Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

I see by your letters that in Canada all trace of the first notions of the religious state has been lost…. It is time to call a halt for the disorder has gone too far.

Such are the sorrows which my own children have given me to drink; the sword they thrust, each in his own fashion, pierces my breast ever more deeply, for I can only be consumed with pain in seeing you walk a path so different from that which I have shown you and which alone leads to salvation.

Those who know me ought to understand how painful it is for me to express such sentiments which I would willingly stifle in my heart if the authoritative duty of my office did not oblige me to manifest them. May the good God bless you.

Letter to Fr. Adrien Telmon in Canada, August 1849, EO I n 122

REFLECTION

“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.”  (Khalil Gibran)

Eugene returned to the same theme of young Oblates being sent to missions and not being sufficiently prepared in Western Canada. They were doing primary evangelization with people who had not heard the Christian Gospel before, and mistakenly thought that an initial basic catechesis was sufficient.

We have excellent young men here who only long to go to the native missions. But we are determined to have them finish their theological studies before sending them. Under the pretext that it is not necessary for them to know many things to evangelize the indigenous people, they are sometimes sent too soon into their territories. This is not my idea and however impatient our young people may be, I shall keep them until the end of their studies.

How were you capable of ordaining Brother— as a priest before he knew a word of theology? We had sent him to you so that while studying this indispensable science, he could learn the language at the same time. Who could foresee that you would throw him into the ministry without his knowing anything? It is essential that you take great care of your missionaries and that you finish training those who have been sent to you still young. So refrain from being in too much of a hurry for Brother Tissot. Make him study.

Letter to Fr. Pierre Aubert in St Boniface, Canada, 4 March 1849, EO I n 111

REFLECTION

” The one who goes slowly, goes with soundness, and achieves much” (Italian proverb)

As the Canadian missions were increasing, so was the demand for Oblate missionaries. Eugene had agreed to send scholastics to Canada to fulfil this need, but on condition that they finish their studies in Canada. The demands of the missions did not allow this to happen, and so the missionaries were not properly prepared nor spiritually mature enough. Eugene was thus forced to make a decision to stop this practice.

I cannot in conscience approve the policy you follow in Canada of conferring Orders in advance on youngsters lacking knowledge and who will suffer all their lives from this deficiency in education. So I have decided to send no more members other than those who have finished their studies and who have spent sufficient time within our houses to form themselves in the practice of religious virtues.

I prefer a thousand times to make you wait rather than have you reproach me with not having provided for the needs of our members and with having risked compromising their salvation and that of the souls they do not know how to guide, as well as the reputation of the Congregation. When I consented to send you, at your request, raw Oblate recruits, it was because I was firmly persuaded that you would train them both in ecclesiastical knowledge as well as in piety.

Letter to Bp Bruno Guigues in Ottawa, 25 March 1849, EO I n 114

REFLECTION

The generosity of these young men led them to plunge into a demanding ministry without the necessary skills. It was their salvation and that of others that was in danger.

For us, too, our salvation can be fragile is we do not nourish our faith through reading, reflection and prayer.

The arrival and work of the Oblates was not met with joy by some of the Canadian clergy. It had been the same in France when Eugene had founded the Oblates. Writing to Bishop Bourget of Montreal, Eugene quoted some of these complaints and continued:

I have lots more I could quote to you. But I prefer rather to pass on and thank you for having called our good Fathers to serve your suburb of Montreal. A friend of M. de Charbonnel has written to him quite happily about the good they have done there since you have put them in charge of these souls and I hope that when they are well settled and a community has been formed, they will do still more good.

Some of the diocesan priests were afraid that the Oblates would take away their parishes. The appointment of Oblate Bishop Guigues to Ottawa had also solicited ugly criticism.

But whence this jealousy against men so inoffensive as these poor Oblates of Mary? They are of service to everyone and do not solicit their parishes. Because one of them has been chosen for a bishopric without wishing it, in reality a bishopric in the missions which could scarcely be undertaken except by a missionary, behold a general hullabaloo as if from each of them the mitre had been snatched to which he aspired.

Letter to Bishop Bourget in Montreal. 10 May 1849, EO I, n 117

REFLECTION

Wherever good is being done in God’s name, the power of evil tries to destroy it. It was clear in the time of Jesus and has continued to be so over the centuries. It is sin that takes over the hearts of people and results in them speaking words that destroy. No one is exempt.

“Man, who was created for freedom, bears within himself the wound of original sin, which constantly draws him towards evil and puts him in need of redemption. Not only is this doctrine an integral part of Christian revelation; it also has great hermeneutical value insofar as it helps one to understand human reality. Man tends towards good, but he is also capable of evil.” (Pope John Paul 2, Centesimus Annus §25)

In February 1849, Pope Pius IX had consulted all the bishops of the world asking their opinion on possibly proclaiming the dogma of the Immaculate Conception

What do you have to say about the beautiful decision to be taken concerning the Immaculate Conception of the Most Holy Virgin? We are happy to have been called upon to concur with our vote in this great event. I wrote to the Pope that never a decree of the Holy See could have been more magnificent in resting on the judgement of the whole Church dispersed in all parts of the world. It is more than a General Council. I have responded to the interpellation of the Head of the Church like the Fathers of the Councils, judicans subscripsi. That is what the Pope demands.

