Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

Through the eyes of our crucified Saviour we see the world which he redeemed with his blood, desiring that those in whom he continues to suffer will know also the power of his resurrection (cf. Phil 3: 10). (Constitution 4)

The potato famine massacred the population of Ireland. Bishop Eugene wrote a pastoral letter to his diocese asking people to help the Irish financially. In it we find the foundation of his Oblate mission: his conversion experience at the foot of the Cross and his realization that he had been redeemed by the blood of the Savior. His mission was to bring others to the same realization.

The reason for helping the Irish Catholics went deeper than charity:

Let it not be said they belong to an empire other than ours. That would be completely unworthy of Christian charity for we are all, as long as people dwell on earth, children of our Father in heaven and neighbours to each other; and moreover, the Irish belong like us to the great Catholic family.
Not only is the blood of the same human family common to us but the blood of our Redeemer in which we share as recipients of the same grace and the same sacraments.

Bishop Eugene’s Circular Letter to the people of Marseilles, 24 February 1847, EO III Circular n 2.

This profound conviction that the blood of the Redeemer is common to all formed the foundation of Eugene’s understanding of the Church primarily as the Body of Christ.

The cross of Jesus Christ is central to our mission. Like the apostle Paul, we “preach Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2: 2). If we bear in our body the death of Jesus, it is with the hope that the life of Jesus, too, may be seen in our body (cf. 2 Cor 4:10). Through the eyes of our crucified Saviour we see the world which he redeemed with his blood, desiring that those in whom he continues to suffer will know also the power of his resurrection (cf. Phil 3: 10). (Constitution 4)

As cooperators of the Savior, we are invited to look at people through His eyes. Eugene is a good teacher for us. In his first Lenten sermon in Aix en Provence, he addressed his poor listeners:

Come now and learn from us what you are in the eyes of faith.
Poor of Jesus Christ, afflicted, wretched, suffering, sick, covered with sores, etc., all you whom misery oppresses, my brothers, dear brothers, respected brothers, listen to me.
You are God’s children, the brothers of Jesus Christ, heirs to his eternal kingdom, chosen portion of his inheritance…
…let your eyes see for once beneath the rags that cover you, there is within you an immortal soul made in the image of God whom it is destined to possess one day, a soul ransomed at the price of the blood of Jesus Christ, more precious in the eyes of God than all earth’s riches, than all the kingdoms of the earth, a soul of which he is more jealous than of the government of the entire universe.
Christians, know then your dignity…

Notes for the first instruction in the Church of the Madeleine, E.O. XV n. 114

What a difference it would make if we were to train ourselves to see everyone through the lens of the eyes of the crucified Savior!

The cross of Jesus Christ is central to our mission. Like the apostle Paul, we “preach Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2: 2). If we bear in our body the death of Jesus, it is with the hope that the life of Jesus, too, may be seen in our body (cf. 2 Cor 4:10). Through the eyes of our crucified Saviour we see the world which he redeemed with his blood, desiring that those in whom he continues to suffer will know also the power of his resurrection (cf. Phil 3: 10). (Constitution 4)

Have you ever reflected on what Jesus Christ saw during the hours hung on the cross? How did he look at the people around him?

Eugene had that experience when his eyes met the eyes of the crucified Jesus, and his life changed.

Can I forget the bitter tears that the sight of the cross brought streaming from my eyes one Good Friday? Indeed they welled up from the heart, there was no checking them, they were too abundant for me to be able to hide them from those who like myself were assisting at that moving ceremony. I was in a state of mortal sin and it was precisely this that made me grieve.

But then, the Saviour’s merciful and healing gaze resulted in Eugene exclaiming:

Never was my soul more satisfied, never did it feel such happiness; for in the midst of this flood of tears, despite my grief, or rather through my grief, my soul took wings for its last end, towards God its only good whose loss it felt so keenly.

Retreat Journal, December 1814, O.W. XV n.13

Through the eyes of his crucified Saviour, Eugene describes this experience in other words:

Meditation on the prodigal son. To my shame, this parable never applied to anyone better than it does me… Did the thought even occur to me of going back to my father, this good father whose excessive tenderness I had so often put to the test? No, he had to come to me himself, thus crowning his gifts, to lift me up, and rescue me all heedless as I was, or rather he had to come and get me out of the mire in which I was immersed and from which I could not extract myself unaided. I hardly ever even conceived the wish to leave aside my rags and put on again my nuptial robe.

Retreat notes before his ordination, December 1811, O.W. XIV n.95

Through the eyes of his crucified Saviour, Eugene proclaimed:

Blessed, a thousand times blessed, that he, this good Father, notwithstanding my unworthiness, lavished on me all the richness of his mercy.

Retreat Journal, December 1814, O.W. XV n.130

REFLECTION

When the eyes of the crucified Saviour and my eyes meet, what happens…?

