24 January: Te Legion Handbook Chapter 37.12: The Dissemination of Catholic Literature

My brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s spiritual reading touches on an encouraged Legionary Work; the work of the dissemination of Catholic literature and spiritual reading. The reading first touches on how great and magnificent saints of the Church, through the power of a good book, led them to higher things. 

Of course, for us Legionaries and for all the faithful Christians of the world, utmost importance still belongs to the prayerful reading of Sacred Scripture, be it in reading commentaries, bible studies or Lectio Divina. Yet the Church, in its 2000 year old history, has also stored up a treasure of spiritual writings of the Saints, such as that of St. Therese of Lisieux, whose autobiography has inspired millions and made her a doctor of the church, to the great books of Theology such as the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas.

In today’s allocutio, I will discuss why we should take every opportunity to pick up a good book and start reading it, and the benefits of spiritual reading!

First and foremost, the primary role of spiritual reading is to gain knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. All ends of spiritual reading should tend towards this goal; if it does not, then reading it has been in vain. Spiritual reading should allow us to know Jesus, to be home with Him, to know his life and his teachings; to know his family, principally His Mother Mary and all the saints he has called to be with him in heaven. Reading about the lives of saints and their writings will be helpful for keeping our faith fresh and alive as Frank Duff, our founder suggests: ‘Saints are the doctrines and practices of holiness made visible. If we frequent their company, we will soon imitate their qualities.’ 

Secondly, spiritual reading prepares us to greater intimacy in prayer with God, for a good spiritual book will give us points to meditate on, be it in that particular time or in the future. Spiritual reading greatly aids in our mental prayer, for it will produce the necessary conviction with regard to new truths that we learn. For a long time, St Teresa of Avila spent years unable to pray unless she had a book to read, because constant distractions plagued her, and she would always hence bring a book during prayer.  Spiritual reading is intimately tied up with prayer, and many writers have said that spiritual reading and mental prayer are as necessary to the soul as daily food is for the body. If you’ve ever read ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ when we were children; that is exactly what a good spiritual reading does; it is food for the soul, oil for our prayers and conversations with God. Frank Duff writes: ‘Reading is a direct preparation for prayer and intimacy with God. To meditate on religious matters, one must have read, otherwise there is nothing to meditate on. The lamp has no oil. But read slowly and think upon what has been read. Books rapidly run through and un-reflected upon are as valueless as food eaten but undigested.’. 

In any spiritual reading, a good practice will be to begin with a prayer to the Holy Spirit and to Our Lady.  We are urged not to hurry but to pause often to meditate and ponder on what we have read and if some thought prompts us to pray then stop reading and simply converse with Our Lord; with this, we have achieved mental prayer and have reached the direct end of that spiritual reading. It is also suggested that it is better to do spiritual reading for 10 minutes daily than for several hours at a time only occasionally. Isn’t it better to read just a few sentences and feed our soul, than to mindlessly scroll our reels and feed our sinful passions?

The last point I would like to point out is that spiritual reading helps us in our apostolate, for through it we gain knowledge of and how to defend the faith. By the application of solid Spiritual Reading, especially that of Apologetics, we will be equipped to be able to defend the most noble principles and teachings of Truth in the Catholic Faith. We now live in a world overwhelmed by secular voices that speak louder than the voice of the Church. Without ongoing religious education and spiritual nourishment, many Catholics find themselves torn between the values of the Church and the demands of the world. This imbalance is our mission field. As members of the Legion of Mary, we are called to help bridge this gap by offering the wisdom and guidance of Catholic literature.

In summary, spiritual reading is nourishment that spurs us to charity and incites us to pray. It brings together two inseparable dimensions: love for Christ (affectus) and knowledge of the Church's teaching (intellectus) (Opus Dei).

As literate University students, who have the Internet, it is a great privilege for us to have access to virtually almost every book on the planet, without the restrictions of a language barrier. With this vast amount of food for our souls around us, let us not starve our souls! In all these endeavors, we must also remember the crucial role of discernment. Not all materials claiming to be Catholic are aligned with the teachings of the Church. As stewards of the faith, we must seek guidance from trustworthy sources to ensure that what we recommend or distribute remains faithful to the Magisterium. It is essential to test the spirit of every work, for even well-intentioned literature can sometimes lead astray if it lacks fidelity to Christ and His Church.

Further, spiritual reading must never become an end in itself. As the Imitation of Christ wisely reminds us: “But of what use is knowledge itself without the fear of God? A humble countryman who serves God is more pleasing to Him than a conceited intellectual who knows the course of the stars but neglects his own soul” (Ecclus. 19:22). We must restrain an inordinate desire for knowledge, for it often brings anxiety and pride, and instead focus on those things that lead to salvation. 

Our Lady, seat of wisdom, pray for us!