LEGION OF MARY
ARLINGTON REGIA
Maryland - North Carolina - Virginia - Washington DC - West Virginia
1 October 2006
Dear Presidents of Attached Councils and Praesidia,
SUBJECT: Questions and Answers From September 2006
What is the minimum number of members required for a meeting? The short answer is two. Pages 117-118, paragraph 4, of the Handbook pertain. The weekly meeting should not be omitted for any cause short of actual inability to hold it. If the normal meeting day is obstructed, then the meeting should be transferred to another day. The fact that many members will be absent is NO reason not to hold the meeting. It is better to hold a meeting of a few members, minimum two, than to drop it altogether. The members present should hold as much of the meeting as possible by reciting the Legion prayers, taking roll, taking the minutes and giving their reports. If a meeting is canceled, notify the Regia Vice President.
What should a praesidium officer do if they know they will miss a meeting? First, the officer must notify the Vice President, or another officer, of the absence and the reason for it. Then, the officer must insure that the book for which they are responsible (President’s Worksheet, Roll Call book, Treasurer’s book and Secret Bag or a copy of the last meeting’s minutes) gets to the meeting.
Does telephoning or sending a letter to an auxiliary constitute personal contact (HB, page 89). The answer is NO! Personal contact means face-to-face contact. The Handbook states that it is our duty to keep in contact with our auxiliaries. The Regia defines this duty as an annual duty, at a minimum, and as a personal contact. As to how to accomplish this, the preferred method is to make auxiliary visitation a weekly work assignment, another good method is to hold an auxiliary function and make the personal contact at the function. Finally when all else fails, make the personal contact before or after Mass or whenever they are encountered. Neither the auxiliary function nor the opportunity-contact is an assigned work. The purpose of face-to-face contact is to thank them in person for their prayer support, to give them a replacement Tessera if needed, to encourage adjutorian membership, to encourage Rosary Confraternity membership, to encourage True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin and Total Consecration, to encourage recitation of the Frank Duff, Edel Quinn and Alfie Lambe prayers, and at some point in the conversation to determine, with great diplomacy, whether they are faithfully reciting the Legion prayers.
In the service of Our Lady,
Dennis G. Monroe,
Regia President