LEARNING TO HANDLE RESPONSIBILITY

Eugene, as director, ensured the communication and maintenance of the spirit he wished to convey to the members of the Youth Congregation. There was a clearly defined infrastructure of people to help him in his task, and whose opinions and decisions were to be respected: a council and various levels of office-bearers to ensure the smooth running of the Congregation and its formation of the members.

Art. 1. In the Congregation there are several offices or functions…

In the section of the regulations dealing with office bearers, Eugene spelt out the tasks of a total of 33 elected officials, some of whom he met with regularly. The Prefect was the chief of the Congregation, and he was assisted in the decision-making process by a Vice Prefect and four assessors. The other office bearers were to ensure the smooth running of the activities of the Congregation (e.g. sacristans, librarian etc).

Art 20. The members of the Congregation who are chosen to have responsibilities and positions have to fully understand the importance of the functions to which they are called. They must not lose sight that they are only placed on a lamp stand in order to shine. They should fully grasp this thought: that by their tireless attention, their fervour, their good examples of all kind, they must be the light that illuminates their fellow members in the practice of all virtue.
They must be the light to illuminate anyone who would have the misfortune (God forbid) to distance himself from the true path, and to help him to return to it straight away. In the unlikely event of a lessening of fervour among the members, it would be with justice that God and men would call on them to account for this disorder.

Statuts, Chapitre X – Des offices ou dignités

 

A player who conjugates a verb in the first person singular cannot be part of the squad; he has to conjugate the verb in the first person plural. We. We want to conquer. We are going to conquer. Using the word “I” when you’re in a group makes things complicated. ~Wanderley Luxemburgo

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2 Responses to LEARNING TO HANDLE RESPONSIBILITY

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Oblate Associate says:

    “They must not lose sight that they are only placed on a lamp stand in order to shine…” It is so easy to lose sight of why we are where we are. In these words I see Eugene as more than the leader, here is the father, the teacher, sharing his wisdom and guidance and teaching.

    That whole tension of going from “I” to “we” – the balance. Sometimes it is in the “we” of community that the “I” grows and matures. It is with and in the community, the we, that I become the person that God created me to be. A bit of a paradox but so very true.

  2. Jack Lau, OMI says:

    As title says: “Learning to handle responsibility”.
    Yet how is that done? In scripture it is by being giving small things to oversee and then more when proven that you can handle it. And so I see the same happening. Eugene gave out many jobs and responsibilities for the young men to learn responsibility. And while in our present world that is economically centred and task oriented/production, but Eugene was different. He was about the process of transformation and growth. So that image of the light was one that seems to speak of the “ego”. Are we drawing the light to ourselves (guidance / mentoring are crucial) or are we sharing the light for the sake of all. As Eleanor said above, the movement from the “I” to the “We”. Not an easy thing in the Western Style of Society.

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