FEBRUARY 17: A BACKWARD-LOOKING-CELEBRATION? OR AN INJECTION OF PROPULSION FUEL FOR EVERY MEMBER OF THE MAZENODIAN FAMILY?

Since 25 January we have been celebrating two hundred years of our existence with gratitude and renewed hope.

Today we recall how, ten years later, we received Church approbation of what had happened on that day in 1816. The 17 February 1826 marks the day when we received this confirmation, and it is a day that is commemorated throughout the world by the Mazenodian family.

How stultifying when this day turns into a moment of backward-looking commemoration, instead of it being a moment of gratitude and “propulsion” with confidence into new stratospheres of mission and possibilities of new life! “Jet propulsion” is a weak word to use for the significance of this day: it lends itself more to vocabulary like a “breaking the sound barrier,” ”Mach,” “supersonic” moment. Am I exaggerating? No! We are not talking about some Vatican officials giving us bureaucratic approval to continue existing – we are talking about God. In 1826 Pope Leo XII, after a period of discernment, recognized that the Congregation had come into existence because it was a creation of God. Eugene understood the

steady determination of the Holy Father, whom nothing has been able to prevent from the first thought with which the Holy Spirit inspired him on the first day that I knelt at his feet and presented to him the plan of this enterprise which now we can call divine…

Letter to all the Oblates, 18 February 1826, EO VII, n. 226

The Pope recognized that it is a charism of the Holy Spirit. So we are dealing with something immeasurably superior to any supersonic happening. We are dealing with AN ACT OF GOD – a Super-supersonic event that broke the sound-barrier between heaven and earth. It is an act of God that we celebrate!

What was the significance of it for Eugene? Eleven years before he had acknowledged that

I am making a decision of the utmost importance as a result of a strong impulse that comes from outside of me. When I reflect on it, I am convinced that is how God wants to put an end to my indecisiveness.

Letter to Forbin Janson, 23 October 1815, EO VI n.5

crestOur foundation was the result. The papal approbation of 17 February 1826 was an act of discernment of the Church, recognizing that the inspiration that Eugene had received had indeed come from God – that it had been a “supersonic” experience. For ten years this small group of men had survived by their founding vision, surviving hardships, persecution, defections and near-extermination, and yet never giving up. They believed that their vocation came from God, that their ideal was God-inspired and that their mission to the most-abandoned was God-given. The discernment of the Church confirmed this and injected new life and vigor into them. It was not meant to degenerate into a moment of back-slapping backward-looking community festivity. It was an injection of divine life that propelled the Oblates.

Edm missionOnce Eugene returned to France in 1826, he and the Congregation faced a decade of difficult years. Yet, the propulsion of 17 February kept them going and kept them dreaming: visions of “breaking the sound barrier” of the borders of their important, yet routine, ministry on the continent of France. They were impelled to offer themselves for mission in Algeria, in Corsica, and eventually the leap of faith of 1841 in sending Missionaries to Canada, England and Ireland – and then to Asia, Africa and the US.

Where did this craziness come from? From the assurance that they had received on 17 February.

The conclusion to be drawn from this, my dear friends and good brothers, is: we must work, with renewed ardor and still more total devotedness, to bring to God all the glory that stems from our efforts and, to the needy souls of our neighbors, salvation in all possible ways; we must attach ourselves heart and soul to our Rules and practice more exactly what they prescribe to us… In the name of God, let us be saints.

Letter of Eugene to all the Oblates, 18 February 1826, EO VII, n. 226

Some aspects of our present Oblate situation seem to mirror elements of the years of 1827 onwards. We have achieved incredible things in the past – and we have wonderful people involved in mission at present, but our numbers are going down, our people are ageing and we seem slow to break out of “maintenance-mode.”

May this 17 February be a God-given moment of grace to rediscover the value of our God-given life as calling us into courageous new horizons and expressions of this centuries-old gift of consecrated life (which is getting a bit tired in some of its expressions).

