Quoting Saint Paul, Eugene sent his missionaries to Canada with evangelical courage.
For the rest, brothers, take comfort in the Lord and in the might of His power. Put on the armour of God, hold yourselves erect, loins girded with truth, wearing the breastplate of justice and your feet shod in readiness to evangelize; so that the Lord may help you to announce the Word mightily, to withdraw from sin the children of the Church and lead them to holiness; and that He may open your mouth to make known with assurance the mystery of the Gospel to those ignorant of it.
Letter of obedience to the first Oblate missionaries to Canada, 29 September 1841, EO I n 8
In our difficult days let us remember that the words of Paul, are still true for us and invite us to take courage:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
(Ephesians 6:10-17)
Listening to Eugene speak to us this morning I find some of his words exploding into the daylight. “…so that the Lord may help you to announce the Word mightily”. The image I have is of a million stars in the night sky; but there is always one that seems to twinkle more brightly, one that shoots across the heavens leaving us breathless and filled with wonder. Mightily like the vast ranges of mountains. The Lord has armed us so that we might ‘proclaim’ the Word, announce it without timidity. I am reminded of John the Baptist – a voice in the wilderness as he announced the coming of the Messiah.
And Eugene continues writing how God would have us pull his children out of the fire of death and into the light so as “to lead them to holiness”. I find myself thinking of his words towards the end of The Preface: leading people to become human then Christian, and finally helping them to become saints. That is holiness.
These were not just words to a few Oblates as they prepared to cross the oceans, just as St. Paul’s words were not to a select few men; I hear these words being spoken to me today: reminding, instructing and inspiring me in the coming hours of the new day. I want this to be how I approach all whom I will meet and each small thing that I shall do today.
There is a hymn from many years ago: They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love.
“We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah they’ll know we are Christians by our love
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we’ll guard each man’s dignity and save each man’s pride
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
This what it looks like to be a Christian; this is what it looks like as we daily renew our oblation. This is how we are sent out…