I AM CONVINCED THAT WHAT HAS CAUSED YOU THE MOST HARM IS THE ANXIETY WHICH YOU ALLOWED YOURSELF TO FALL PREY TO

A month later, Eugene wrote again to Fr. Viala to support and encourage him in his important and delicate mission in Limoges.

There can be no question, my dear Father Viala, that the good you have accomplished since you have been at Limoges has gained you the confidence of the Bishop, the clergy and the faithful. They have seen you at work and they know what you can do. How could I excuse myself in their eyes were I to withdraw you from the community which serves the diocese and where the members were not supposed to have come there for the sake of appearance…

I beg you then, dear Father, take courage; a man’s temperament follows him anywhere. no one can say that you cannot recover your health as well at Limoges as elsewhere. I am convinced that what has caused you the most harm is the anxiety which you allowed yourself to fall prey to. Act according to the Lord’s view and all will go well. Father Ricard who was at death’s door when he was chosen to go and establish the mission of Oregon, placed all his confidence in the Lord, and now he writes that he has never been in better health, and bald though he is, he has not had a cold for a single day, even though throughout the long journey he never slept but on the ground and often in the mud.

… Ponder it well in the secret of your conscience with the help of the supernatural light of the Holy Spirit and your own natural common sense; however, I repeat, write to me and do not worry…

Goodbye. my dear Father Viala. I greet you affectionately.

Letter to Fr. Jean Viala at Limoges, 29 July 1848, EO X n 982

REFLECTION

“God has created me to do Him some definite service.  He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another.  I have my mission.  I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next… I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away.  If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.” (St. John Henry Newman)