The cross of Jesus Christ is central to our mission. Like the apostle Paul, we “preach Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2: 2). If we bear in our body the death of Jesus, it is with the hope that the life of Jesus, too, may be seen in our body (cf. 2 Cor 4:10). (Constitution 4)

Those around us can become tired of our beautiful words, they want to SEE and experience the Paschal Mystery in and through us. If the Cross of Jesus Christ is really central in our lives, then it will automatically be visible.

Frequently, we tend to have a partial focus on the cross and forget that the cross is the door that opens to resurrection and the fullness of life. “Picking up our cross” daily is an invitation to recognize Jesus Christ’s suffering in our own suffering, His accompaniment in all that is dark and painful in our lives, to the point of crying out, with him, “My God , why have you forsaken me?”

Nevertheless, because the cross and resurrection is central to our lives and mission, “it is with the hope that the life of Jesus, too, may be seen in our body.” It is only through the cross that we can be true pilgrims of hope, witnesses of the new life and the possibilities of the certainty of our Savior’s promise: “I am with you always, until the end of the world.”

“To live Christ Jesus crucified” is the title given to Constitution 4 in the English version of the Constitutions and Rules.

It portrays clearly what it means to put into practice the statement that “the cross of Jesus Christ is central to our mission.” Eugene gives us a glimpse of how to do this using the image of a painter. When he was a seminarian he wrote:

To make myself like Jesus Crucified
It is like the painter who copies a model.
studies him carefully,
concentrates on him,
tries to engrave his image in his spirit,
then he traces some lines on the paper, which he compares with the original ,
then he makes corrections until he is satisfied that it conforms with the original, then he continues…

Unpublished exercise book in the OMI General Archives

Eugene was not aiming at transforming himself into an exact photographic reproduction of Jesus the Savior. That is unrealistic and impossible. Like an artist, Eugene’s spirituality consists in focusing intensely on the model, and then allowing that model to express himself through the vision of the artist’s experience and understanding of the human person and of the world in which he lives.

Eugene invites each of us, members of his charism family, to follow his example and become artists!

The cross of Jesus Christ is central to our mission (Constitution 4)

Having looked at our call and response in Constitutions 1 and 2, we now move onto Constitution 4 which is the pivotal point of our vocation as Christians in the Oblate Family.

Eugene’s conversion journey is well known to us, and so it comes as no surprise to understand that the cross was central to his life and mission – and to ours.

Eugene’s spiritual journey is summed up in our Constitution 59, referring to our novices, but applicable to each of us, today:

Novitiate formation ends with a free and faith-filled commitment in the Oblate Congregation. The novice, having experienced the Father’s love in Jesus, dedicates his life to making that love visible. He entrusts his fidelity to the one whose cross he shares, whose promises are his hope.

Then, Constitution 63, picks up on the same idea:

The Oblate cross which is received at perpetual profession is a constant reminder of the love of the Saviour who wishes to draw all hearts to himself and sends us out as his co-workers.

What is said about the cross in the first vows of the novices and the lifetime oblation of the post-novices, applies to the vocation of each member of the Oblate Charismatic Family: Indeed the cross of Jesus Christ is central to our life, spirituality and mission!

We strive to reproduce in ourselves the pattern of his life. Thus, we give ourselves to the Father in obedience even unto death and dedicate ourselves to God’s people in unselfish love. Our apostolic zeal is sustained by the unreserved gift we make of ourselves in our oblation, an offering constantly renewed by the challenges of our mission. (Constitution 2)

This is the Mazenodian ideal that impels Oblates, in unselfish love, to give everything to the people as co-operators of the Savior – even unto death. Blessed Joseph Cebula, the Oblate Martyrs of Spain and of Laos have been recognized by the Church as martyrs. They are not the only Oblate martyrs – there are some 200 who have died as a result of their ministry. In Spain we have a layman, Blessed Cándido Castán who was put to death in the group Oblate martyrs.

Today, however, I would like to highlight a lay person, in danger of being forgotten, whom I consider as one of the “patron saints” of our lay Charismatic Family members.
Paul Thoj Xyooj, was enthralled by the vision of the Oblate mission and became associated with the Oblates, sharing their supreme oblation of martyrdom. Born in 1941, son of a local chief in the Province of Louang Prabang, he was in the first group of catechumens of the newly-arrived Oblate missionaries. At age 16 he expressed the desire to be a priest and went to the minor seminary. Realizing that his call was to marriage and not to priesthood, he left the seminary and became a catechist and worked with the Oblates among the Hmong people – being invaluable as he knew the language which the missionaries were struggling to learn. His simple faith was contagious (and brings a smile) as one of the eyewitnesses testified in reporting his teaching:

“You are people who have original sin, thus you are sinners, and we only live one time on this earth because we will die and become earth again. However, God loves us very much, he has not abandoned us; that is why he sent his only Son Jesus, who was crucified to bear all our sins. He was buried three days, and rose again. He is with his Father in heaven. Jesus will return for believers to resurrect them as he was resurrected. So all the men will be handsome and the women will be beautiful, everybody will be healthy, and they will have eternal life. They will live with God in Heaven, with love, like the birds flying in the sky without having to work but having food to eat and clothes to wear for eternity.”

