Legates are good stewards

Legatus members’ interior life must be solid says executive director John Hunt . . .

John J. Hunt

As you receive this magazine, your fellow Legates are gathering in Dana Point, Calif., for the Annual Legatus Summit.

Members will hear a wide array of speakers addressing the Summit theme “Challenging the Culture.” These are extraordinary times requiring extraordinary actions from extraordinary people like all members of Legatus.

Legates are committed to spreading the faith in their business, professional and personal lives. We recognize our unique roles in influencing our families, employees and communities. We can only achieve the lofty goals that are a burden of leadership if we exhibit that leadership by service. We must be people of God, people of interior life, and people of prayer and sacrifice.

Our apostolate must be the overflow of our interior life. That can only be achieved to its fullest through a close, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, nourished by the sacraments as often as possible.

Through the fullness of the monthly Legatus chapter experience — rosary, Confession, Mass/Holy Communion, fellowship with fellow Legates, and the wisdom of sound speakers whose messages encourage our charity — we are prepared to live out Our Lord’s command to “go forth and teach all nations.”

The recent catastrophe in Haiti and other natural disasters are opportunities to lead by serving. Through our prayers and financial gifts we exhibit solidarity with the victims of such tragedies. “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much” (Lk 12:48). May we always be open to God’s call in such crises. After all, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “all Christians should be ready and eager to come to the help of the needy … and of their neighbors in want” (CCC #952).

On another note, have you renewed your Legatus membership? If not, please prayerfully consider the value of Legatus in your life. Where else can Catholic executives and their spouses share their faith lives with other Catholic leaders who truly treasure being Catholic?

I invite you to continue your Legatus journey in the knowledge that “the world needs genuine witnesses to Christian ethics in the field of business, and the Church asks you to fulfill this role publicly with courage and perseverance.” Pope John Paul II’s address to Legatus, Nov. 2, 1988.

John Hunt is Legatus’ executive director. He and his wife Kathie are members of Legatus’ Chicago Chapter.