IT IS THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE START OF THE CONGREGATION THAT I HAVE HEARD SUCH AN EVIL-SOUNDING WORD

Posted on April 25, 2024 by franksantucci

Father Lavigne, who was part of the mission community at the sanctuary of Osier,  had written to Eugene, formally refusing to obey his instruction. Eugene was horrified as this was the first time that he had experienced something like this from an Oblate! As we will see later, it would not be the last time that Father Lavigne would do this. (On December 10, for example, Eugene wrote in his diary: “Letter of conceit and of self-indulgence from Fr. Lavigne, truly naïve”)

There is one point on which I can give a decision without any other explanation. You speak to me of formally refusing the position which was confided to you. It is the first time, my dear friend, since the start of the Congregation that I have heard such an evil-sounding word: a formal refusal.

Dear son, retract that word, it is not religious. It is a principle in our Congregation that we neither demand nor refuse any position at any time. The will of the superior is seen as the will of God. We should be perfectly detached, always disposed to give the example of that sort of submission which does voluntarily that which is prescribed.

Letter to Fr Joseph Lavigne at ND de L’Osier, 27 October 1848, EO X n 991

REFLECTION

“When we learn to say a deep, passionate yes to the things that really matter… then peace begins to settle onto our lives like golden sunlight sifting to a forest floor.” (Thomas Kinkade)

In this regard our OMI Rule of Life prescribes: “In the Superior, we will see a sign of our unity in Christ Jesus; through faith, we accept the authority he has been given. We will give our loyal support once a decision has been made and, in a spirit of cooperation and initiative, we will devote our talents, our activity, our very lives, to our apostolic mission in the Church.” (Constitution 26)

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1 Response to IT IS THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE START OF THE CONGREGATION THAT I HAVE HEARD SUCH AN EVIL-SOUNDING WORD

  1. Eleanort Rabnett, Lay Oblate Associate says:
    April 25, 2024 at 12:55

    Father Lavigne would have been well acquainted with the Oblate Rule of Life but it seems as if he concealed within himself a spirit of anarchy, of chaos and disorder. I am reminded of the Book of Genesis and of the order that the Creator gave to all of life and the universe so and we are born within that order rather than outside of it. I speak of our souls here, the deepest part of ourselves where God resides..

    Lavigne voluntarily made the public vow of obedience which allows us to experience true freedom… Every member of the Oblate Mazenodian Family receives this gift as we make our vows/commitments to not only God but to those whom God sends to us. There is a form of obedience and trust which we give to our parents, to our teachers, to those who lead us and those with whom we walk…

    As I read the title this morning I am still a little shock which continues to become like a sorrow and sadness within me: the kind that arises when someone we love chooses to turn their back on those whose love, leaving the light and choosing the chaos of darkness. My words barely express that which I and others are expering: the light being what has picked each of us up and brought us out of the darkness.

    We Lay Oblate Associates know what it is to make a Commitment – to God, to the Church, to the Oblate Congregation and to each other. It becomes foundational as the breathing in and breathing out of our very beings, as we walk with each other. We strive to “see each other through the eyes of our crucified Saviour” and in so doing we love and give thanks, rather than trying to tear down all that we have been given.

    Poor Fr. Lavigne must have felt very empty as he wrote to dear St. Eugene de Mazenod.

    Reply

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