May it be a grace-filled moment to re-value, at our local levels, a Mazenodian family that is essentially larger than a group of priests (and brothers and sisters) with limited participation of the laity.

Is it not an invitation to break out and model our community life on the example of some of the recent Spirit-given trends in the Church – where every way of life receives and is equally important in belonging and cooperating in the mission inspired by the same vision and charism of Eugene?

Is this not the true meaning of 17 February: that it is an invitation to the whole Mazenodian Family to re-inject itself with the propulsion fuel given to Eugene by the Holy Spirit? That the charisms of each member and category of the Mazenodian Family be united in mutual recognition, respect and living together the God-given charism of Eugene – and break the sound barrier of our missionary oblation for the most abandoned in fresh life-giving community expressions?

06-10-2010-foto-735

I also recommend to you the beautiful  letter of our Superior General, Father Louis Lougen, for this occasion:  http://www.omiworld.org/en/content/news/3519/letter-of-the-superior-general-to-the-congregation-for-february-17-2016/

This entry was posted in WRITINGS. Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to FEBRUARY 17: A BACKWARD-LOOKING-CELEBRATION? OR AN INJECTION OF PROPULSION FUEL FOR EVERY MEMBER OF THE MAZENODIAN FAMILY?

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Oblate Associate says:

    I sit in joy and gratitude on this wonderful Feast Day. As an Oblate Associate (and wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could simply say the word Oblate?) I have the privilege of being able to renew my commitment at Mass this evening. It is a commitment (and wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could simply use the word vow) to God, to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, to my brother and sisters, to all people everywhere who would hear it – it is a vow made in joy and gratitude, hope and immense love. I get to stand with my family speaking words that go deeper than they did year ago.

    That it is recognized in any way by the Church, by other members of the Mazenodian Family is a gift and it fills me with immense gratitude and pride. Of course for all that has gone before me but also for all that is right now and what it will be in the future and long after I am gone. I count myself among the blessed that I have been able to hear the call of God and recognize it’s truth; that I have heard the invitation of Eugene and been able to say yes; that I am able to be a member in my own right of this great and wondrous family. It began with God who knew that it would be most perfect for me.

    We stand in this celebration looking at where we are today and realise that it is not just something of the past but something that we are a part of right now. I have no qualms in saying that if it were not living in you all it would not have been shared with us. As we all renew our vows this evening – it is a looking forward and living it all.
    Through each and every one of you, I am where I belong. It is through you that I come to see who I am in the eyes of God, in the eyes of my crucified Saviour. That this was initiated and came from God is self-evident. The Church has given her approval and being as human as she is still struggles with some aspects but we pray and hope that it will one day be as Frank has written “Is it not an invitation to break out and model our community life on the example of some of the recent Spirit-given trends in the Church – where every way of life receives and is equally important in belonging and cooperating in the mission inspired by the same vision and charism of Eugene? Is this not the true meaning of 17 February: that it is an invitation to the whole Mazenodian Family to re-inject itself with the propulsion fuel given to Eugene by the Holy Spirit? That the charisms of each member and category of the Mazenodian Family be united in mutual recognition, respect and living together the God-given charism of Eugene – and break the sound barrier of our missionary oblation for the most abandoned in fresh life-giving community expressions?” This reflects the open heart of Eugene and the daring that he passed on to all of us. I think of how Eugene did not allow himself or his spirit to be stopped by borders, any more than the Church has. Some borders take a little longer than others to break through and climb over.

    On this joyous Feast Day I remember and I give thanks – to God, to the Church, to Eugene and most especially to each and every one of you. Look at from whence you come, where you are and where you are going. I offer each of you all of my love and my prayers, my joy and my gratitude. May God continue to bless you so lavishly.

  2. Anda says:

    “May this 17 February be a God-given moment of grace to rediscover, …. to re-value, …. to break out and model, … to re-inject itself with the propulsion fuel …. (t0 be) united …. (to) break the sound barrier….”
    This is so well put Frank. If I may be so bold, I might only have preface all with “to dare to”….
    Blessings to all to dare.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *