Fr. Mille, who was from Marseilles, had expressed concern about the Oblates and his family to Eugene. This gave him the opportunity to describe the heroic actions of the Oblates during the misery caused by the epidemic.
My dear Father Mille, I understand your concern for us and your family. We are, in fact, under the most terrible onslaught of cholera. It has attacked cruelly this time. A few hours are enough to dispatch even the strongest person struck without any warning. The number who survive are so rare that it may be said that to be struck is the same as dying.
Of all those whom our Fathers of Calvaire have assisted, and they get up every night to come to the aid of someone, there is not one who did not die; I think it is no exaggeration to say that out of a hundred more than ninety die…
We had two days of respite, so much so that in the two much-populated parishes of La Major and St-Laurent. which together number more than twenty-five thousand souls, there was not even one case, but two days later the sickness resumed with full force, and in both of these parishes, Holy Viaticum had to be taken five times in one afternoon alone. Even the poorer people are leaving in great numbers, I shall find out today if your mother has left, but before that I want to ease your anxiety by assuring you that none of the people close to you has been affected.
Letter to Jean Baptiste Mille, 26 August 1837, EO IX n 637
I think of the heroism of the Oblates during yet another cholera epidemic; ministering to the poor and to each other. Here we have evidence Eugene’s heart not allowing him to not check on Fr. Milles family. This kind of love in the midst of such devastation is huge.
To continue ministering when no one seemed able to escape the clutches of death had to be wearing; to be able to withstand and work through the normal fears that accompany us in such times required great courage and trust. “Your will be done Lord.”
Today In the present, our world seems to be uniting so as to be able to deal with the Coronavirus COVID-19. We are discovering that there is nowhere to run to try and escape the virus. But here at least we can still gather in our churches and pray together, taking the necessary precautions that our churches advocate.
We who are members of the Mazenodian Family are also able to take part in our practice of “Oraison”. I like to think of it as entering into the heart of Jesus – in communion with our brothers and sisters and letting God take care of the ‘logistics’ of that.
“I want to ease your anxiety…” is what Eugene said to Fr. Mille. In times such as these how might we try to ease the anxiety of those around us – on the bus or in the office next to ours – with students who are caught up in study and exams and those who are alone and are most at risk?
Perhaps we might consciously and intentionally carry them with us, carry them in our hearts as we pray, as we meet within the heart of our crucified Saviour.