Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

Frustrated with the long wait for the Brief to be approved – which was the last thing holding him back in Rome he wrote in his personal diary:

 The usual outings, as useless as yesterday, with the exception that I got back my manuscript with the decrees, signatures and seals, but everything concerning the Brief has been held up by the inertia of Bishop Capaccini, whom nothing can move. This way of doing things will be the dark part of my painting of Rome.

 Then a wry comment about priests breaking the Lenten fast, which at that time consisted of solid food only at meals, with only liquid permitted in between:

 I soon left to return to my monastery, saddened to see with my own eyes a great number of people, even priests, applying ice-cream to their consciences, in spite of the Lenten fast; it is possible that ice-cream can be considered a liquid which does not break the fast, for it melts in one’s mouth; in my opinion, it cruelly offends the spirit of mortification, from which a person should not dispense oneself so easily during this holy time.

Eugene’s Diary, 13 March 1826, EO XVII

Here, one sometimes waits six months for a “yes” or a “no,” one interprets a sign, one tries to penetrate the mind of the Supreme Pontiff, one considers oneself fortunate for the slightest hope, however remote it may be. And it is this same Supreme Pontiff who has done everything for us. What right did we have to this? Who gave me, in a single audience, the ability to inspire such strong, real, and constant interest in him?

How can we not see the supernatural in this? How, then, can we not be filled with gratitude to God, and, turning our attention to ourselves, become even more attached to the Society which has just received such convincing proof of the Lord’s protection, to which we now belong in a completely different way, since in the hierarchical order it is through it that we are connected to the Supreme Head of the Church, who is its sovereign moderator. Now is the time to adopt this group spirit that inspires us not to be surpassed by any other group in virtue, regularity, etc.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 9 March 1826, EO VII n. 229

 The composition of the brief is finished: they came to communicate its contents to me – I have the impression that this has not been the practice heretofore. Mgr. Capaccini will presumably take it tomorrow to Arch. Marchetti and if they agree about its contents, they will have it transcribed and I will pay for it; for briefs of whatever sort have to be paid for…

 Eugene continuously at God’s intervention in the process:

Cardinal Pedicini was quite right: if God had not intervened, we would have been dealing with this for over a year. What amuses me is the surprise of Archpriest Adinolfi who, as I told you, is the key figure in the secretariat: he cannot believe the turn this affair has taken from the outset.” Non si è visto mai:” never before, he says, in any case of this kind, has the Pope taken it upon himself to smooth everything over, resolve difficulties, prescribe every detail, and dictate the very wording of the brief.

So fully aware of God’s providence, Eugene hoped that the Oblates in France realized the importance of these events. It is the sentiment that is being expressed around our celebrations of the bicentenary and Eugene’s wish applies to each of us, members of the Oblate Charismatic Family and friends of Eugene.

Do our men realize this, at least? If they understood what it meant, they would jump for joy, or they would be speechless with admiration.

Letter to Fr. Tempier, 9 March 1826, EO VII n 229

The verbal approval had been granted on 17 February, but the matter did not end there as Eugene had to go through a lot of bureaucratic procedures before concluding everything. Firstly, he had to make a hand-written copy of the 200 pages of the Rule, then get the copy authenticated – all which demanded much writing and patience on his behalf. Once he had all the necessary seals, what remained was to request the Pope to sign the Brief of Approbation, which Eugene and others were to produce. Frustrated, Eugene commented: “I keep going back and forth so often to see the same persons and deal with the same matters.”

March 1st: I knew that Bishop Capaccini was to have a papal audience yesterday and would certainly have received his directives for the Brief that he was to draw up. So, I was in a hurry to get to his place this morning. He received me most graciously and remembered to tell me that the Holy Father had spoken very favourably about me, and recommended that he speed up my business matter, that is to place it before all others… I believe that the Brief will be drawn on Saturday; this work demands some diligence.

Roman Diary, 1 March 1826. EO XVIII.

Two days later:

Another trip to Father Giulio Barluzzi, then to the chancellery for Bishops and Regulars where I found out that I had to make a third copy of my petition. Praise the Lord! I brought the manuscript back home and resigned myself to being submissive. I did it as quickly as possible. When will I end being a scribe? When will my trips ever end?

