104th Anniversary of the Legion of Mary
September 5, 2025

St Nicholas of Myra Church, Francis Street, Dublin
Homily of Bishop Paul Dempsey

I wonder what it was like on the 7th of September 1921 when that small group gathered along with Frank Duff in Myra House, just down the street from the church here. As that little group gathered, they would have had no idea of how their vision, which was supported by their prayer and hard work, would grow and flourish into the future. So much so that here we are 104 years later remembering that moment and the people who had that vision in their hearts.

The words of the Gospel this evening speak powerfully to their vision and mission, Jesus outlines how no one tears a new piece of cloth to put it on an old piece, they just won’t go together. He goes further to talk about putting ‘new wine into fresh skins’. There is a sense of something new and fresh about the Gospel. Jesus invites us to a new understanding and way of doing things. Those of us who are called to follow him as disciples in Baptism are called to something new and fresh. The people who gathered on the 7th of September 1921 were creating something new and fresh in the life of the Church. They were ahead of their time living out what the Church calls Catholic Social Teaching, which at its heart recognises the dignity and worth of every person, including the poor and those on the peripheries. This work of reaching out was sustained by a life of deep prayer and participation in the Eucharist.

This vision and mission must have been in the heart of God because it could not have grown in the way it did without the Lord’s blessing. Frank Duff’s vision of ‘faith in action’ is something that continues to inspire us today. There is no doubt that his faith must have been very strong as it sustained him and helped him face great challenges over the years. My sense is that these challenges never fazed him because of his deep and unwavering faith. Later in his life he attended the Second Vatican Council as a lay observer. One of the central teachings to come from the Council, in the Document on the Church, Lumen Gentium, reminds us of the ‘universal call to holiness’. It sounds nice but perhaps holiness can seem a long way away from the reality of our lives at times. It depends on how we define holiness. For me, the best definition of holiness was by one of the early Church fathers, Origen. He defined holiness as ‘seeing with the eyes of Christ’. That definition speaks to me. Holiness challenges us to see with the eyes of Christ. In reality we are called to see Christ in the situations we find ourselves in. We are called to act as Christ would in the situations we all experience along the journey of life.

Those who gathered down the street from here back in September 1921 were living out their call to holiness. They were reflecting upon the reality of the situation in Dublin at the time and they were looking at it through the eyes of Christ. They reflected and prayed on how they could reach out to those on the margins, the sick, the poor and those in all sorts of need. That mission grew and developed in so many ways over the following decades. Indeed, that mission continues right up to today and is now in your hands as members of the Legion. Thank you for your generosity and commitment.

Just as that group gathered back over a hundred years ago to reflect upon the needs of society and how the Gospel could speak to it, that mission remains the same today. Yes, it is a very different context and the world we live in is a very different place. And yet there are similarities, we still have people who suffer from illness, addiction, poverty, homelessness, imprisonment, the fragmentation of family life, so many find themselves on the peripheries of society. The need for prayer is great and the need for the Lord’s loving, compassionate and healing touch is much needed today. That universal call to holiness, to ‘see with the eyes of Christ’ and act in his name is needed today more than ever.

Bishop Dempsey with members of the Legion of Mary

As we celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the Legion of Mary may we be inspired by the vision of those who gathered in prayer on that September evening in 1921. They faced many challenges, it must have felt daunting, how could their effort make a difference? But they weren’t discouraged, they were motivated by prayer and the call of Jesus to reach out to all.

May we be encouraged by this example of prayer and service. Yes, we too face many challenges. The temptation to follow the road of pessimism is strong. But the Gospel doesn’t call us to pessimism, it calls us to hope! The words of the Gospel this evening bring that home to us; it inspires and encourages us. Jesus reminds us that his disciples are called to new ways of thinking, something our world and society long for. Our mission is not about putting old wine into new skins, it’s about new wine and fresh skins. The Gospel is forever young, new, and fresh, it always brings life and newness to situations that may initially seem impossible.

May our hearts be open to the possibilities the Gospel offers us today. May we our faith be strengthened to know that it is the Lord who is in charge, something Frank Duff and his companions were convinced of. May Our Lady help us to live out our call to holiness given to us in baptism so that we can see the world and our brothers and sisters through the eyes of Christ.

Bishop Dempsey with members of the Legion of Mary