Local Legion of Mary members professed their allegiance to the Blessed Mother and Jesus during their annual Acies presided over by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney on March 23 at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown.
The Legion of Mary is a worldwide organization in which men, women, and youth join in prayer and apostolic work in union with the Blessed Mother under the guidance of a priest. The organization’s motto is “Ad Jesum Per Madam” or “To Jesus Through Mary.”
Groups from the Mater Dei Curia of Morris and Sussex counties and the Passaic County Curia attended the March 23 Acies, Latin for “a standing army.” The event included exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and praying five decades of the rosary and Legion prayers. Bishop Sweeney also blessed the congregation during Benediction.
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Two by two, Legion members approached the vexillum, which consists of a globe with a Legion image above it. They consecrated themselves to Mary during the Acies. They also pray that the Holy Spirit conquers the world, acting through the Blessed Mother and Legion members.
Msgr. Robert Carroll, a retired priest of the Paterson diocese and spiritual director of the Morris and Sussex County Curia; Father Sebastian Munoz Chavarria, St. Margaret’s parochial vicar; Transitional Deacon Carlos D. Penagos, a diocesan seminarian at the parish, who anticipates being called to priestly ordination on June 7; and Deacon Anthony Curcio of Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Sparta and the Legion’s spiritual director in Sparta, participated in the Acies.
The Acies takes place worldwide every March near the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord, which is celebrated on March 25.
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
