Father Tempier and some of the diocesan officilas had come to visit Eugene at the convent where he had been recuperating and had insisted that he not return to Marseilles but continue his convalescence by visiting some of the Oblate communities, and especially Notre Dame de Lumières. Six months earlier he had been offered to :
buy the convent and the church of Notre-Dame de Lumières as a future establishment for missionaries… The project pleased me because our missionaries have been specially called to work in the Southern diocese whose language they know and, placed by the Holy See under the protection of the Blessed Virgin, they have a special preference to establish themselves in shrines that are dedicated to her. Thus, thanks to Divine Providence, they already serve several such shrines where they have happily succeeded in making previously neglected devotion flourish again.
Letter to Archbishop Dupont, 7 December 1836, EO XIII n 91
Eugene, accompanied by Fathers Tempier and Honorat (who would be the Oblate responsible for the shrine), stayed in Lumières for six days. Today the Missionary Oblates continue to minister at this shrine of Notre Dame de Lumières. For further details see https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/notre-dame-de-lumieres/
I spent precious time this morning renewing and enhancing my knowledge of Notre Dame de Lumières. I found myself once again recognizing how the Church having been decimated and torn apart in different parts of the world grew back again, with a new kind of relevance. And while the Oblates were not always able to serve there they were once again invited back.
I look at how it is here in Canada and the USA – for both the Church and the Oblates. The Oblates who helped open up the west, beginning in the east and then stretching out across and going north; some who headed south and then up the west coast. The hardships that they endured and indeed flourished in were extreme and still they persevered (just as the congregation had in France). And I am reminded of the shrines dedicated to Our Lady that they began and built up here in North America and which still flourish with life.
I find myself filled with hope, trust and gratitude this morning as I look at what began in France and which has survived and flourished under the loving service of the Oblates – around the world. We do not have an overabundance of new vocations to the priesthood but there are some, and many lay people join the journey walking in the light of the shared charism and spirit. We continue to walk in hope that God will provide for and grow us, all of us who make up the Mazenodian Family and that we will flourish as we move forward. We trust that we will not be abandoned, by God or the Church and that we will grow into something old-and-new as we are led by God. And grateful; we are grateful for God’s call to each of us, grateful that we have all been invited to share in this most particular charism and spirit – grateful that we are led to arise and walk in ways that look different than they did in the past yesterdays and years, but which like Notre Dame de Lumières serve in new areas and ways – remaining relevant in an ever changing world.
We are accompanied by Eugene, by the early founding communities and all those who have gone before us. They shed their light on us and share with us their hearts. Our mission remains unchanged, it simply looks new, much like a Master’s painting after being restored.