Monthly Archives: January 2018

OUR RULE EMBRACES EVERY ACTION OF OUR LIVES, AND THE SPIRIT WHICH MUST ANIMATE THEM

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

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WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE SUFFICIENTLY TO THANK GOD’S GOODNESS FOR HAVING GIVEN THEM TO US, FOR GOD ALONE INDISPUTABLY IS THEIR AUTHOR

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

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THE SHAME OF HAVING IN ONE’S HANDS SO PERFECT A RULE, AND OF NOT HAVING GRASPED ITS MEANING!

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

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THE REFLECTIVE READING OF OUR RULES HAS FILLED MY SOUL WITH WONDER

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

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TODAY: TWO HUNDRED AND TWO YEARS OF PROCLAIMING THE GREATNESS OF THE SAVIOR

“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

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I WILL MAKE THE SACRIFICE OF MY OBSTACLES TO GOD

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

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IT REVOLTS ME AND DAMAGES MY CONVICTION WHICH CANNOT BE BASED ON THINGS IT CAN REFUSE TO BELIEVE

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

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ONE DOES NOT CEASE TO GROW OLD BECAUSE ONE FEELS LIKE A THIRTY-YEAR-OLD

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

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I WILL ACHIEVE CONVICTION BY CHALLENGING MY WAY OF CARRYING OUT MY DUTIES

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

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MY BUSINESS IS NOT TO BECOME BETTER BUT TO BECOME GOOD

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

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