As we prepare to celebrate the feast of St Eugene on May 21, I invite you to reflect on what he means for you.
Pope Paul VI said of him at the beatification
“Eugene de Mazenod was a man passionately in love with Jesus Christ and unconditionally committed to the Church.”.
Father Marcello Zago, Superior General at the time of the canonization invited us to relate with Saint Eugene under these headings:
A saint for us to imitate.
A founder for us to follow
A teacher to listen to.
A father to love.
An intercessor to invoke.
Pope John Paul II said of Eugene at his canonization
“Blessed Eugene de Mazenod, whom the Church today proclaims a saint, was a man of Advent, a man of Coming. He not only looked towards that Coming, but, as Bishop, and founder of the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary immaculate, he dedicated his whole life to preparing it.
His expectation reached the intensity of heroism, that is, it was characterized by a heroic degree of faith, hope and apostolic charity. Eugene de Mazenod was one of those apostles who prepared modern times, our times.”
May this famous saying of St Irenaeus be your focus as you celebrate the feast of St Eugene: “The glory of God is the human person fully alive because he/she has been redeemed by Jesus Christ.”
May Eugene accompany each of us on our pilgrimage to become “fully alive”!
PRAYER
God our Father, we thank you for having called Saint Eugene de Mazenod to follow Christ the Saviour and Evangelizer.
Passionately in love with your Son Jesus and sharing in his compassion for humanity Eugene put himself unconditionally
at the service of your Church for the evangelization of those most in need.
Through his intercession help us to reach out with the healing touch of Christ who calls us to holiness and to mission.
May we build communities which are signs of your presence,
and share the Good News of salvation with all peoples.
For this we dedicate ourselves, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Eugene – not just another saint, but our saint. This man of “coming” – not just someone who ‘was’, but rather he is as his spirit continues to be shared with each of us who are his sons and daughters…
We ask his him to share with us his love for Christ, to be and stand with us: to share his spirit with us. A way of be-coming… Not something we have arrived at but that towards which we are journeying. The root of become is found in the German word ‘bekommen’: to get, receive. And sometimes we are given a small peek as we see the reflection through the eyes of God of our very beings in the process of becoming alive.
I remember Fr. Frank, during our Oblate Studies courses, inviting us to join in the “adventure” that together we were entering into. I was sometimes hard-pressed recognize the truth of that particular expression; but this morning that is the word that finds life that describes best this shared journey that all of us have joined Eugene in.
It is humbling to realise that “we have not yet arrived” at our destination, and that we are continuing on our journey, our pilgrimage in becoming who God has and continues to call us forth.
Our pilgrimage of hope in communion.
St. Eugene intercede and pray for us. The prayer above, received by us so as to give it to you as we acknowledge and celebrate how you journey with us on our daily adventure of this life.