17 FEBRUARY 1826: THE CHURCH RECOGNIZES THAT EUGENE’S MISSIONARY FAMILY IS A GOD-GIVEN CHARISM FOR US TODAY
Eugene shared the wonderful news from Rome with his Oblate family in France:
My dear brothers, on February 17, 1826, yesterday evening, the Sovereign Pontiff Leo XII confirmed the decision of the congregation of Cardinals and specifically approved the Institute, the Rules and Constitutions of the Missionary Oblates of the Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary, and accompanied this solemn act of his pontifical power, with most admiring words for those who happily form this Society from which the head of the Church indeed expects the greatest good.
The conclusion to be drawn from this, my dear friends and good brothers, is: we must work, with renewed ardour and still more total devotedness, to bring to God all the glory that stems from our efforts and, to the needy souls of our neighbours, salvation in all possible ways… In the name of God, let us be saints.
Letter to the Oblates, 18 February 1826, EO VII, n. 226
REFLECTION
O God, we are filled with gratitude for your call to participate in the life and charism of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. This vocation, first inspired in Saint Eugene de Mazenod, is a gift for the life of the Church.
By this charism we have a special relationship with Jesus the Saviour, whose Cross reveals your unconditional love for all humanity, especially for the poor and most abandoned. Through the Mazenodian charism we also are brought into close communion with the poor, and we discover that we are evangelized by those to whom we have been sent.
We thank you for the grace of our vocation, praying that we live it in faithfulness and joy through the intercession of Mary Immaculate and in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
This entry was posted in
WRITINGS. Bookmark the
permalink.
Last night many of us from different charismatic families from around the world came together in person and in a webinar led by Mary Walsh sharing from her experience of being a member of the Alphonsian Family, as members of various charismatic families we are able to enlarge the space of our tents.
For me it was the beginning of preparing for a specific celebration of the Approbation by Pope Leo XII of the Oblate Missionaries of Mary Immaculate and the Mazenodian Family and our Constitutions and Rules.
This morning as I read St. Eugene’s account of that day in 1826 I experienced a new joy rising from deep within me which was no longer shrouded in “I wish” or “that’s what I want”. It is the joy of unfettered joy and profound gratitude for the family that God has planted me in and which nourishes me.
This morning I give thanks to God whose love has given birth to this life that I have been invited to take part in. It is good, it is more than enough. My heart has found its home.
Our very lives are an ongoing celebration of who we have been called to be and our various ways of responding to and living out our call – personally and communally.
Last night my heart heard “one through many”. Today my heart sings as I prepare through the ordinary of my day for tomorrow’s celebration when we will meet as a local family to renew our commitments and our vows.
Happy Oblate Feast