Download - 01.chapter one
THE HONOR AND DIGNITY OF OUR ORDER
LdOChapter
One
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