Eugene de Mazenod was officially installed as Bishop of Marseilles in December 1837. As Chief Shepherd he had to draw up an episcopal coat of arms with an espiscopal motto that would be the “logo” and ideal of his ministry. Here he describes it to Father Courtès:
I did combine its coat of arms with that of my family, and you will notice the missionary cross shining brighter than my own coat of arms, and the motto so precious which is distinctive of this Society on the top of everything.
You will explain it to whomever wishes to listen, there is nothing to hide in this matter. This is a coat of arms that speaks
Letter to Hippolyte Courtès, 7 January 1838, EO IX n 656
A coat of arms usually shows the pastoral program of the person or group who draws it up. For Eugene, as a Missionary Oblate, it was the Cross that stood out above all else in his spirituality, lifestyle and ministry to those who were the most far away from knowing the Savior’s love.
His motto: “The poor are being evangelized” is the second part of the Oblate motto.
It is taken from Luke 7:22, where John the Baptist sent messengers to ask Jesus whether he was really the Messiah. Jesus’ reply:
“Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
These were the credentials of the authenticity of Jesus’ ministry, and similarly Eugene wanted them to be the credentials of the ministry of the Oblates, and of his own episcopal ministry. What are my credentials as a Christian?
I ask myself how I show my credentials as a Christian; as a member of the Mazenodian Family. Eugene in his time had a coat of arms that spoke to who he was but most of us do not really use those today.
So what are my credentials?
I think of Jesus, his risen body showing the wounds that he had endured, yet they were never something flaunted. I think of Eugene with his mission cross as he strode into a village to preach; and I am reminded of Albert Lacombe with his mission cross and the small white flag with a red cross painted in the centre. And there was Kay Cronin HOMI whose smile and love was so true, demanding nothing except that she be able to love me. Their credentials.
Perhaps my credentials might include how I live in life – how I minister and serve, how I love in the same measure that I am loved.
My credential is the small cross that I wear which was given to me when I made my commitment as an Oblate Associate. It is the one image that conveys who I am. It says everything as it sits over my heart. My small Oblate cross with its gold colour has been worn off from my touching, holding and caressing it. My credential may be in the way that I share that cross, I share that love given to me, and I share my Beloved with all who I meet.
The cross and my heart – these are my credentials.