Letter to Bishop Bourget in Montreal. 10 May 1849, EO I, n 117

REFLECTION

“Today we contemplate the humble girl of Nazareth who, by an extraordinary and ineffable privilege, was preserved from the contagion of original sin and from every fault, so that she could be a worthy dwelling-place for the Incarnate Word. In Mary, the New Eve, Mother of the New Adam, the Father’s original, wondrous plan of love was re-established in an even more wondrous way. Therefore the Church gratefully acclaims: “Through you, immaculate Virgin, the life we had lost was returned to us. You received a child from heaven, and brought forth to the world a Saviour” (St John Paul 2)

Oh no! my dear friend, you could not make your letters long enough nor enter into too many details on the subject of your painfully difficult mission. You cannot imagine the anxiety which I feel about you all. Not to receive news from you for eight months is truly a torment for my heart.

To know you are deprived of so many things and badly appreciated by those who should kiss your footsteps is something beyond my endurance. It is a grief only softened by the knowledge you give me of your acceptance and the conviction of the merit that you will derive from it in God’s eyes.

Letter to Fr. Pascal Ricard in Oregon, 10 February 1849, EO I n 110

REFLECTION

“Hardships can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life’s search for love and wisdom.” (Rumi)

Give me plenty of details about your missions, the places and the persons. I do not know your situation at Saint Boniface. Take time to trace the history of this mission in the moments that you are free.

Letter to Fr. Pierre Aubert in St Boniface, Canada, 4 March 1849, EO I n 111

REFLECTION

Thousands of miles away, Eugene longed to hear from his Oblate sons who were participating in the mission of his God-given charism. He knew that they lived in extremely difficult circumstances and wanted to know about their sorrows and their joys. It was these that he carried to prayer in his daily oraison communion with his Oblate family before the Blessed Sacrament.

This is what prayer is: chatting to God about the details of our day and inviting God to make us conscious of the divine presence in all our activities.

The Founder longed to receive letters from the Oblates around the world narrating their missionary experiences.

Yet what a lot of things you could tell me about the neighbourhood of St. Pierre and the ministry which you exercise amongst these people who need you so much! But you persist in writing me very infrequently and even then you take the precaution of choosing a small format which contains very few lines and so you always leave me hungering for more.

While asking them to write at length he explained that he could not write long letters because he was pulled in all directions in his diocese and in the government of the Oblates, who were now in four continents.

Do not follow my example. I am the man who acts least of all according to his own will. I am everybody’s servant and my masters abuse their position to the extent of leaving me no time to do anything. So when I would want to write you at length, I am prevented from doing so by force majeure. Besides, I have to write to so many people! My duty-bound correspondence extends as you know to the four quarters of the world. Be a little more generous then to your old father; be mindful of his goodwill and do not expect him to match line for line whatever you write to him.

Letter to Father Leonard Bavette in Montreal, 16 April 1849, EO I n 116

REFLECTION

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” (John Quincy Adams)

This was exactly the role of Eugene’s correspondence and dealings with his Oblate Family.

The Oblates in Canada lived far away from the Founder, in Marseilles. The Canadian Oblate superior was Bishop Guigues who was very occupied in the process of establishing a new diocese. The missionaries were scattered in many distant places with poor means of communication, and were making decisions to suit their ministry.

Our Fathers have fallen into the habit of arguing over obedience and of permitting themselves to weigh human worth according to a standard other than what is just. Hence these senseless apathies and bad feelings in a group wherein should reign only peace, simplicity, religious respect, mutual support, in a word, all the virtues they have vowed to practise.

Now that, my dear Father, you are at the head of a little community, insist severely on the correction of this detestable habit. I recommend also that you see that the Rule is observed in all respects. From the moment you are superior, the responsibility rests on you.

Letter to Fr. Leonard Bavette in Montreal, 11 January 1849, EO I n 107

REFLECTION

Eugene received the charism of founding a religious Congregation that had a particular spirit of lifestyle and mission. The Rule contained the main elements of how to maintain and live by this God-given spirit. The aim of the Oblate vow of obedience is to enable us to live according to this evangelical spirit.

All of us in the Oblate Charismatic Family are called to listen to the voice of God as it is heard in many different ways each day.

Father Leonard Bavette, had conducted a successful visit in France to promote Oblate vocations (see: https://www.eugenedemazenod.net/?p=5497 and related entries) and Eugene knew him well. In his return to Canada he had been appointed to establish the first Oblate community in Montreal and the Parish of St Pierre. In his Diary, Eugene noted:

Letter from Fr. Leonard. He has settled down in Montreal with Fr. Bernard. They live poorly and are happy to do so. Their chapel is a wooden structure.

Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 14 January 1849, EO XXII.

In a letter to him, Eugene wrote:

I congratulate you on being chosen as the first to establish our Congregation in Montreal. God will bless the beginnings all the more because they are somewhat marked by certain privations which, as you tell me, make you feel the value of holy poverty. This is the way we began when we laid the first foundations of the Society.

Letter to Fr. Leonard Bavette in Montreal, 11 January 1849, EO I n 107

REFLECTION

Voluntary poverty, as a religious choice, is a way of becoming one with those whose circumstances have immersed them in poverty. Mazenodian poverty aims at focusing on what is really important in our lives.

“Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.” (Isaac Newton)