Monthly Archives: January 2018

What a consoling thought, by observing our Rule we are obeying the Church. And as our Rule embraces every action of our lives, and the spirit which must animate them, all that we do shares in the great merit of … Continue reading →

On 17 February 1826, the Oblate Constitutions and Rules, had been approved by the Pope – the Church had recognized the hand of God in Eugene’s actions of bringing the Oblates to birth – and the Rule was the expression … Continue reading →

The reflective reading of our Rules I have just made during this retreat has filled my soul with wonder, and has raised in my mind a number of disquieting thoughts that I have to put down on paper. The shame … Continue reading →

In October 1831, Eugene made a private retreat and took as his meditation material the Oblate Rule, which had been written 13 years earlier, and which was the guiding light of the life of the Missionaries. The reflective reading of … Continue reading →

“January 25 1816 is the beginning of our congregation, characterized by the missionary spirit of Eugene and his companions to respond to the situation of the Church by preaching the Gospel to the poor and most abandoned. They responded to … Continue reading →

13. Once I have identified something as an obstacle to my end, I will make the sacrifice of it to God, cost what it may, and taking the resolutions necessary to walk in the spirit of my vocation, I will … Continue reading →

In previous retreat notes we have seen that when Eugene was using the Ignatian retreat method, he used to refuse to do the set meditations on hell, which required him to conjure up pictures of horror. He judged it as … Continue reading →

Continuing to reflect on Eugene’s resolutions as he entered retreat, we encounter another very practical motivation for doing a good retreat: the possibility of death. He gives the impression that he considered 50 to be a ripe old age – … Continue reading →

Conversion is a daily task that helps us to re-focus on our priorities. What means was Eugene to use to achieve the desired conversion? The practical Eugene did not do this in his head – it was by examining the … Continue reading →

Why enter into a time of retreat? Eugene’s zeal and desire to be “all for God” could not stop at a half-measure of becoming better. It was all or nothing for him: total conversion to God. Life was a process … Continue reading →