Father Lavigne had been complaining about his superior, and Eugene responded:
Beware of a secret enemy who imperceptibly invades a person, almost without being noticed, and troubles the soul and confuses the mind, namely, self-love. As a beloved member of the family, become one with your father, your superior, so that you and he are of one heart, one mind, one will. And you’ll discover that God will bless you, and that you’ll be pleased with the happiness that only comes with this level of charity.
Letter to Fr Joseph Lavigne at ND de L’Osier, 27 October 1848, EO X n 991
REFLECTION
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. (Acts of the Apostles 4: 32-33)
“Mindful of these words (which marvellously sum up our entire Rule), “all united in the bonds of the most intimate charity under the direction of the superiors,” may they form but one heart and one soul [ed. Acts 4:32]. (Eugene de Mazenod 1850)
“If the family were a boat, it would be a canoe that makes no progress unless everyone paddles.” (Letty Pogrebin)
My first response this morning was to open the OMI Rule of Life and to read The Preface – because this is where we see Eugene writing about what it means to act in an apostolic manner. It is summed up so beautifully when Eugene writes about leading persons to act first of all like human beings, and then like Christians and finally, help them to become saints.
And isn’t this what all of us want for each other and all who we meet? This applies to all of us, according to how God has created us to be, where we have been planted, and how we are sent out.(Ref. C37, R37a) To be a member of the Oblate Mazenodian Family is a grace, a privilege and a guide to how we can surrender ourselves to God in the every day living of breathing in and breathing out, which is founded in God.
I could and cannot live as I do without being a part of a larger community, without being a part of this Family who share in Eugene’s charism, many like me who have chosen to live this beautiful Rule of Life. This is the family with whom we walk; modelling a way of living that we might never have been able to imagine on our own and with a love that seems to never end. We walk with each other so that we can be sent out to walk with others who have been pushed to the margins of life.
We give thanks to God in our love for each other.