just me, folks; I'm not casting aspersions on anyone but the girl in the mirror.)

[And yes, I'm cognisent of the combox message on another thread that reminds us not to use Legion language in the family. We don't need the word "co-founder"  in this case, but I'm pointing out the power of language.]

Threats and curses

I know I'm giving you a lot of information, but we need to shift gears. (Yes, read the other posts and comment -- it's important stuff.) For those who have little to do now but pray (you've written to Abp. Chaput, you've let the appropriate people know your plans concerning the Movement, and you've returned your loving gaze to your spouse and bambinos) there may be some quiet reflective work you can do at the beach, in the bleachers, walking through the woods, or while the kids are outside.

Over the years, I noticed that the methodology incorporated parental fears for their children's salvation. We see the wild and wooly world, and we know the snares laid for them in all directions. We embraced the Legion because we thought it was not only safe, but arming our children for spiritual warfare in which they would enage all their lives. Well, they are in a battle, but I want you to recognise that the tools of the Legion became part of the battle, but not a helpful part. Perhaps even a pernicious part.

I can personally attest to subtle threats concerning children -- threats that bordered on curses. Consider what we're doing to form our kids in all sorts of ways. We want them to be thrifty, resourceful, honest, brave and true. We want them to pick up after themselves, be considerate of others, and accountable for their actions. For those last three examples, the opposite would be sloppy, selfish, and sneaky. Kids are all three of those things on occasion and when we blow a gasket, we may call them out on it. We may [gasp] call them names. (Bless me, Father, for I have sinned...) We've all been there I think.

The danger comes with our wording, and I've learned over the years (the hard way) that such name-calling can be considered curses. You've all had a girl-friend who was a mess -- because her mother always told her she was a mess. Chicken? Egg? You know the drill.

Now we consider the Legion way. Brother Earnest comes to your house to recruit Pious Son to the Apostolic School. PS squirms a bit, doesn't seem disposed to leave home (and Little League, where's he's had a great year) and BE appeals off-line to the parents: "PS is in a precarious spot. He's docile now, but about to enter Middle School where he's going to encounter lots of temptations. You have an open window that will very shortly shut. You should really consider placing him with us."

The parents have their fears, they know their son and finally say, "Well, he's really not interested yet. Could we think about this in a few years?"

This is where I'm really concerned about how things are worded. BE looks the parents in the eye, and says: "Your son has a very strong chance of losing his faith. This opportunity won't come again."

Now, how is that different from "You're so selfish!" or "You're a liar!" Is it a label? Is it a curse? Is it simply genuine concern (backed by Legion-mandated quotas)? Consider all the ways that children are guided in spiritual direction. Consider the pressures placed on them to give their lives to God or suffer (or worse: to let down the souls that "count on them.")

If you have anecdotes to add to flesh out this concern, please share so that all parents can consider the burdens their children may carry in secret. Consider the "failed" vocations -- the men who came home thinking they weren't good enough (or generous enough) to be a part of the Elite Corps. Consider the consecrated women who came home confused about having "divorced" Jesus.

If you find the need, renounce these threats and curses and call upon the Blood of Jesus to bring healing. The Legion Shredder has been hard at work -- so that those who don't "build the Kingdom" pay the price. Nonsense! We have Someone who already paid the price, and He is more powerful than any spell or curse.

The girls (Susan and Lucy) cleared away the remains of the gnawed ropes. Aslan looked more like himself without them. Every moment his dead face looked nobler, as the light grew and they could see it better.

In the wood behind them a bird gave a chuckling sound. It had been so still for hours and hours that it startled them. Then another bird answered it. Soon there were birds singing all over the place.

It was quite definitely early morning now, not late night.

“I’m so cold,” said Lucy.

“So am I,” said Susan. “Let’s walk about a bit.”

