ONE MUST BE SUBMISSIVE IN EVERYTHING TO THE WILL OF GOD, EVEN IF IT MEANS STAYING FOR THE WHOLE OF ONE’S LIFE IN THE STATE OF NOTHINGNESS IN WHICH I FIND MYSELF.

 

In his convalescence Eugene wrote:

I would have believed, my dear Father Honorat, that either Fr. Tempier or Fr. Courtès would have kept you informed of the state of my health; it is improving so slowly that it is still impossible for me to keep up with my correspondence.
At the moment of receiving my letter, you will be enjoying the presence of our dear Fr. Tempier; it is with regret that I have substituted him in place of myself for the visit that he is making to you; but one must be submissive in everything to the will of God, even if it means staying for the whole of one’s life in the state of nothingness in which I find myself.

Letter to Jean Baptiste Honorat, 9 August 1829, EO VII n 335

Being in harmony with the will of God was one of the themes that we find constantly in Eugene’s writings and spirituality – “even if it means staying for the whole of one’s life in the state of nothingness in which I find myself.”

What a striking sentiment from a man who was always on the move, always a dynamic leader, always busy with God’s work. If God is going to use me in my state of nothingness, then so be it…

It is the conviction of one who saw the world through the eyes of the Crucified Savior. It is the belief of one who had been embraced at the foot of the Cross, some 22 years before, and was able to unite himself with the “nothingness” of Jesus hanging on the Cross. If that was how God wanted to make use of him in the world, Eugene was willing to cooperate.

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3 Responses to ONE MUST BE SUBMISSIVE IN EVERYTHING TO THE WILL OF GOD, EVEN IF IT MEANS STAYING FOR THE WHOLE OF ONE’S LIFE IN THE STATE OF NOTHINGNESS IN WHICH I FIND MYSELF.

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Oblate Associate says:

    Whoa.

    The word ‘surrender’ comes to mind as I ponder on what both Eugene and Frank have shared here, as does the word ‘attitude’. My attitude colours how I see it, understand it and experience it. My attitude determines how open I will be to it. The word submissive is hard for me and yet if I Google the word surrender the word submission comes up as a synonym.

    “…who had been embraced at the foot of the Cross, some 22 years before, and was able to unite himself with the “nothingness” of Jesus hanging on the Cross. If that was how God wanted to make use of him in the world, Eugene was willing to cooperate.” That too resonates within me and I think of the small deaths, the surrenders in my own life that I have made – always in the light and shadow of the Cross, of our crucified Saviour. Not morbidly, not a ‘giving up’ or ‘losing’ but rather of a ‘winning’ somehow. Not always easy. For many of us these small deaths do not look so big – they are what I call ‘inside’ deaths. By staying here I come to recognize them, speak of them.

    I go to give thanks for them.

  2. David Berry says:

    What does “state of nothingness” mean? What is the word in french?

    • franksantucci says:

      “mais il faut en tout se soumettre à la volonté de Dieu, dût-on même rester toute sa vie dans l’état de nullité où je me trouve.”
      I understand it as the abandonment of Jesus on the Cross – He became nothing so that we could live.
      It is the open hands to accept the will of God, like Mary’s “yes” at the annunciation. She lost all her plans and dreams in order to become “nothing” in the hands of God.

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