Totally humiliated and unsure as to what direction to take, Eugene now appeals to the community in Aix for advice. He needs their support and strength in order to go on:
I beg you, my dear friends, to join in finding out before God what we must do. Put aside all that is human, consider only God, the Church and the souls to be saved. I will go by what you decide. I am ready to drink the chalice to the dregs. Note that the humiliations are for me; there never was any question about yourselves in all the words exchanged.
The Archbishop seems fairly favourable towards the missions but we will have to expect that he will harass us from all sides. He will only let himself be advised by our enemies of whom he is afraid.
My first natural impulse was to leave him in the lurch, but I shall, with the help of God, do exactly the opposite…
So now, see for yourselves and decide. I feel courageous enough if supported by your virtue, encouraged by your resignation to endure all the outrages which are still in store for me.
You will be my strength and we will mutually console each other when the wicked have their way. The piety of the young plants which grow about us will compensate us for our sorrows. I will be very humiliated, myself, because it is supposed that I take much to heart what I have undertaken; this humiliation will be useful to me otherwise for I am so little attached to what I have undertaken that in this moment the greatest act of virtue that I can do, the greatest victory that grace can gain over nature is to be steadfast and bear the brunt…
So there you are, in possession of the facts and positions. Reply to me immediately. Your response will be the rule of my conduct. But you must lose no time. Adieu, dear friends; when I wish consolation, I think of you whom I love with all my heart.
Letter to Henri Tempier and Emmanuel Maunier, 19 October 1817, O.W. VI n. 25