They walked to the eastern edge of the hill and looked down. The one big star had almost disappeared. The country all looked dark gray, but beyond, at the very end of the world, the sea showed pale. The sky began to turn red. They walked to and fro more times than they could count between the dead Aslan and the eastern ridge, trying to keep warm; and oh, how tired their legs felt. Then at last, as they stood for a moment looking out toward the sea and Cair Paravel the red turned to gold along the line where the sea and the sky met and very slowly up came the edge of the sun. At that moment they heard from behind them a loud noise–a great cracking, deafening noise as if a giant had broken a giant’s plate.

“What’s that?” said Lucy, clutching Susan’s arm.

“I-I feel afraid to turn round,” said Susan; “something awful is happening.”

“They’re doing something worse to Him,” said Lucy. “Come on!” And she turned, pulling Susan round with her.

The rising of the sun had made everything look so different–all colors and shadows were changed–that for a moment they didn’t see the important thing. Then they did. The Stone Table was broken into two pieces by a great crack that ran down it from end to end; and there was no Aslan.

“Oh, oh, oh!” cried the two girls, rushing back to the Table.

“Oh, it’s too bad,” sobbed Lucy; “they might have left the body alone.”

“Who’s done it? cried Susan. “What does it mean? Is it more magic?”

“YES!” said a great voice behind their backs. “It is more magic.” They looked round. There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane stood Aslan himself.

“Oh, Aslan!” cried both the children, staring up at him, almost as much frightened as they were glad.

“Aren’t you dead then, dear Aslan?” said Lucy.

“Not now,” said Aslan.

“You’re not–not a–?” asked Susan in a shaky voice. She couldn’t bring herself to say the word ghost. Aslan stooped his golden head and licked her forehead. The warmth of his breath and a rich sort of smell that seemed to hang about his hair came over her.

“Do I look it?” he said.

“Oh, you’re real, you’re real! Oh, Aslan!” cried Lucy, and both girls flung themselves upon him and covered him with kisses.

“But what does it all mean?” asked Susan when they were somewhat calmer.

“It means,” said Aslan, “that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who has committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.”

New Testimony

About me:
In the Legion: 1992-1996.
Location: Cheshire, CONN.
Apostolic work: Fund raising from US catholic millionaires.

After reading about the Maciel news few days ago on CNN, I did some browsing to revisit what's been going on with LC and RC after 12years of forgetfulness. I would like to say few things to all of you. Feel free to copy-paste my posting to post as many sites as you like so that more people can read.

Here are the reasons why I joined the LC as many of you can sympathize. I was told of these things:
1. Faithful to the Tradition.
2. Devoted to Mary.
3. Old Jesuit spirit.

Here are the reasons why I left the Legion.

A new horizon

With indications that the Church may step in soon to help the Legion cope with its crisis, it's important to assess what the real concerns are that remain as long as the Legion exists. If the history is rewritten to exclude the founder because of his sketchy motives, and if the apology is eventually extended to the victims as a matter of justice, and if some sort of internal criticism mechanism is installed (those are three enormous "if's," I know) then what remains?

The greatest concern in my mind is the spiritual manipulation that has ever been a part of the Movement: based on the understanding that the Church was in need of cleansing and that holy Legionaries, supported by holy Regnum Christi members, would usher in the New Evangelisation. (Hey, that's why I signed up in the first place!) But what else went into that sort of thinking?

• Membership in the Movement was hermetically sealed to our baptismal call, and God ordained it;
• Leaving the Movement was a betrayal of Christ Himself (like cutting off an arm, according to MM)
• The overall good of the Church depended on our fidelity to the charism of the Movement;
• Our souls (and those souls contingent on us) actually hinged on our generosity to the Movement;
• Outsiders could not understand this elite vocation and couldn't be trusted to help guide members.

A little overweening? Indeed. How will we know if these elements are removed from spiritual direction, apostolic dialogue, and advice in the confessional? Well, we can't.  In this we will simply have to pray for the wisdom of the visitators, and be ready to remind those who will listen about the nature of vocation and the deceits of pride.

