Monthly Archives: September 2017

I SIMPLY CANNOT ACCEPT THAT ANYONE SHOULD SETTLE FOR BEING LESS THAN ADEQUATE IN HIS CALLING

Eugene expected everyone who lived according to his God-given Oblate spirit to live a life of Gospel-inspired regularity. It upset him when he came across mediocrity in living this ideal. By regularity I mean fidelity in shaping one’s life according … Continue reading

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BY REGULARITY I MEAN FIDELITY IN SHAPING ONE’S LIFE ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER OF THE RULE

Eugene continued to be full of the joys of the time he had spent in Switzerland with the community of Oblate students and their youthful enthusasm for religious life and community. I would not have left Billens. It is a … Continue reading

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I THINK IT IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF IGNORANCE WHEN ONE THINKS ONE KNOWS WHAT ONE IS IN FACT IGNORANT OF

Eugene’s two reflections on studies, to the young scholastics, were an echo of his own attitude to studies when he had been a seminarian 20 years before: If I want to be of some use in the ministry, I still … Continue reading

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THE OBLATE APPROACH TO STUDIES

Eugene, in writing to Fr. Mille and the scholastics in Switzerland, stressed that all study needs to bring the student to an encounter with God. But never forget that it is for God you are working, that the glory of … Continue reading

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WE MUST OPPOSE MODERN ERRORS WITH UP-TO-DATE WEAPONS

In this era of “fake news” and subjectivism, it is interesting to read this comment of Eugene to the superior of the scholasticate, where young Oblates were preparing for their future mission. It is impossible to insist too much on … Continue reading

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MY HEART IS HEAVY

… It is unbelievable how the morale influences my unhappy person physically. My heart is heavy, it beats with difficulty and too fast. Letter to Henri Tempier, 24 December 1830, EO VII n 375 The anti-religious climate was taking its … Continue reading

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WE CANNOT HIDE FROM THE FACT THAT THE PERSECUTION IS BEGINNING

Having left Switzerland, Eugene was now in Nice with his uncle, Bishop Fortuné. He was able to appraise the tension and dangers to the Church from the new government. The civil authorities tried on every possible occasion to create difficulties … Continue reading

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THE APOSTLES WERE FOREIGNERS IN THE COUNTRIES TO WHICH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ASSIGNED THEM TO PREACH THE GOSPEL

One of the difficulties of establishing missions by French religious and priests was that the people of the Kingdom were suspicious of foreigners who would bring in “revolutionary” ideas. Would someone want to oppose us as foreigners? The members of … Continue reading

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THE MANY FACES OF THE POOR

An impressive description of the Oblate outreach to the most abandoned: Thus, at Aix, for example, besides the church that belongs to their house, where the members of the Congregation are attached offer divine service and every evening after prayer … Continue reading

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THE GOOD THAT THE OBLATES HAVE DONE IN EVERY WORK OF MERCY ENTRUSTED TO THEM

Wishing to establish the Oblates in the dioceses of Sardinia, Eugene recalls the fruits of their ministry in the dioceses of France: These effects have occurred in the dioceses of Aix, Marseilles, Nimes, Fréjus, Digne, Gap, Grenoble and even that … Continue reading

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