Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

POPE LEO XII

FOR FUTURE REMEMBRANCE OF THE MATTER

If there ever was a time when this Apostolic See endeavored to encourage and support by every means at its command the zeal of those priests, who, burning with the fire of holy love, preach the Gospel throughout the whole world, and labor to implant in the minds of people the precepts and duties of the Christian religion and to instruct the people to be subject to lawful authority, We think of no more fitting occasion to do this than at the present when crimes of every kind, issuing like hideous monsters from the dark recesses of the past, again rear their heads and boldly spread their ravages from day to day, threatening to overthrow all rights, human and divine, and completely to efface, were it possible, every vestige of religion…

… Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, under the Fisherman’s Ring, on the twenty first day of March, 1826, in the third year of Our Pontificate.

Pope Leo XII

Apostolic Letter of Approbation, 21 March 1826, Missions O.M.I., n° 280 (1952), pp. 568ff.

This echoes Eugene’s analysis of the situation of French Christians after the Revolution which impelled him to respond by creating the Oblates to reform the situation at close quarters.

The Church, that glorious inheritance purchased by Christ the Savior at the cost of his own blood, has in our days been cruelly ravaged. The beloved spouse of God’s only begotten Son is torn with anguish as she mourns the shameful defection of the children she herself bore. Christians, but apostates, and utterly mindless of God’s blessings, they provoke divine justice by their crimes….

Faced with such a deplorable situation, the Church earnestly appeals to the ministers whom she herself enrolled in the cause of her divine Spouse, to do all in their power, by word and example, to rekindle the flame of faith that has all but died in the hearts of so many of her children.

Preface of the CCRR

After nearly four months of hectic activity, Eugene could announce that the text of the brief of approval was ready to be signed by the Pope! Mission accomplished!

APOSTOLIC LETTER OF APPROBATION GIVEN TO THE INSTITUTE, RULES AND CONSTITUTIONS OF THE MISSIONARY OBLATES OF THE MOST HOLY AND IMMACULATE VIRGIN MARY. BY OUR HOLY FATHER LEO XII. BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE, POPE

Announcing this to Henri Tempier:

I want to finish my letter today so that it can leave tomorrow. The text of the brief has been made ready; Mgr. Capaccini is taking it with him to be signed by the Pope. Perhaps it has been done by now, I have nothing more to do.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 20 March 1826, EO VII n 231

 With this recognition, the Oblates could now face the future on a solid foundation, no matter what obstacles were placed in their way by external forces. The two centuries of the missionary achievements of our Oblate Family have proved this.

Because of the historical importance of this document, I will publish it in segments in the coming days.

At first, they thought that we were only asking for France, and the Cardinal ponent told me, “Accept that, and the rest will follow.” I did not agree with him, and the matter was settled according to our wishes. I must say that it was enough for me to point out that our Congregation did not limit its charity to a small corner of the earth, and that all abandoned souls, wherever they might be, would always be the object of its zeal and would be entitled to its services, and that my opinion was accepted.

Letter to Fr. Tempier in Marseilles, 20 March 1826, EO VII n. 231

 Today the Oblate Charismatic family is present in around 70 countries – thanks to Eugene’s zeal continued through his missionaries.

The more I think about our case, the more I recognize the hand of God in it, and His action has also been recognized by all those who have been the instruments of His mercy upon us.

To think that we are the only ones favored in this way, and that it is the Pope who has done everything. …Not only does the Pope approve our Congregation, but he also establishes it: “Constituimus”

Letter to Fr. Tempier in Marseilles, 20 March 1826, EO VII n. 231

 May we truly understand who we are! I hope that the Lord will grant us this grace, with the assistance and protection of our holy Mother, the Immaculate Mary, to whom we must have great devotion in our Congregation. Does it not seem to you that it is a sign of predestination to bear the name of Oblates of Mary, that is, consecrated to God under the patronages of Mary, whose name the Congregation bears, like a family name shared with the most holy and Immaculate Mother of God?

It is enough to make others jealous, but it is the Church that has given us this beautiful title, and we receive it with respect, love, and gratitude, proud of our dignity and the rights it gives us to the protection of the Almighty before God. Let us not delay any longer in using this beautiful name

Letter to Fr. Tempier in Marseilles, 20 March 1826, EO VII n. 231

For weeks after the approbation, Eugene continued to express his awe at how God had controlled the events to act in our favor.

Oh yes, we must admit it, we have received a great blessing! The more I consider it closely in all its circumstances, the more I appreciate the value of this favor.

The magnitude of the grace of the approbation for the Oblates required an equally generous response: a generous rededication to the demands of our vocation.

We will never be able to repay it except by unfailing fidelity, by redoubled zeal and devotion to the glory of God, the service of the Church, and the salvation of souls, especially the most abandoned, in accordance with our vocation…

 When the news of the approbation reached the Oblates in France, their joy knew no limits and they understood that they had become new men: no longer a group of missionaries, but a recognized element participating in the mission of the universal Church.

You are quite right to say that it seemed to all of you that you have become new men; that is indeed the case. May we understand well what we are!

Letter to Fr. Tempier in Marseilles, 20 March 1826, EO VII n. 231

May we, as members of Eugene’s Charismatic Family, indeed understand what we are in the Church!

While waiting for the Papal Brief to be signed and handed over, Eugene confided to Henri Tempier his difficulties with the Lenten diet in the house where he was staying. The text is a reminder to us that all saints were human with their likes and dislikes

When Lent is finished, I will have a little more strength for I admit I have never in my life observed a Lent comparable to this one. It happens often that I go through the day with two badly cooked eggs in my stomach and even then it is forbidden to eat them three days of the week. It is beyond me, I cannot overcome the repugnance I have for the stinking oil they use in this house. When they give me fish, I swallow it without seasoning but sometimes it will not go down. I would bring up rather than eat three pieces of another kind of fish pickled in vinegar with spices that nauseate me. Often the soup is horrible; it is a mixture of cheese, bread and greens; I always force it down my throat; but I compensate myself with fruit, I eat my bread with nuts, almonds and usually two pears with which I am not parsimonious… Instead of other penances, I offer this to the good God.

I smile sometimes when I think of the advice that St. Bernard, I believe, gave to his religious on the dispositions with which they ought to go to the dining room. I have little trouble entering into the spirit of this saint, and certainly it is not an act of virtue for me to proceed there as if to martyrdom; my stomach is turned just by approaching the refectory. I have no fear of sinning there by sensuality. In spite of all that, I am very well. I have not been unwell for a moment since leaving France.

Letter to Fr. Tempier in Marseilles, 16 March 1826, EO VII n. 230

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