Roman Diary, 3 March 1826. EO XVIII

Words of encouragement when we are stuck in menial tasks – it helps to remember the bigger picture. God is usually behind it!

Once the Rule had been approved, the original had to be left at the Vatican and Eugene had to make a copy of this. We saw how he spent several days copying the text himself. But the process was not over as this copy had to be officially certified.

I went to see Father Antonetti, the Under-Secretary of the Chancellery for Bishops and Regulars, who was to go over my enormous manuscript with me. Who would have guessed that this good man would have the dedication to examine every word of it, from first to last! Nevertheless, that is what he did. He had in advance placed a cushioned chair in front of a table so that I would be seated comfortably; he sat beside me and while I read out loud.

Roman Diary, 2 March 1826, EO XVIII

Writing to Fr. Temper about this, he gave a more colorful narrative:

At nine o’clock sharp, I was at his door; my gallows were already ready, and to execute me, the holy man had taken precautions in advance; he had already said Vespers. You understand what that meant to me. I had fallen upon the most scrupulous priest in the Christian world; I am grateful to him that I was dealt with in a day, but his delicate conscience meant that I had to pay usque ad ultimum quadrantem [ed. to the very last quarter]. He had been told to collate the manuscript, and he did not spare me a single iota. 

He seized my copy while I was reading the original aloud; no matter how fast I read, he followed me with his eyes and nose, for he really cannot see further than his nose, both physically and morally. He suspended my torment for a moment to have his coffee; he insisted that I have a cup with him, but I held firm so that he would not incur any expenses for me other than a glass of water, which had become indispensable to me; I drank it drop by drop during my long session, which lasted more than four hours, and during which my throat lost its elasticity twenty times, only to be restored immediately by a timely sip of water. Finally, at half past one, I completed the task, uttering the last word of my manuscript, which almost became the last word of my life.

I lull myself into thinking the contrary for I find that it is indeed a long time since I am separated from you and the family; but I feel that it had to be so and the good God has chosen me to render this service to the Society;

and I ought to offer thanksgiving to him for whom we work, for having so well disposed hearts in my favour, that each of those with whom I had to deal advanced to meet me half-way, were favourable to begin with and found good in all I proposed, as if the Lord revealed to them the sentiments of my soul and let them perceive from within that my sole ambition is to please God and procure his glory by serving the Church and saving souls. I must add, that from the facts I presented and all that the weight of the truth obliged me to say, they conceived, the Pope especially, a very favourable idea of the whole Society, which ought to stimulate us to deserve more and more, by our devotedness to all good, a protection so high and so honourable. Amen.

Letter to Fr Tempier, 18 February 1826, EO VII n. 226

The brief will only be written after I shall have terminated a large work. I have to copy the entire volume of the Rules and Constitutions, because it is this copy which will be endorsed and put back into my hands. The original, to which are appended the approbations of the Bishops and the signature of the members of the Society, must remain in the archives of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars. I am somewhat dismayed by this task; I had first had the thought of doing it myself but I fear not to be able to go quickly enough, often being obliged to go off on unavoidable errands… I am going today to get in touch with a copyist in order that he will start to work tomorrow, Monday, and that I may be able to present the manuscript at the latest next week. If he does not promise me to finish in a week, I will sacrifice everything and shut myself up in order to do this work myself, keeping at it day and night.

In his diary he records:

20: Went out early to look for a copyist but did not find one, at least not the kind I needed…all these errands weigh me down, and the idea that, without a copyist, I must transcribe two hundred pages in small format, certainly is not something to give me any great courage.

21: Copied all day long since I did not find a copyist willing to do this work in a week. They would have kept the manuscript at least three weeks and it would have cost me 30 Roman crowns, if not more. I will do it in three days and it will cost only my trouble which is actually no small matter, since I wrote for twelve hours today.

22, 23, 24: I spent three days and half a night, that is, till three o’clock, busy with copying.

25: Most of the day was again spent in writing. Petitions had to be made in two original copies, etc. I hope it will end there, since my arms are numb.

Eugene’s Diary, February 20-25 EO XVII

Writing to Fr Tempier he confided what kept him going in this task:

Although all my limbs are numb, my dear Tempier, with the penal labour that I have just undergone, I thought I would write you at least half of a sheet…  I barged through this job in three days and part of the nights; I must admit it was an enormous task; I can also say that I was in it from head to toe; with head, chest, arms, hands, legs, feet and an unmentionable part of me being cruelly tried. But there remains not a trace of this temporary suffering which I was well inspired to offer to the good God, in expiation of my sins and for the good of our Society.

