I DESIRE THAT EVERYONE BE WELL PREPARED AND FACING THE PRESENT WITH READY HEARTS

In the joy of the day of renewal of commitment by the Oblate students, Eugene remained mindful of the Oblates in France who were in danger as a result of the July Revolution.

However we have kept to the fore our situation and have spoken to our Lord of our absent brothers for whom, by my order, prayers are said every day in the litanies which follow the examen. No matter, this very remembrance rendered the ceremony more touching, and all there remains for me to desire is that everyone be as well prepared everywhere and facing the present with hearts as ready…

In whatever danger they found themselves, he wanted them to be spiritually well-prepared and strengthened by the graces of their own vocation and oblation.

He then refers to the destruction of mission crosses in France and the requests of the civil authorities to hide them:

… I have let you know long ago my attitude about the crosses; better to die than take part in this apostasy.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 1 November 1830, EO VII n 370

Good advice for us today, too, in the uncertain circumstances. May our Mazenodian spirituality be our beacon and strength.

This entry was posted in WRITINGS. Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to I DESIRE THAT EVERYONE BE WELL PREPARED AND FACING THE PRESENT WITH READY HEARTS

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Oblate Associate says:

    I understands the desire and necessity for the people to be free of tyranny no matter what mask it wears – but I also want for it to be done peacefully, without arms and armies, without bloodshed. Naïve and simple perhaps. At what point does something become an apostasy, rather than becoming a finding of a ‘way to live with’? Why must it be ‘either/or’ rather than ‘both/and’?

    Is it just my fear of being ‘put to the test’ and failing my God that makes me want to cry out and say ‘whoa, lets stop and look at what’s happening here’? I know I am a pacifist and that does not mean ‘walking away from’ or just giving up and quitting. And I realise that is what Eugene is standing for something quite specific. What do I stand for?

    Thankfully I do not have to stand on my own, walk on my own. Yes, I know that I always have God. But God has also given me something much more tangible – Eugene de Mazenod, the Oblates and all of the Mazenodian Family. I look to every single one of them and how they are each in their own ways beacons for they all share in this Mazenodian spirituality and way of being. And there is immense strength in all of that, for it is no longer the “I” – it has become the “we”. It seems that times have not changed in the past 200 years, for now just as then we can stand together and face the struggles with ready hearts.

Leave a Reply

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