SAINT EUGENE: A STAINED-GLASS WINDOW THROUGH WHOM GOD’S LIGHT SHINES
Saint Eugene wrote to all the members of his missionary family:
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.
18 February 1826, EO VII, n. 226
The words of Pope Francis apply to Saint Eugene:
“The Saints are not perfect models, but people through whom God has passed. We can compare them to the Church windows which allow light to enter in different shades of colour. The saints are our brothers and sisters who have welcomed the light of God in their heart and have passed it on to the world, each according to his or her own “hue”. But they were all transparent; they fought to remove the stains and the darkness of sin, so as to enable the gentle light of God to pass through. This is life’s purpose: to enable God’s light to pass through; it is the purpose of our life too.”
Happy Feast day of Saint Eugene to all of us, called to be stained-glass windows as a Mazenodian Family!
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“…let us be saints”, “people through whom God has passed”
Pope Francis reminding us that “the saints are our brothers and sisters who have [and continue to] welcome the light of God in their heart” and pass it on to the world, each “according to his or her own ‘hue’”
Again I am reminded how we are “called to share in the charism according to [our] state of life, and to live it in ways that vary according to milieu and cultures.” (R37a)
Each time I raise my eyes to the screen I find myself being drawn in, deeper and deeper to a love and way of being that I do not wish to turn away from.”
Standing in the reflected light of God and St. Eugene I give thanks to God for being called, to Eugene for his invitation and to each of you (loved and known personally as well as those of you I have not yet met). I walk with each of you on our shared pilgrimage of hope.
Thank you dear St. Eugene for sharing your spirit, for founding this Mazenodian Oblate Family, for allowing God’s light to pass through you upon each of us…
Our 9 day Novena/Retreat continues in our hearts in the every-day; strengthening the very foundations of our lives. Sitting this morning with you, St. Eugene and Pope Francis I find myself filled with an unexpected and inexplicable joy. The words like notes played on the finest musical instruments…, touching our hearts and dancing there…
A special thanks to you Frank, as you continue to find new ways help each of us to “enlarge the space of our hearts” to every member of this Mazenodian Oblate Family and beyond.
Happy Feast Day!