A LIVEWIRE JOINS THE MISSIONARY OBLATES

Posted on July 10, 2023 by franksantucci

Jean-Claude Léonard Baveux was born in France in 1796, and joined the Sulpicians and was ordained to the priesthood in 1828. He was sent to Canada  where he did parish work in Montreal and in the Iroquois Indian reserve of Oka. When the Oblates arrived in Canada on December 2, 1841, Father Léonard got to know them and asked to join them in order to preach parish missions as he had enjoyed doing before. He was accepted and made his oblation on August 2, 1843 and immediately became a zealous and life-giving team member in many retreats and parish missions preached by the Oblates.

The Oblates in Canada were incessantly pestering Eugene de Mazenod to send them priests and brothers. He, however, was not in a position to send them the missionaries they requested because the needs were equally great in the communities and the works in France and England.

Father Léonard was aware of this situation and, it seems that he himself was the one who suggested that he go on a recruiting tour in France and Belgium. He was sent to Europe and began his energetic vocational drive in the diocesan seminaries from the end of December 1846 to March of 1848.

Eugene wrote to him some weeks after he had begun his energetic recruiting campaign:

I will not let this letter leave, my dear Father Leonard, without expressing a little word of friendship to you. You are too stingy with your letters, my dear friend, we cannot follow you on your energetic race. However, you cannot doubt the interest that your beautiful mission inspires in us. Please take care of your health even when you race as you do.

Letter to Fr. Léonard Baveux, in France, 23 January 1847. EO X n 921

REFLECTION

“Missionary zeal does not grow out of intellectual beliefs, nor out of theological arguments, but out of love.

If I do not love a person I am not moved to help him by proofs that he is in need; if I do love him, I wait for no proof of a special need to urge me to help him.”

Roland Allen

May our love for others be translated into zeal for their good.

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One Response to A LIVEWIRE JOINS THE MISSIONARY OBLATES

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate says:
    July 10, 2023 at 12:24

    This morning’s return of Eugene de Mazenod speaking with us has been a gift, one which led me to the Historical Dictionary to learn more about Fr. Jean-Claude Léonard Baveux OMI. Seeing the connections between him and Eugene in the Sulpician Seminary, then later in Canada meeting up with Eugene’s friend Bishop Charles de Forbin-Janson, who was in Canada on a preaching tour. The Oblates arrived here in 1841 and Fr. Léonard joined them in 1843.

    I look and see how the Spirit worked in unexpected places and hearts to ensure the growth of the congregation, of our Mazenodian Oblate Family. I smiled at Eugene’s message, saying that Fr. Léonard was being stingy with his letters.

    But it was Roland Allen’s words about missionary zeal that captured me. For his words hinted on “Being” in order to be able to continue the flow of love in “Doing”. And while the word zeal is rather old-fashioned, I find myself thinking in terms of passion, being impassioned and that comes directly from the many gifts of love that God has planted within me. I find myself moving more often out of love rather than intellect or theological knowledge.

    Just as hatred and evil beget deeper hatred and evil so does love give birth and nourishment to deeper love. Love so great that it lights up all the dark corners of our hearts in spite of our humanness and our propensity to allow ourselves to become less than that for which we have been created.

    I relish the moments of zeal, of passion that seem to spring forth from within me.

    I think of Eugene giving thanks to God for having allowed him to found this congregation, and I give thanks to God for Eugene having invited me to walk with him and all of you…

    Reply

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