Because of the Year of the Priest I have jumped ahead to the Rule of 1818, where Eugene expresses his ideals of priesthood for the Oblates within the context of the suffering of the Church aggravated by bad priests.
” The Church, that glorious inheritance purchased by the Saviour at the cost of all his blood, has in our days been cruelly ravaged…… In this lamentable state, the Church calls for help to her ministers, those to whom she has entrusted the most precious interests of her Divine Spouse and it is the majority of those very ministers who by their reprehensible conduct aggravate even further the ills from which she suffers. The real purpose of our Institute is to remedy all these evils, as much as possible to restore order in all this confusion. To achieve some measure of success in this holy endeavour, we must first of all seek out the causes of the depravity which is presently making men slaves of their passions. We can synthesis them under three headings:
1. The weakening, if not the total loss, of faith.
2. Ignorance among the people.
3. Laziness, indifference and corruption among the priests…
This third cause must be considered as the main one and the root of the other two.”
The remedy that Eugene suggests:
“... The achieving of this end will require the forming of apostles, who, after having become convinced of the necessity of their own reform: take care about what you do, should work with all their strength to convert others: Take great care about what you do and what you teach and thus you will save both yourself and those who listen to you (I Timothy 4:16). And as we have seen that the real source of the evil is the indifference, the avarice and corruption of the priests, once these abuses will have been reformed, the others will cease as well. See to it that you have zealous, altruistic and solidly virtuous priests and soon you will bring back to the fold the people who have wandered away from their duties.”
Extract from the Nota bene (1818 Rule)
Yesterday, during one of our Masses, 8 young people stepped forward announcing their wishes and intentions of being a part of our RCIA program and enter into more fully becoming a part of our community. Four of them asking to be baptised and the other four to be confirmed! I looked at them standing before the assembly with their sponsors, spread out across the front of the church. Talk about WOW!!!! What an incredibly joyous time, a humbling time, a time of immense hope and gratitude. These young people who were looking for ‘something more in their lives’ and then having found that something, that attracted them when they would visit our community. This was something that was more than ‘nice’, this was something wonderful to celebrate.
I thought of this as I read this today. Eugene speaking to what was needed to bring back ‘quality priests’ to the fold. To see God present, real, lived out. To be able to see that perhaps grace was real and attainable. “… The achieving of this end will require the forming of apostles, who, after having become convinced of the necessity of their own reform: take care about what you do, should work with all their strength to convert others: Take great care about what you do and what you teach and thus you will save both yourself and those who listen to you (I Timothy 4:16).” If ever I heard a call it was surely this morning as I read this from Paul’s letter to Timothy. It is not something new, but it speaks with such focus to where we are at with as Associates. a re-affirmation of our call, each of us to look at how we will answer. Saying yes to this.
Eugene has spoken often about how living as they did, as they are even now called to live, they would/will then experience their own salvation. This morning in reading this writing, sharing my thoughts as they occur – and in particular the words of St. Paul there is a flash, a single moment of understanding that is real and that speaks to me. These words have burrowed into a small corner of my being like the roots of a young sapling, taking root and growing. Indeed this morning there is hope given, not just to an un-named ‘church’, but closer to home, to people such as myself and other Associates and even wider. Is it not wondrous how our God works!