In the letter to the Bishop of Quebec, which we saw in the previous entry, Eugene has one sentence which it is important to focus on:
They are essentially men of the bishops. It is with this in view that I have founded them and, thanks be to God, they are all imbued with this spirit that belongs to their Institute.
Letter to the Bishop of Quebec, 10 August 1843, EO I n 22
The phrase “they are men of the bishops” has been misused at times. It does not mean that Oblate priests are to be treated by the local bishop as diocesan priests, to be used as he thinks best. The second part of Eugene’s statement gives the key to understanding this assertion: ” they are all imbued with this spirit that belongs to their Institute.” Oblate priests have a specific charism and spirit that they contribute to the local diocese and with which they do their ministry. On several occasions, Eugene withdrew Oblates from a place or refused an invitation to take on a ministry because the specific aspect of being missionary preachers, in an apostolic community, to the “poor with their many faces” was absent.
Our approach is to minister according to our charism in communion with the diocese and to be mindful that our vocation is different from that of the diocesan priests in their administration of the Word and the sacraments. When we are assigned to parishes we are called to fulfil the same ministry but as missionaries in apostolic community.
From our Rule of Life:
“Our love for the Church inspires us to fulfil our mission in communion with the pastors whom the Lord has given to his people; we accept loyally, with an enlightened faith, the guidance and teachings of the successors of Peter and the Apostles.
We coordinate our missionary activity with the overall pastoral plan of the local Churches where we work, and we collaborate in a spirit of brotherhood with others who work for the Gospel.” OMI Constitutions and Rule, Constitution 6
At the end of the General Chapter, the Founder gave Father Telmon a letter to deliver to the Bishop of Quebec, the diocese adjoining the one where the Oblates were already ministering.
More than ever, Bishop, I am conscious of the worth of the charity which unites us over the great distance which separates us. My children have crossed the seas to work with all the zeal of which they are capable in that part of the vineyard of the Father governed by our venerable colleagues in the episcopate of Canada. This is one more bond which unites me to the bishops for whose service I am so happy to be able to confide a small detachment of the troops I have trained for the battles of the Lord. have learned with joy from my holy friend the Bishop of Montreal, who is a father to them, that they have already done much good in his vast diocese.
Realizing how much good God was doing through their ministry, the heart of Eugene (often described as being as large as the world) expanded to dream to share this with the whole of Canada.
My whole ambition is that this good be propagated, if possible, throughout the whole of Canada which has been so understanding in their regard.
They are essentially men of the bishops. It is with this in view that I have founded them and, thanks be to God, they are all imbued with this spirit that belongs to their Institute.
So were it ever convenient to you, because of their proximity, to have recourse to their ministry, do not hesitate to avail yourself of it in keeping with the principles which guide them and of which I shall inform you if occasion arises.
Letter to the Bishop of Quebec, 10 August 1843, EO I n 22
This missionary zeal has been our hallmark for over 200 years – initially with a small group of Oblates, and now through the enthusiasm and generosity of all those who make up the Mazenodian Family throughout the world.
Our Rule of Life captures this well:
“…we have complementary responsibilities in evangelizing. We will spare no effort to awaken or to reawaken the faith in the people to whom we are sent, and we will help them to discover ‘who Christ is’. Our mission puts us on constant call to respond to the most urgent needs of the Church through various forms of witness and ministry…” OMI Constitutions and Rule, Constitution 7
Eugene never gave importance to celebrating his birthday.
Patience! Still another year. I must thank God for the health that he maintains in me and ask his pardon for the bad use of 61 years of life.
Rather, he put the focus on the anniversary of his baptism, the next day. It was his custom to celebrate this important day each year with the Capuchin Sisters in their contemplative monastery.
Customary stopover with the Capuchins where I am going to say community Mass on the occasion of the pardon of Saint Francis.[ed: Allusion to the indulgence of the Portiuncula granted by Pope Honorius III to the faithful who would be visiting, on August 2, 1221, the sanctuary of the Portiuncula, first house of the Order of Saint Francis near Assissi. This indulgence was subsequently made perpetual.]
