Category Archives: LETTERS

MAXIMUM RESPECT FOR GOD

Sending his greetings to all the Oblates, Eugene assures them of how much he appreciates being accompanied by their prayers on his journey. I feel ever more each day the good effect of their prayers which, joined to the indignation … Continue reading

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THE UPS AND DOWNS OF TRAVEL

Some more extracts from the description of Eugene’s long journey which show that he was getting irritable at times with the behavior of some people. The innkeeper, who had engaged his word as postmaster that I would leave, gave me … Continue reading

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FUSS ABOUT A HAT

Even were my uncle to label me with the title of being a scatterbrain, I ought not to pass over in silence a rather annoying little mishap which happened to me at this place. In a hurry to get to … Continue reading

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THE SLOW JOURNEY TO ROME

26 October 1825 marked the beginning of Eugene’s journey to Rome, which was to keep him away from Marseille for 8 months. During this period he wrote regularly to Henri Tempier and also made entries in his diary. Whereas the … Continue reading

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A JOURNEY FOR SURVIVAL

It was obvious to Eugene that to ensure the future of the Oblates, he needed to approach the Pope to be officially recognized as a religious congregation in the Church. It took him a long time to take the first … Continue reading

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THE OBLATES IN TUNE WITH THE NEEDS OF THE LOCAL CHURCH

In many earlier entries we have seen the vocal opposition expressed by many of the priests of Aix to Eugene’s ministry and to that of the Oblates during their early years of existence. This letter shows how positively the relationship … Continue reading

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TIME FOR A NEW BEGINNING

The Jubilee is soon going to open in France. Your Eminence knows that in that country Jubilees are celebrated by means of missions, which means that they preach twice daily for a full month wherever the Jubilee is being made. … Continue reading

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THE SACRED HEART: OUR NOURISHMENT, OUR COMPANION AND OUR FRIEND

The command, “Love the Lord with all your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:4), has been an obligation which has expressed the totality of the person’s response to the love of our God who gives all. The symbolic expression for this in the … Continue reading

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PREACH WITH SIMPLICITY IN ORDER TO CONVERT, NOT TO PLEASE

Eugene encourages his missionaries in their style of modest preaching by noting how loved they are by the simple people who appreciate the Oblates’ closeness to them. I have noted with exquisite consolation that all good people and especially those … Continue reading

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HE THINKS HE IS DOING GOOD AND DOES NOT KNOW ANY BETTER

The 31 year-old Jean Joseph Touche was already a priest when he joined the Oblates. One of the historians of Laus tells us that Father Touche had “a flare for the unconventional that was more or less careless and his … Continue reading

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