THE HONOR AND DIGNITY OF OUR ORDER

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byFr. Franco M. Azzalli, OSMFr. Gino M. Leonardi, OSM

The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Our Lord Jesus

Christ is, in a general way, a refuge for each andevery sinner, and without doubt she obtains from her Son

the mercy they ask through her intercession15. She is

alsoknown as the Mother of all

who are just; she wins grace for them and for this they

love her with all their hearts. And thirdly, she is

recognized as the sovereign Lady of all who serve Christ

in any religious Order whatsoever, since it is in her

that they trust and are assured of the eternal glory

whichshe will ask of her Son.

All this notwithstanding, she is

a special refuge,the only Mother

and sovereign Ladyin a most singular way

for the membersof our Order,

be they sinners or justor faithful servants.Our Order, after all,

is uniquelydedicated to her,

in fact rightly takes its name from her.

And yet, as anyone can see who runs down a list of the various Orders, they all have some particular saint,

the founder of each of the Orders, to whom these other religious turn. It is this founder who is for them

that special refuge, that father of their own, that unique sovereign when they want to ask God something for

themselves or for their Order through his intercession.

But the friars of our Order, consecrated to

Our Lady in a special way and called by her name,

do not recognize any saint as the founder of the Order, but only Our Lady herself. They are singularly dedicated to her. She is their special refuge, the only Mother and sovereign to

whom they can and should turn in their needs

for themselvesor for the Order.

It is clear from what has been said that Our Lady

never intended to give the friars of her Order any

special saintas its founder. This implies

that, while she shows herself a refuge, a mother and a sovereign to all the friars of her Order

the same as she does to everyone else, asking of

her Son mercy, grace and glory.

At the same time our friars should turn

to her as to a very special refuge, their only

Mother and sovereign Lady

when they want to ask particular helpfor themselvesor for the Order.

The End