I always begin my new year in this fashion surrounded by the fervent prayers of these angels in this world who have so much charity, so great an attachment for me. Their church has been filled all morning, so edifying is their assistance.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 2 August 1843, EO XXI
In the previous entry we reflected on the letter that Eugene had rediscovered from his former spiritual director at the seminary, and the encouragement it gave him to be God’s instrument in the Church. He continued to quote the letter:
I assure you that I do not cease to think about you and to thank the good God for the courage which he gives you. I hope that you will do much, because you sincerely love the good God and the Church. I embrace you with all my heart and am with all my heart entirely yours.
Duclaux, October 2, 1815.
Eugene then commented in his diary:
Reverend Duclaux was my director, all the time that I spent at the seminary. Reverend Duclaux was not only a great theologian (he had been the first with his degree), but he was the man who spoke the best about spiritual matters. He delighted everyone, in his daily explanations, which at the seminary he made the spiritual reading, and this flowed from its source. Whatever was the book being read, he added, from his own, reflections which made still more of an impression; it was a gift that no one possessed like him. The fact is, this holy man was filled with the spirit of God to the supreme degree.
This reminds me of the reflection with which he always began the decisions which someone solicited from him; if by any chance the matter was important, he requested time to reflect on it before God.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 30 July 1843, EO XXI
As I read this entry I am filled with gratitude for the people God has placed in my life who have been guides and sources of encouragement and inspiration. Let’s make some time today to recall with gratitude all those who have done this for us.
Rummaging through his old papers, Eugene came across a letter from Father Duclaux, his former spiritual director in the seminary in Paris. It had been written nearly 30 years earlier, in 1815, when Eugene was discerning whether God was calling him to bring together a group of priests to respond to the spiritual needs of the most abandoned in Provence. He wrote in his diary:
Today, in paging through my old papers, in order to relegate a cartload to the fire, I found a precious letter from the saintly M. Duclaux, my director at Saint Sulpice, who died as Superior General of that congregation. It is entirely good, like everything that came from his wonderful soul; but, among other things, he wrote to me, in 1815:
“For me, I can only thank my good Master for all the pious sentiments that he inspires in you. Continue to work with all your strength for the restoration of religion; preach, instruct, enlighten the French about the cause of the evils that weigh them down; may your voice be heard in every region of Provence; the good God waits only for our conversion in order to shower us with his grace.”
It was the encouragement that Eugene needed to hear as he discerned God’s will and brought together the future Missionary Oblates.
Father Duclaux also stressed that it was not sufficient to bring the people to know Jesus Christ as Savior through parish missions and preaching: it was essential that there be good priests to shepherd the people on a permanent basis in their parishes.
But, above all, form an ecclesiastical spirit among the priests. You will not achieve any good, as long as you do not have excellent priests at the head of parishes. Therefore, urge all the ecclesiastics to be saints; may they read the lives of Saint Charles and of Saint Vincent de Paul; they will see if it is tolerable for a priest, for a pastor to be lukewarm and without zeal.
Duclaux, October 2, 1815.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 30 July 1843, EO XXI
Eugene never forgot this good advice and from the start of the Oblates, one of their works was retreats and times of renewal for diocesan priests. In time this led to the opening of seminaries in France and other parts of the world.
As Superior General, Eugene had a global vision of the communitarian and ministerial needs of the Oblates. It was not always easy to convince some of them of their need to focus beyond their immediate ministry and sacrifices themselves for the good of the whole Oblate family. This letter is one example of a person who allowed himself to cloud the sky of the overall vision. In exasperation, Eugene exclaims that there are far too many clouds in his atmosphere!
You must try to get Brother Nicolas disposed to obey me as he should, so that I can send him without meeting resistance to teach dogma at Ajaccio. That is the only way I have to relieve Father Bellon and at the same time to employ him according to our needs… In a word, use all your skills to bring him to a conscientious attitude not to put obstacles to my assignments, which are taken before the Lord for the good of the whole Congregation that is confided to me.
If men were only what they should be. I would not have to take so many precautions to ensure success in a matter which I judge important and even necessary for the common good.
