Eugene travelled hurriedly to Paris, where he was to remain from July until November 1817. On his arrival he wrote to his community in Aix:
I write only these two words, my dear and good brothers, to give you news of my happy arrival at Paris without mishap other than having shivered all the way from Lyon to here, while from Aix to Lyon, we could not breathe because of the heat. For the rest, my appetite was good and I slept soundly if not peacefully; the company was passable but not able to arouse me from a kind of musing which brought me back ceaselessly to you whom I had left so regretfully. It is to be hoped that it will not be long; I have already requested an audience from the Minister who will write me one of these days…
Letter to the Missionaries in Aix, 19 July 1817, O.W. VI n.17
After Napoleon’s reign, it became possible for the religious congregations and monasteries to function again. They began to approach the King and the Ministry of Cults for government recognition and permission to do so. Profiting from a new Concordat between the Pope and France, Eugene had approached the government in August 1816 to ask for official legal recognition of the Missionaries of Provence.
A few weeks later a new parliament was elected and their reaction against “clericalism” led to the Pope revoking the Concordat. Consequently, the Ministry did not encourage the approval of new congregations. He rather suggested that they fuse with other similar ones who had already been approved by the government. To Eugene he suggested a fusion with the Missionaries of France. Eugene was not in favour, and the Minister now resorted to delaying tactics, during which time the society could quietly continue its good work. Eugene had bided his time in this process.
The clash with the priests of Aix, however, made it necessary to have an official government recognition and a legal status as urgently as possible in order to avoid the destruction of his Missionaries. Hence Eugene’s hurried trip to Paris in July 1817.
Is our world and Church today any different from 2000 years ago, 200 years ago?
Pilgrims in Hope of Communion – those words suddenly take on a new depth for me, as if a light has been turned on… We walk in hope of communion. This is the legacy that St. Eugene de Mazenod, OMI, Founder, friend and father has left for us who are his sons and daughters.
We have not reached the end of our journey any more than Eugene had when he went to Paris, seeking a way to work within the Church and the French government of his time. A coming together in oneness with…
“…we stand with the voiceless, hearing and making heard their cry… In so doing, we risk finding ourselves among the marginalized of our community, our society and our church, taking our place among the poor and the powerless, walking with those who, like us, hold within themselves tremendous beauty, strength and gifts as well as weaknesses, brokenness and limitations, that together we may help one another experience the love of God… in the service of the continuous unfolding of the reign of God within creation.”(from Lacombe Province Mission Statement)
There is within me, once again, hope, trust, joy and gratitude for God having created me, called/calling me and planting me where I will bloom and become fruit just as my Mazenodian Oblate Family has been for me.
Pilgrims in hope of communion: with/in God, each other and those we meet on the journey. So much more, so much deeper that just a catchy slogan or motto but our lived reality.
Forward together…
In the midst of a world seemingly gone mad I sit and rejoice and give thanks for this magnificent light that God has shone upon me, as a pilgrim – who walks in hope of communion…