THE RULE AS A REFLECTION OF THE GOSPEL

The foreign missions were a challenge for Eugene. The Oblates who went to Canada and Ceylon were very young and had not received sufficient years of human and missionary formation and needed guidance. Letters from Marseilles took months to reach them, but it was the only way that the Founder could encourage them. He constantly urged them to use two fundamental principles to keep them focused: their Oblate superior and faithfulness to the Oblate Rule.

I recommend that you seek ever to be united amongst yourselves and to have the greatest deference for those who stand in the place of God […]

Secondly, and most important, the Oblate Rule of Life that synthesized and applied the Gospel to every aspect of the Oblate life.

 Ah, if only one would reflect a little more on the Holy Rules that the Church has given us, how many faults would be avoided and what progress would not be made in the way of perfection!

Letter to Fr Augustin Gaudet in Montreal, 29 April 1848, EO I n 94

REFLECTION

Augustin Gaudet had written to Eugene on the eve of his departure as a foreign missionary:

” Besides, I will bring my Rule Book. It contains your saving advice, your will, all that your heart contains. You shall therefore always be present with your son, I shall read it often and I shall often press it to my lips. It will be my refuge and my consolation in suffering. I am convinced that I shall sanctify myself by the Rule and that is through it that I shall sanctify souls. I swear fidelity to it and love forever…” (https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/gaudet-augustin/)

As a member of the Mazenodian charismatic family, do I recognize my spirituality and mission in the charism and way of life expressed in the Oblate Constitutions and Rules? For the Missionary Oblate priests and brothers, it is our Rule of Life that sheds light on our every action. For the lay members of the Family, the parts that apply to their state of life are meant to be light and life-giving.