HAVING THE FULLNESS OF HEAVENLY GIFTS NECESSARY FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THIS CONGREGATION

Eugene finished quoting the Bishop of Montreal’s letter to him about the Oblates:

“As for the rest, what I have to say to you about it, Bishop, is by no means to complain about it, but solely to bring you up to date about what is happening here.”

Then he refers to that special grace of state which Eugene had as Superior General :

“Because, having the fullness of heavenly gifts necessary for the government of this congregation, you have the grace of state to give spirit and life to each and to all these members. It is with this perspective that I believe it necessary to ask you to insist, in the recommendations that you give to them…”

Then follows a list of recommendations, which he ends with

“Again, if I make these revelations to you, it is only to put you in a state of better exercising over your infants of Canada this efficacious action whose virtue will always be perceived beyond the seas.”

Eugene’s comment:

What an admirable letter! However helpful it may be for me, it fills my soul with the most lively sentiments of gratitude for this holy prelate who went out of his way to write to me.

The Bishop of Montreal’s letter to Eugene, that we have been studying in these entries, pointed out some of the faults of the Oblates that needed attention. The way in which he did this was a lesson in itself. Eugene commented:

What moderation, what gentleness, what charity! With so many topics of dissatisfaction, to not utter a complaint; to even accentuate the works and the virtues of those who show themselves to be so imperfect, so much beneath their holy mission, as he does in the first part of his letter which I have not copied. But also what a lesson in the recommendations that he suggests making to them!

When it came to some of the mistakes, Eugene was disconsolate because he feared that his dreams for the religious life and missIonary success of his sons would be compromised and only lead to failure.

Not one word is false. It’s the undiluted truth. It’s the faithful mirror of a too incontestable reality. I am brokenhearted about it. Here they are convicted of having conducted themselves poorly in everything. Not a single exception to well-merited reproaches. They have all contributed their share to discrediting and compromising themselves as well as the Congregation, about which they give such a poor impression in the new world.

Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 20 March 1843, EO XXI

His “nightmare” never materialized and the missionaries produced admirable fruits.

What does stand out for me is how Bishop Bourget was able to see the good in every person and their possibilities – and never allowed their faults to eclipse their goodness. Eugene recognized this when he responded to his letter:

What a letter is this to which I am to respond! I bow to the heart which dictated it. No, Monseigneur, I shall never be able to express to you how much it has moved my sensibility or excited my admiration and gratitude. Let me pour out my heart with such simplicity and frankness as can banish all flattery; in each line I admire the generosity of the bishop, the goodness of a father, the trust of a friend. I would wish that those who are the object thereof might always have under their eyes this admirable letter, just as I keep it etched in my soul…

I am happy over the good they are doing in your diocese and the tribute you kindly give them fills me with joy, but this is not enough, I intend that they give you no anxiety or worry and I dare say it will be so.

Letter to Ignace Bourget, Bishop of Montreal, 30 May 1843. EO I n 18