Read my letter to Father Guigues, answer me as soon as possible; but I implore you to ease my way and don’t be one of those who can only cloud up the sky; there are already too many in the atmosphere in which I live.
Letter to Father Ambroise Vincens, at N.D. de L’Osier, 20 July 1843, EO X n 805
All of us, members of the Mazenodian Family, are invited to have a bigger picture of the needs of the world that it is our particular charism to respond to.
At the end of the General Chapter, Eugene met individually with each delegate. Each encounter became an experience of joyful gratitude for the gift of their missionary vocation and zeal.
I left the seminary only last evening in order to give time to meet with all the Fathers gathered together with me.
It is in these intimate communications that I have been able to recognize the good spirit that animates all of them. I have said to myself several times that we had nothing to envy in any other society. Let us thank God for having brought ours to the point where it is, and may each recognize that he has been placed on a way of perfection where it depends on him to advance with great strides.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 14 July 1843, EO XXI
As a result of God’s gifts, it is important for each of us to continue with zeal along the path of discipleship in our particular walk of life.
The first Oblate to be appointed bishop after Eugene was Hippolyte Guibert, who was present at the General Chapter. He was bishop of the diocese of Viviers. Eugene wrote about him:
The bishop of Viviers has edified everyone by the touching expression of truly apostolic sentiments which animate him. He appeared to everyone just as I knew him; no one could know how to describe the impression his words made when, in a short speech inspired by his heart, he protested before God and before me, who was the witness and the confidant of all his thoughts, that if it had been necessary for him to choose between the episcopacy, which had been imposed on him by obedience, and the congregation, which it had been necessary for him to leave, he would not have hesitated an instant for the latter, in the bosom of which he wanted to live and die.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 13 July 1843, EO XXI
Bishop Guibert remained a confidant of the Founder throughout his life.
Eugene was ecstatic about the experience of the gathering of Oblates at the General Chapter. In his diary he wrote:
I will describe nothing about all that has happened in this memorable chapter. The register in which these acts are consigned preserves the memory of what was most remarkable, but one will never know how to depict the spirit of charity, the proofs of attachment to the rules, to the Congregation, to the superior, the unity of views and thoughts, the dedication, the abnegation, the holy indifference for every work, in whatever part of the world it may be.
I admit that I have not been able to contain the feeling of satisfaction, in seeing gathered together men of such a great and genuine merit, who have done everything for the Church and who are eager to do still more for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 13 July 1843, EO XXI
One hundred and eighty years later, Eugene’s heart must continue to rejoice as he sees his charism alive and bearing fruit in the Mazenodian Family.
With these words, Eugene as Superior General, pointed to the situation of the Congregation:
“These are the wonders of Providence upon us and an ever more pressing reason to thank the Lord who has given us such a vocation and to accomplish even more faithfully the apostolic virtues that this vocation demands of us.”
Rey gives the details:
Fr. Telmon, the delegate from Canada, reported the admirable effects that the appearance of the members of the Congregation had produced in the New World; in temporal terms, the gift of a very fine establishment had provided them with the necessary premises for the community and for a novitiate which already numbered several subjects. From a spiritual point of view, fourteen missions, all crowned with success and the most abundant fruits, showed that God was with them. Several foundations were requested in neighboring dioceses and the evangelization of the indigenous was offered to the Oblates.
Fr Casimir Aubert, the delegate of the missions of England, dexcribed the foundation of a house in Penzance, a town in the southwestern part of the county of Cornwall. An Irish priest, Fr. Young, had built a church there, and offered to entrust it to the zeal of the Oblates. Father Daly came to settle there and open a novitiate. The bishops of Ireland were interested in our establishment and the great O’Connell wanted to contribute. He received the scapular of the Congregation and authorized Fr. Aubert to use his name in the prospectus to be launched to make the work known and to call for subscriptions.
All the other superiors took turns reporting on the material and spiritual state of their houses. From their various reports, it appears that during this year, the small Oblate Congregation preached 65 missions, not counting a certain number of retreats and other occasional preaching.
REY II p 161 – 162