Letter to Fr. Tempier in Marseilles, 27 February 1826. EO VIII n. 227

“We praise you, O God: we acknowledge you to be the Lord”… My dear friend, my dear brothers, on February 17, 1826, yesterday evening, the Sovereign Pontiff Leo XII …specifically approved the Institute, the Rules and Constitutions of the Missionary Oblates of the Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary…

Eugene cautions the Oblates not to speak about this until the Pope’s brief of approval would be officially published. In order for this process to begin, a handwritten copy had to be made of the whole volume.

I think that we must wait for the brief to be sent before we proclaim without restraint about the mercies of the Lord for our dear little Society…  Now I begin to hope to be able to leave immediately after Easter, unless the procedure with the brief is drawn out at length.
Letter to Fr Tempier, 18 February 1826, EO VII n. 226

As much as Eugene wanted to get back to Marseilles and rejoice with his Oblates, duty called him to remain in Rome to do some very necessary mundane tasks connected with the approbation. Three years before he had had to abandon Aix and the joy of preaching missions (at which he was very talented and successful) in order to take up the difficult, demanding and unrewarding task of administration for his uncle, Bishop Fortuné. He sacrificed himself for the good of his Congregation and the Church.

He understood and lived the spirit of oblation – an example each of us is called to imitate wherever we find ourselves.

The Church’s recognition of the hand of God in the process of composing the Rule (and of the Oblate General Chapters who pray to be inspired by the Holy Spirit) emphasizes the sacredness of our vocation to live by these Rules.

 He whom God has used to draw them up disappears; it is certain today that he was merely the mechanical instrument which the Spirit of God put into play in order to show the path he wanted to be followed by those whom he had predestined and preordained for the work of his mercy, in calling them to form and maintain our poor, little and modest Society.

 This tiny group of 22 Oblates now had the same status on the Church as the large Orders of Dominicans, Franciscans etc. The Oblate Congregation, as the Mother of all its members, had its place in God’s plan of salvation. It is up to us to ensure that she produce an enormous missionary family embracing all those who work for the salvation of others.

Somewhat puny as we are, being weak and few in number, we nonetheless have an existence in the Church no less than that of the most celebrated bodies, the most holy societies. It is thus we are constituted. Just now I can say to you quietly what I will say to you out loud when the brief is delivered: know your dignity, take care never to dishonour your Mother who has just been enthroned and recognized as Queen in the household of the Spouse, whose grace will make her fecund enough to engender a great number of children, if we are faithful and do not draw upon her a shameful sterility by our prevarications.

 Finally, Eugene’s imperative, which has been officially recognized in his canonization and in the Oblates and missionary collaborators who have been beatified. Here, in this short sentence is the aim and goal of the Constitutions and Rules and their mandate to apply this to every person we minister with and to:

 In the name of God, let us be saints.

 The grace of the approbation – of the fact that the Church recognized the divine origins of our charism – demands an appropriate response from us which Eugene spelt out

The conclusion to be drawn from this, my dear friends and good brothers, is: we must work, with renewed ardour and still more total devotedness, to bring to God all the glory that stems from our efforts and, to the needy souls of our neighbours, salvation in all possible ways; we must attach ourselves heart and soul to our Rules and practice more exactly what they prescribe to us.

 Today, as 200 years ago, the fact of the approbation calls us to be aware that, in following the Constitutions and Rules and the spirit they express, all members of the Oblate Charismatic Family have a map of how to reach our goals as Christians and missionaries: “In the name of God, let us be saints!”

 To do this well, would mean remaking our novitiate so as to meditate at leisure on all they contain. They are not a triviality, they are no longer simple regulations, merely pious directions; they are Rules approved by the Church after most minute examination. They have been judged holy and highly suited to lead those who have embraced them to their goal.

 The Oblate Family was founded because Eugene heard the call of Jesus Christ within the Church through people’s need for salvation. The Constitutions and Rules now belong to the Church because they are our means of being Church, the Body of Christ.

They have become the property of the Church that has adopted them. The Pope, by approving them, has become their guarantor.