FROM MY PLACE OF EXILE

Eventually Eugene’s body could no longer handle the pressure, and he was sent away for an enforced rest. The vow of obedience that he had made to Henri Tempier would no doubt have been used to force him to take this break and is reflected in the letter that he writes to the community.

To my dear brothers the missionaries, in Aix. Bonneveine. From the place of my exile. July 1816

Eugene spent the latter weeks of July and part of August at the home of his cousin Emile Dedons, Marquis de Pierrefeu, on the banks of the Huveaune River at Bonneveine, on the outskirts of Marseille.

On the banks of the Huveaune I am saddened as I think of our dear mission. Did you really think of that my good brothers, when you chased me from it so cruelly?

He had left in a hurry, which indicates that his health situation must have been serious:

… I beg our brother Maunier to excuse me for not having taken leave of him when I left, it was not all my fault, my flight being so precipitate that I had time to do nothing I would have wished to do.

Letter addressed to “our dear brothers, the missionaries at Aix”,
July 1816, O.W. VI n 12

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1 Response to FROM MY PLACE OF EXILE

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate says:

    OMG! How I love Eugene – the drama. It was not that long after he and Tempier exchanged their vow of obedience to each other, when Tempier found himself having to play that card. It took that vow to move Eugene, along with a lot of prayer. I laugh with delight at his humanness as he sits and writes from his “place of exile”. I picture him in the role of a grumpy old man who secretly was delighted with the love and care that he received. The Spirit knew what she was doing from the very beginning.

    It encourages me with my own weaknesses and struggles. I have friends who use the “God card” – you know – that one that reads that perhaps God is trying to tell me to slow down, or let go of something…. Why is it that we try to think we can do it on our own?

    This morning is the Feast of the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. We join with Mary as she sings her canticle: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.” (Luke 1:46-48)

    With Mary Immaculate – In her we recognize the model of the Church’s faith and of our own. We shall always look on her as our mother. In the joys and sorrows of our missionary life we feel close to her who is the Mother of Mercy. (from C10)

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