At age 19, Xyooj accompanied Fr Mario Borzaga on his missionary journeys among the poor in the villages and was captured by rebels. Refusing to abandon the Oblate, he too received a martyr’s death. A member of the Mazenodian Family in life, he was beatified, together with 6 Oblates, and will continue to be an example of heroically living our founding vision and an intercessor for all members of Eugene’s universal family in our striving to live oblation.

Eyewitness have recounted his last moments as he pleaded with the rebels not to kill Fr. Borzaga:

The young Lao said, “Do not kill him, because  he is a very good priest, very kind to everyone; he only does good things! “But they did not want to believe him. He then said: “I’m not leaving, I’m staying with him; If you kill him, kill me too. There where he will be dead, I will be dead, and where he will live, I will live. “The rebels replied:” You’re really stubborn, so you want to die too? “He replied,” Yes! “And so they killed them both.

Blessed Paul Kyooj, pray for us.

We strive to reproduce in ourselves the pattern of his life. Thus, we give ourselves to the Father in obedience even unto death and dedicate ourselves to God’s people in unselfish love. Our apostolic zeal is sustained by the unreserved gift we make of ourselves in our oblation, an offering constantly renewed by the challenges of our mission. (Constitution 2)

Looking at the Cross on Good Friday, Eugene was overwhelmed the love of God who gave everything for him. The response of this young man was oblation: giving everything to God:

What more glorious occupation than to act in everything and for everything only for God, to love him above all else, to love him all the more as one who has loved him too late.

Eugene’s Retreat Journal, December 1814, EO XV n.130

Oblation became the central characteristic of his life as a person, as priest, as founder, as Superior General and as Bishop.

I have all my life desired to die a victim of charity. You know that this crown was withheld from me right from the first days of my ministry. The Lord had his designs since He wanted to trust me to give a new family to His Church…

Eugene’s letter to Henri Tempier, 12 September 1849, E.O. X n.1018

It is this spirit that all the members of the Oblate Family are called to absorb and assimilate:

Our Lord Jesus Christ has left to us the task of continuing the great work of the redemption of mankind.
It is towards this unique end that all our efforts must tend;
as long as we will not have spent our whole life and given all our blood to achieve this, we having nothing to say;
especially when as yet we have given only a few drops of sweat and a few spells of fatigue.

Eugene’s letter to Henri Tempier, 22 August 1817, O.W. VI n. 21

We strive to reproduce in ourselves the pattern of his life. Thus, we give ourselves to the Father in obedience even unto death and dedicate ourselves to God’s people in unselfish love. (Constitution 2)

Eugene’s words to young Brother Charles Baret, who had just professed his perpetual vows:

Accustom yourself, my dear son, to have confidence in the Lord, without reservation whatsoever. We must become entirely generous toward our Father who is so good and, at the same time, both so great and so powerful. There must be no reservations in the gift of ourselves to him. He knows your needs, he knows the lawful desires of your heart: that’s all that is needed.
Rightfully he wants us to consider ourselves so honored, so happy to be admitted into the intimacy of his privileged disciples, that in exchange and in gratitude we give ourselves to him without reserve and without conditions…

Eugene’s letter to Brother Charles Baret, at Notre Dame de L’Osier, 18 August 1843

Saint Eugene’s words continue to be relevant for all of us in whichever situation we respond to the Saviour’s love. In today’s Charismatic Family, constituted around Eugene’s charism, every act of dedication to God and service to neighbour is an act of oblation.

We are men “set apart for the Gospel” (Rom 1: 1), men ready to leave everything to be disciples of Jesus. The desire to co-operate with him draws us to know him more deeply, to identify with him, to let him live in us. We strive to reproduce in ourselves the pattern of his life. (Constitution 2)

Eugene defined us as “co-operators” of Jesus Christ and charged us:

Insist on making Jesus Christ known and loved. Speak often of this divine Saviour and of all he has done to save mankind. Make them resolve never to spend a day without praying”

Letter to Fr. Jean Viala, 17 January 1849, EO IV n. 4

The Catechism we grew up with contained the question, “Why did God make me?” The answer was: to know, to love, and to serve. Our Rule expresses the same sentiment in dynamic language:

– “to know him more deeply,” in the Biblical sense, means to have a relationship of communion with Jesus.
– “to identify with him,” means to be a part of his cause, to see ourselves as being linked with his mission of salvation. We want to reproduce the pattern of his life.
– “to let him live in us,” refers to Matthew 20,28: “ behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” – living in us, and making us his missionary instruments.

JESUS’ PRAYER FOR  US

“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.” (John 17,20-23)