HE THINKS HE IS DOING GOOD AND DOES NOT KNOW ANY BETTER

The 31 year-old Jean Joseph Touche was already a priest when he joined the Oblates. One of the historians of Laus tells us that Father Touche had “a flare for the unconventional that was more or less careless and his zeal, which was great, at times lacked prudence. This sometimes produced a few disagreeable incidents” (G. Simonin, « Chronique de Notre-Dame du Laus », Missions OMI 1897, p. 199). This colorful character was the cause of much vexation for Eugene.

It would be useless to make the slightest reproach to the good Father T[ouche]; he thinks he is doing good and does not know any better.

Letter to Pierre Mie, 22 August 1825, EO VI n. 196

Writing to Touche himself, one senses the frustration in Eugene in trying to cope with his “unconventional” approach:

It greatly disturbs me, my very dear Father Touche, that you take so badly what I believe in my soul and conscience I ought to say for the greater good of the Society in general and for individuals in particular.
Every time that I have needed to make an observation to you, you have been upset; however, I could quote twenty letters from you in which you beg me always to say frankly what I think without fear of displeasing you, you asked me this as a mark of friendship, as a proof of my personal appreciation of you, etc. So what ought I to do?
On the one hand, there is the duty to do which I am encouraged by your own words; on the other, the fear of displeasing you and of troubling your soul. Holy simplicity, ever be our lot!

Letter to Jean Joseph Touche, 11 September 1825, EO VI n. 197

 

“A leader is a dealer in hope.”     Napoleon Bonaparte

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1 Response to HE THINKS HE IS DOING GOOD AND DOES NOT KNOW ANY BETTER

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Oblate Associate says:

    The day-to-day life of Eugene, as leader, as father to his children, his many children, all of whom were special, the same and yet obviously and totally unique. One of the things that has struck me in learning more about Eugene and his early Oblates was how they each were different and yet the same. It certainly was not a case of Eugene leading a group of little Eugene ‘mini-me’s’. I listen to his words to Fr. Touche – they weren’t ‘my way or the highway’ in spite of his frustration – they were simply “Holy simplicity, ever be our lot.”

    My thoughts today have moved to the present and I wonder what Eugene would look like were he to walk physically among us today. How would he treat some of the challenges and problems of our times? I think of Jesus and how he treated the sinners and the lepers of his time. He loved and he healed, he forgave. He called all of humankind to view others differently, to love, forgive, include and care for. All were to be equal, none above the other. He gave his life for this. Who would be allowed to follow him – who would be welcome at his table today? I think of Eugene, Saint Eugene. He loved and gave his all, just as he had been loved by God. Eugene who loved the lepers of his time, the poor and uneducated, the condemned prisoners, the young, the old, the infirm. He gave his all to them, as well as to his community. Co-operator of the Savior. Who would he reach out to? Who would be welcomed to walk and work with him?

    Who are the lepers of this era, this time and place? How do we keep them separated and untouched? We who have come so far and are so educated. I think of what Richard Rohr wrote this morning about differentiation and sameness, about learning and unlearning. I’m not sure that we need a deeper theology of women, or for that matter of men. The threat doesn’t come from outside of us, but from within. We seemed to be called to ‘let go of’ and love. How do I do that?

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