Debra Murphy has an excellent piece on the formation of conscience that is worth the time. Consider this portion:

Beyond the sex-abuse charges against Fr. Maciel (some of which have been admitted by the LC to be true, though their nature and extent is as yet unclear), there is the issue of potential cover-ups. And connected to the issue of potential cover-ups, there is the fact that many ex-Legionaries and Regnum Christi members have spoken publicly about LC/RC practices which, given the nature of conscience and the statutes set up in the Code of Canon Law to protect its exercise among Christians, are disturbing: namely, practices which impose uncanonical restrictions on members’ exercise of conscience, spiritual direction, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation; practices imposed ostensibly to maintain charity and unity, but which also serve, conveniently, to silence legitimate questions or challenges; practices which are intended to prevent outsiders from finding out what goes on within the organization; practices that intend to maintain a public persona, whatever the "inside" reality, of piety, holiness, success, and the production of "good fruit."

Such practices were doubtless what prompted the recent comments of Baltimore Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, “[I]t’s clear that from the first moment a person joins the Legion, efforts seem to be made to program each one and to gain full control of his behavior, of all information he receives, of his thinking and emotions…. This is not about orthodoxy,” he said, as reported by his archdiocesan organ, The Catholic Review . “It is about respect for human dignity for each of its members.”

Among the alleged practices: taking vows not only to obey Fr. Maciel, but also never even to criticize him; restricting (even prohibiting) members’ visits to non-LC/RC family and friends; shunning ex-members and attributing malicious or diabolic motives to critics and ex-members; discouraging or even forbidding members from seeking confession or spiritual direction from non-LC/RC priests; imposing spiritual directors and confessors on members, even with the spiritual director is also the member’s "boss" in some official capacity in the organization.

Naming specific abuses of human freedom are almost like "silver bullets," since they become more recognisable to those who were previously unaware. But there are so many more subtle elements that have to be distinguished from healthy Catholic practices -- and in this we should all take the time to root them out. I found that I could manipulate my children, my friends and myself in peculiar ways for the good of the Kingdom, when in fact there was little good involved. The means must be above board for the ends to be worthy. If we let this chapter of Church history pass without establishing a very good [ongoing] examination of conscience concerning motive and freedom, we will have lost something precious. Take the time, dear ones.

What does this prayer mean?

After Mass, there are a couple prayers that members of the Movement pray -- quietly if they are in a non-Legion setting, aloud and in unison if in a Legion setting where there are no non-members. I remember saying this often, though I am really embarrassed about the lack of discernment on my part to consider what I was actually saying. Regardless, the opening line is as follows:

Prayer for the Fidelity of Legionaries and Regnum Christi Members

Lord Jesus, you have entrusted to us the mission of furthering the Legion and Regnum Christi, and making them grow healthy and strong for the good of all people and of your Kingdom...

What could this mean? It seems to be quite blatent in expressing what we took years to unpack: that the mission of Regnum Christi and the Legion is to promote themselves. It doesn't say to further the "Kingdom of God," but to further RC/LC, which will be an essential step to furthering God's plan. It is audacious, but at least honest. The "good of all people" comes through the extension of the Movement.

_________________________________________________________

For the record, the prayer in its entirety is as follows:

Prayer for the Fidelity of Legionaries and Regnum Christi Members

Lord Jesus, you have entrusted to us the mission of furthering the Legion and Regnum Christi, and making them grow healthy and strong for the good of all people and of your Kingdom. This mission comes to us as an utterly free, unforeseen, mysterious reality, out of all proportion to our abilities.

Since the Legion and the Movement will be vigorous and will flourish as long as the spirit of our founder is present and active in our lives and behavior, we ask you to open our eyes to the urgency of learning, assimilating and passing on the doctrine, spirit, apostolic methods, genuine traditions, discipline and lifestyle of the Legion and Regnum Christi, just as our founder has made them known to us, since this is our responsibility.

Lord, help us to adhere totally to the charism you inspired in our founder.

You have chosen to give us a role in your plan of salvation, and we have the possibility of fulfilling it, step by step, for the good of the Church and of humanity, or of making it fail deplorably. So, we ask from you what you ask from us; faith, great faith in your work, love for it, trust in its mission, docility, loyal collaboration, humility, a sense of responsibility, and fidelity. Amen.