Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

We have reached the end of our journey with St Eugene through the first 10 Constitutions of what the members of our Oblate Charismatic Family regard as our Book of Life. These articles are a summary of the charism that inspires each of us to live according to our various states of life. St Eugene’s advice to us:

So let us hold this precious Rule in high esteem, have it always before our eyes, and even more in the heart, let us continually nourish our souls with the principles it contains, let us do nothing, say nothing, think nothing that is not in conformity with its spirit. It is only in this way that we shall be what God wants us to be and make ourselves worthy of our sublime vocation.

Annual Retreat notes, October 1831, EO 15, n.163.

Constitutions 1-10 describe our vision and ideals – and as we now begin to explore Constitution 11 onwards we will see how we can put these ideals into practice.

The Mazenodian charism is contained in the Constitutions and Rules, in the Directories of the lay associates and the handbooks of various groups of our Oblate Family: we are invited to reflect on how they may be guides for us to live the Gospel

Wherever our ministry takes us, we will strive to instil genuine devotion to the Immaculate Virgin who prefigures God’s final victory over all evil.  (Constitution 10)

“They will always regard her as mother” Eugene had written when we officially became Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate after our papal approbation in 1826. He asked us to have a “tender and filial devotion.” Throughout his life he was accompanied by Mary to the point of his least breath as all were reciting the Salve Regina prayer.

Eugene died during the praying of the Salve Regina, at these words: “Turn then, most gracious Advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us, , show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus, O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!”

Father Fabre describes the scene:

We recited the entire Salve Regina, which our well-loved Father understood and followed fully. At the words: ”and after this our exile show us,” he opened his eyes slightly; at each invocation: “ O clement, o loving”, he made a slight movement; at the third: “O sweet Virgin Mary”,  he breathed his last. His beautiful soul was in the presence of God.

Circular Letter to the Congregation 26 May 1861

Because of his life-long closeness to Mary, she did indeed accompany him to the fruit of her womb: Jesus. May we learn to look on her as mother and as our faithful faith-companion on our Christian journey to be shown the fruit of her womb at its fulfilment in our own death.

Wherever our ministry takes us, we will strive to instil genuine devotion to the Immaculate Virgin who prefigures God’s final victory over all evil.  (Constitution 10)

On his 72^nd birthday, after a lifetime of being Mary’s son, he wrote in his will:

To this end, I invoke the intercession of the Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, daring to remind her in all humility, but with consolation, of the filial devotion of my whole life, and of the desire I have always had to make her known and loved, and to spread her devotion everywhere through the ministry of those whom the Church has given to me as children, who have had the same desire as myself…

Eugene de Mazenod’s will, 1 August 1854, EO XV n. 191

Those whom the “Church has given to Eugene as children” – the Oblate Charismatic Family  today – continue to make Mary known and loved as the first Cooperator of the Savior.

We shall always look on her as our mother.
In the joys and sorrows of our missionary life, we feel close to her who is the Mother of Mercy. (Constitution 10)

After a year as seminarian in St Sulpice in Paris, Eugene reveals in his journal on the place of Mary in his spirituality:

But devotion to the Blessed Virgin must excel all others; for the glorious Mother of God is called by the Church: our life and our hope. It is morally impossible for a soul to make any progress in the ways of perfection if it lacks this tender and sincere devotion to the most holy Mother of God.

General counsels for achieving perfection, notes taken in 1809, EO XIV n.39

Fifteen years later, he rejoiced that Mary Immaculate continued to have a special devotion in his Missionary Family, as it continues to have today.

May we really understand who and what we are! I hope the Lord will grant us this grace with the help and by the protection of our holy Mother, Mary Immaculate. In our Congregation, we must have great devotion to her.

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

In her, we recognize the model of the Church’s faith and of our own. (Constitution 10)

“As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). It was the pattern of Mary’s intimate relationship with Jesus and her contemplation of his “virtues and example” that would be the model for the  Oblate:

… the Blessed Virgin, to whom they will all have a special devotion and great affection. To this effect they will recite the rosary every day.

1818 Rule, Part Two, Chapter One. §5 On prayer and exercises of piety 

 Today:

 With Mary Immaculate, the faithful handmaid of the Lord, and under the guidance of the Spirit, we enter into closer union with Jesus Christ. We will contemplate with her the mysteries of the Incarnate Word, especially in praying the rosary.

