Letter from Fr.Guigues. Always stubborn in the reflections which he presents in favor of his house at l’Osier. Quite far from agreeing to release from this house the person who would be needed elsewhere, he has the nerve to request two more of them. Uniquely occupied with the prosperity of the establishment at whose head he finds himself, he reprimands Father Aubert for having dared to undertake the formation of two of them in England and in Ireland.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 18 February 1843, EO XXI
Eugene responded to him immediately that for the future good of the new missions that were opening up in Canada, England and Ireland, it was essential for the Oblates in France to make sacrifices. It was essential that the new missions be soldily founded, and then they would grow by themselves when local candidates joined the Oblates.
I realize that I am not fortunate enough to have you share my views. No matter what I say, you continue to consider matters only from the point of view of your current surroundings.
According to you, everything must give way to the local interest which you feel called upon to defend…
Thus, while recognizing that it would be advantageous to be able to furnish all our houses with an abundant staff, I believe that, rather than lose the present opportunity that opens for our Congregation the doors to three large kingdoms, it is better to leave them shorthanded for a spell, convinced as I am that there is not a single member of our Society who would not wish to somehow multiply himself to bring such a gain to our Society and to enlarge the sphere of the immense good it is called to accomplish. This is a short-term effort for which we will be quite compensated when very soon these far-distant countries will be able to take care of their own needs.
I therefore do not want you to blame Father Aubert who is fulfilling his task with intelligence and dedication. There are always painful moments in the stages of a Congregation’s life as there are in the usual course of any life. What is essential is to have confidence in the Lord and to ask him for his light in favour of the one who must govern, without ever putting shackles on those solutions which he must take for the general good, even though something is taken away from the good of such and such a locality.
We have seen what many have had to do so that we could all stay well during the pandemic. This is the heroic story of how our health care workers worked under horrendous burdens, along with the staff of hospitals and health care centers. It was not just the nurses and doctors, but I am thinking of those workers who did the cleaning and taking out the trash and who then took on the work of sanitizing everything before the next patient could be admitted. True service to all of humanity. And this has happened day-in and day-out during the course of the pandemic which is still ongoing.
It was no different in our parish church, which lost staff during the lockdowns and when re-opening with fewer staff, had to sanitize each pew and doorknob… and take on additional work until all of the staff could return. They also continued working from home to ensure that parishioners would have electronic access to their community. The return of both church staff and parishioners is slow, and hopefully will return to a new normal as time goes on. The young man who manages what we call the Supper Table was so worried about where his friends and clients would find food to eat that he began to cook food for them from his own kitchen and take it to the steps of the church office and hand it out to whoever came to the door. Slowly he was able to return to work and with the help of some student volunteers he was able to cook meals in the kitchen there and serve meals using take-out containers and plastic utensils – even providing donated packages of masks to those who needed them.
So many heroes in this world. So many stepping forward out of love to ensure that all could be served and taken care of. They did this for the greater good, getting past their own wants and desires. These have been similar to what Eugene spoke of.
“There are always painful moments… in the usual course of any life. What is essential is to have confidence in the Lord and to ask him for his light in favour of the one who must govern, without ever putting shackles on those solutions which he must take for the general good, even though something is taken away from the good of such and such a locality.”
Eugene’s words are still alive today…