Eugene describes his joy at his first Easter celebration as a seminarian at Saint Sulpice.
What a ravishing ceremony for Christians, how the heart was bursting, what joy as one joined with the whole Church of heaven and earth to celebrate the glorious Resurrection of Our Saviour.
After journeying with him through the sad event of his Passion, after weeping over the torments that our sins made him endure, how consoling it is to see him rise triumphant over death and hell, and what gratitude must fill our hearts at the thought that this good Master has really willed to make us sharers in his resurrection, destroying the sin that is in us and giving us a new life.
That day we spent a good twelve hours in Church, I would not have wanted it to be a minute less. It was like being in heaven; so what are the joy and happiness we experience in that blessed homeland going to be like?
Letter to his mother, 4 April 1809, EO XIV n 50
Oh Eugene – 12 hours indeed. I have not yet reached that state of holiness, but walking with you in a most particular way through Holy Week and the Triduum was a gift that was unexpected and which led me into seeing through a new lens. In the middle of it all was news of B’s determination to kill himself – a slow and painful way of greeting death for him and for those of us who love him. On Holy Saturday – noticing within myself a curious emptiness and realising that I was ‘waiting’ for the Resurrection in a whole new way, and when it came – the joy and the gratitude in our Risen Lord, the joy and the gratitude for such immeasurable love. The “Paschal Mystery” became even clearer and more hidden at the same time.
Again I spent many hours at the church preparing and guiding (in the sense of working to ensure that others could take part and enter more deeply into the entire Paschal Mystery in a new way). I found myself experiencing a deeper realisation of God’s immense love for me, for all of us.
God has given to me a strength that continues to deepen as it spreads throughout my being, flowing into all the little cracks, healing, bringing light to the dark corners and. I am such a long way from perfection but am perfectly happy and peaceful for walking as I do, being carried as I am – I am right where I am supposed to be.
This season of grace has been an invitation to look more deeply into where I have come from and where I am right now. Dear Eugene – you play such a huge role in all of this – ‘stand at the foot of your crucifix’ you invited not only Henri Tempier to such a stance but also myself along with so many others.
Happy Easter Eugene, and to all of your sons and daughters, Happy Easter to all who enter this sacred space every day.
Christ is Risen – truly He is Risen! This morning there is for me a deeper and more meaningful stance as I repeat these words off and on throughout my day. I sing it though as I learned many years ago while visiting Madonna House. I silently chant it in my heart and the words are sung with immense joy and gratitude:
“Christ is risen from the dead,
Trampling on death by death,
And upon those in the tombs
Lavishing life!”