CC&RR, Constitution 36

Bishop Eugene had been horrified when he went to a church on a Marian feast and had seen that the statue of Mary had been so honored that the tabernacle had been used as its pedestal. He resolved to make sure that this abuse never happened again in his diocese. These two extracts from his Pastoral Letters, written 20 years apart, are an example of his teaching:

Thus it is the Son whom we honour in the person of the Mother and this is why, in our homage to Mary, it is impossible to overstep the limit, provided we consider her a creature, because God then always remains the supreme focus of all this homage.

Bishop Eugene’s Pastoral Letter to the Diocese of Marseille, 8 July 1849.

We never give too much honour to the Blessed Virgin, provided devotion to her is understood and practised in the limited sense of what is due to a creature, however great and sublime she may be.

We must be careful however, lest we pay to ordinary images of God’s Mother a veneration whose external signs seem to obscure those required by the presence of Jesus Christ. On the contrary, the devotion which our faith and love addresses to the adorable Eucharist, must, in proportion to our humble means, be far superior to what we generally accommodate and have for Mary Immaculate.

Bishop Eugene’s Pastoral Letter to the Diocese of Marseille, 21  December 1859.

In her, we recognize the model of the Church’s faith and of our own. (Constitution 10)

As much as Eugene loved Mary, he was always aware f the importance of never giving Mary the first place: she is honored only because she helps us to have a greater dedication to her Son.

Mary’s power of intercession and maternal love are acclaimed everywhere, and in our day devotion to her has increased to a wonderful extent. It is in the highest honour as it was in times of great faith. We bless the Lord for this. This multiple homage honouring the Mother of God marks a period of renewal in faith. From Mary, it reaches her divine Son, since is so greatly honoured only because she is the Mother of Jesus Christ. Mary’s name is invoked with so much of confidence, that she may intercede for us with her divine Son, who is thereby acknowledged as the author of all grace.

Bishop Eugene’s Pastoral Letter to the Diocese of Marseille, 21  December 1859.

She received Christ in order to share him with all the world, whose hope he is. (Constitution 10)

For Eugene, Marian shrines were special places of mission for the Oblates. Together with our patroness, the Oblates were able to imitate her in making the Savior present in the lives of those they ministered to.

On our arrival at Notre-Dame de l’Osier to make a visitation of the new establishment that divine Providence has entrusted to our Congregation, our first concern was to thank the Lord for the remarkable favour he was pleased to bestow on us in calling us to this shrine to restore the devotion to the Most Holy Virgin, and to draw from the bosom of this good Mother the graces needed by the members of our Institute to accomplish worthily the apostolic ministry they are to do in these regions.

Act of Visitation of the house of N.D.de L’Osier, July 16, 1835

He expresses this sentiment even more clearly in praising the mission of our first Marian sanctuary, Notre Dame du Laus. The same sentiment remains true of all our Marian shrines today is many countries.

Surely this is an enchanting spectacle! When we consider that the Lord in this single place presents our Congregation with the means powerfully to achieve all the ends of its Institute — for also from here our missionaries go forth to evangelize all the people of the environs and even farther afield, and this family centre is definitely one of the most famous shrines of our holy Mother and Patron – we have ample reason to be swept away by consoling happiness, or, better still, ample reason to humble ourselves before God in our helplessness fully to appreciate such a gift, such evident protection. 

Act of Visitation of the house of N.D. du Laus, October 18, 1835

Open to the Spirit, she consecrated herself totally as lowly handmaid to the person and work of the Saviour. (Constitution 10)

The personal consecration of the Missionaries was something that they shared with the people in their ministry. During the parish missions they always organized a procession focused on Mary. Eugene wrote,

The consecration to the Blessed Virgin is made when the procession held in honour of the Mother of God comes back; it is obligatory. It is made from the pulpit, before the Blessed Virgin’s statue, placed on a throne, as beautiful as the locality can provide.

Letter to Fr. Bruno Guigues, 5 November 1837, EO. IX n. 652

The procession was meant to lead the people to make a personal and community act of commitment to following Mary’s Gospel example of discipleship as Christians, and of having Mary as intercessor and guide.

The recitation of the rosary and the teaching and dissemination of its use as a Gospel meditation prayer also formed part of the program of the missions.