Category Archives: DIARY

PARISH MISSIONS: A DRAMATIC GESTURE TO CONVEY A DRAMATIC MESSAGE

Eugene describes what he did in Marignane in a prayer service based on the Jewish Day of Atonement ceremony of Leviticus 16 involving the scapegoat of atonement. The aim of the missioanries was to illustrate the power of what Jesus did … Continue reading

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PARISH MISSIONS: THE NEED TO DISCERN AND TO THOROUGHLY PREPARE CREATIVE AND NEW APPROACHES IN EVANGELIZATION

An extremely dramatic event that took place during every mission was the penitential procession that focussed directly and tangibly on the effects of Christ the Saviour’s Cross as taking away the burden of sin. In the Diary of the Marignane … Continue reading

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PARISH MISSIONS: NEVER LOSE ANY POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO INSTRUCT THE PEOPLE

No opportunities were neglected to instruct. At some of the Sunday Masses one of the missionaries in the pulpit prayed aloud in the style of a meditation following the priest’s actions. Every occasion was used to catechise – in this … Continue reading

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PARISH MISSIONS: REMINDING THE PEOPLE OF THE DIRECTION OF THE JOURNEY THEY WERE ON

Once a week, on Sundays, the sermon and avis were used to give a summary of all the instructions of the previous week. In this way the people were kept focussed on the directions which the missionaries were proposing to … Continue reading

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PARISH MISSIONS: KEEPING IT ALL TOGETHER THROUGH THE ANNOUNCEMENTS

Another point of contact and closeness was through the announcements made each day in the church, referred to as avis. These were vitally important for the unity of the mission and aimed at weaving all the activities together so as … Continue reading

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PARISH MISSIONS: CLOSE TO THE POOR BY PREACHING IN THE LANGUAGE THEY UNDERSTAND

On the necessity of preaching in the language of the poorer people, Eugene noted in his Diary in 1837: Letter of Father Honorat of the mission of Maussanne. He tells me that the Pastor is delighted that our fathers are … Continue reading

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PARISH MISSIONS: CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE BY BEING AVAILABLE IN THE CHURCH

They will spend the whole morning in the church, and – except in case of necessity – no one will leave without permission of the one presiding 1818 Rule Part 1, Chapter 2, §2 Each morning the missionaries were to … Continue reading

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PARISH MISSIONS: CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE BY VISITING THEIR HOMES

The examples abound in all the missions. In the Marignane narrative Eugene gave some examples of the usefulness of the method of seeking out the abandoned so as to bring them to the Saviour: After the Masses, the visits resumed. … Continue reading

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PARISH MISSIONS: CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE TO BRING THEM TO GOD

Eugene was gifted in his ability to improvise in various situations. He was intuitive and his contacts with the people through visiting would have given him a good feel for what was necessary to be dealt with during the mission … Continue reading

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PARISH MISSIONS: CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE SO AS TO LEARN THEIR NEEDS

The closeness of the missionaries to the people made them aware of the needs and reactions of the people Thus today we came across two persons who, under the semblance of a marriage they had never in fact contracted, had … Continue reading

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