ALL OF ITS MEMBERS ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY EMPLOYED IN DIVERSE COUNTRIES IN THE TWO HEMISPHERES TO BRING SOULS BACK TO GOD

I do not believe that there is any other Congregation giving such a moving example in the Church.

With this typical Mazenodian hyperbole Eugene began 1843 on an exultant note as he surveyed the missionary activities of his sons.

All of its members are simultaneously employed in diverse countries in the two hemispheres to bring souls back to God and to wage violent war against Hell. To have missions in the dioceses of Marseilles, Fréjus, Aix, Avignon, Valence, Grenoble, Ajaccio, in England, in Ireland, in Canada and in the United States, is truly marvelous.

I have just received letters from Longeuil which should be printed. Father Telmon and Father Dandurand, who should have made his vows for Christmas, did marvelously well in the diocese of New York; in addition, the Bishop would wish to give them charge of the French church in his episcopal city, while the Bishop of Toronto  calls them to take over the mission to the Iroquois.

Vocations were starting to come forward in Canada:

The three priest novices, who are making ever better progress, are joined by an acolyte in his second year of theology and a college professor;several others have already taken steps towards admission, and the Bishop encourages and eases them on in spite of the lack of candidates for his own parishes.

Letter to Father Hippolyte Courtés, 4 January 1843, EO X n 785

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1 Response to ALL OF ITS MEMBERS ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY EMPLOYED IN DIVERSE COUNTRIES IN THE TWO HEMISPHERES TO BRING SOULS BACK TO GOD

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Oblate Associate says:

    Eugene’s hyperbole is easy to understand since the numbers of his family were growing quickly and the work they were doing was incredible. The charism given to him was being shared not only in France, or even Europe but also in the new world of North America. If numbers were to be the measuring stick of success, then Eugene had to rejoice in how well his sons were spreading the Good News. Was this not what it had looked like in the early Church with the first sending of the apostles and disciples throughout the known world?

    I find myself reflecting though on his statement: “…the Bishop encourages and eases them on in spite of the lack of candidates for his own parishes.” The bishops who themselves were missionaries, must surely have looked forward to the day when young men from their dioceses would come with thoughts of becoming diocesan priests to their bishops. They were drawn to become missionaries themselves; missionaries like the ones they were meeting from France; the Mazenodian charism was calling to them. Success to the Bishops was in recognizing God’s hand in the Oblate mission and way of life. They found their own glory in the ‘missio’ Dei, the Church’s mission.

    I look at our Mazenodian Family today; made up of men and women from different states of life throughout the world. It is God’s call that we respond to, and we rejoice that they wish to join our way of living, our shared values and spirit. There is never a case of there being too many, but rather the challenge of supporting and nurturing each other. And we do not stop loving those who discern that God is calling them elsewhere even though we might be disappointed. I am reminded of how Eugene stayed in relationship with some who left the congregation; they remained in relationship with each other as part of a larger family of God.

    And as I sit here this morning, I realise that it is this kind of love that I have recognized in the Oblates and the members of the Mazenodian Family in our present time. They, we, do not stop the loving but continue to invite others to join us. We recognize our being and place in the larger Church and family of God.

    Our hearts continue to beat and grow, becoming like the heart of Eugene de Mazenod himself.

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