RELIGIOUS SISTERS: NOTHING HELD BACK THESE HEROES OF THE GOSPEL

Posted on May 4, 2023 by franksantucci

Bishop Eugene’s pastoral letter continues to extol the missionary marvels worked by the religious Sisters. Here he focuses on the many Sisters who left France to go to mission countries across the oceans. A huge number of them left from the harbor of Marseilles.

But how many of them are not admirably multiplied in our days, to go and make the voice of the apostles resound to the ends of the earth? God has spoken to their hearts and they have risen up more numerous than ever, and each one of them has said with joy: Lord, here I am, I will go wherever you send me; then on the faith of their divine vocation… they went where obedience sent them; they renounced everything, their homeland, their loved ones, all the hopes of the world, to devote themselves unreservedly to the salvation of men whom they did not know, they devoted themselves for them to every kind of hardship and a thousand perils.

Nothing held back these heroes of the Gospel.

Pastoral letter of Bishop de Mazenod to the Diocese of Marseilles for Lent 1847

REFLECTION

“What I try to tell young people is that if you come together with a mission, and its grounded with love and a sense of community, you can make the impossible possible.”

John Lewis

This entry was posted in WRITINGS. Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to RELIGIOUS SISTERS: NOTHING HELD BACK THESE HEROES OF THE GOSPEL

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate says:
    May 4, 2023 at 13:19

    When I first began to learn about St. Eugene, Founder of the Oblates I learned that it was also about the ‘founding community’, not just him but those who joined him – community, the bringing together of many and the sending out to even more. Yes Eugene received the gift from the Spirit, but he then shared that with many, and they with even more. Just as it all began with God, with Jesus – it was then also about the men and women who joined Him. I also learned about other congregations, both men and women, communities of lay people and it is through all of them that I come to recognize and experience the ‘fullness’ of God, within our communities and all who we are sent to serve.

    John Lewis who walked with Martin Luther King and my mind is filled with the images of the Freedom Marchers and all that they accomplished. I think of Chiara Lubick, Dorothy Day, Catherine Doherty, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi and Brother Roger, Anne Walsh, Denyse Mostert and Jean Belanger HOMI and how all of them gathered people together around them, enlarging the space of their tents and supporting new ways of community and missio Dei. It is they who have taught and continue to teach and walk with us so that we can open the door to the Lord and walk with Him.

    “…nothing held [or holds] back these heroes of the Gospel”.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *