Monthly Archives: July 2019

SO NOT FOR ME THE MUCH-DESIRED PALM OF THE MARTYRDOM OF CHARITY

For Eugene, oblation meant being prepared to give one’s life for Jesus -especially at the service of others. He had prayed for this oblational martyrdom from the time of his priestly ordination. I will give you my news in brief. … Continue reading

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A PRACTICAL RESPONSE TO THE EFFECTS OF THE CHOLERA EPIDEMIC

Eugene’s biographer, Rey, describes something that we will see regularly in the future: Eugene’s ability to identify a group of people who were “the most abandoned” and to take practical steps to rectify the cause. In this case the group … Continue reading

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GOD HAS BEEN GLORIFIED IN THE PUBLIC PRAYERS WE PRESCRIBED.

Cholera had ravaged Marseilles for 111 days with a death toll of thousands. God has been glorified in the public prayers we prescribed. The doctors were forecasting a frightful recurrence of the disease, and instead, as if to mock their … Continue reading

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MY HEART BURSTS AMID THIS VERY WONDERFUL DEVOTION

While assisting those who were suffering so greatly, Eugene and his uncle, Bishop Fortuné, arranged to focus the attention of the people of Marseilles on concentrated prayer. The population had a special devotion to the small sanctuary of Notre Dame … Continue reading

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THE PEOPLE LIKE TO COME TO THE MISSIONARIES IN THEIR NEED

We have had to bring immediate relief to the most urgent cases. In some parishes, like La Major and St. Laurent, the clergy were at the end of their tether. I have given two Missionaries to St. Laurent. Calvaire is … Continue reading

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I MUST GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF A HOLY COURAGE

At the height of the epidemic, Eugene described the situation in Marseilles: My dear Son, the demands made on us increase by the day. It was two hours past midnight before I got to bed yesterday. We are in a … Continue reading

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MY PLACE IS HERE

By February 1835, the cholera outbreak had become an epidemic. At the height of the epidemic Rey gives the average number of deaths of people in their houses as at least 83 each day, without counting those who had been … Continue reading

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WHATSOEVER YOU DO TO ONE OF THESE, YOU DO IT TO ME

In 1832 there had been an initial outbreak of cholera in Marseilles while Eugene was in Rome to be made Bishop of Icosia. Fearing that it would lead to epidemic proportions, Eugene approached the Pope to grant a series of … Continue reading

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1835 – A DIFFICULT YEAR: IN THIS WAY GOD WILL BE MY SOLE REWARD

Marseilles, being a port, was always in danger of outbreaks of diseases carried by the many ships which called at the harbor. The inhabitants of this city had lived through many cholera epidemics, with 1835 being one of these. 1835 … Continue reading

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EXCITED TO SEE THE COMPLETION IN SUCH A SHORT TIME OF AN OPERATION WHICH SEEMED INTERMINABLE.

Not long after the arrival of the Oblates in Corsica, Eugene was able to write proudly: Father Guibert has won his spurs at the first attempt. You wouldn’t believe the speed and ability he has shown in forwarding his task. … Continue reading

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