Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

A second person, sent by God to open the way to Oblate evangelization across the English Channel was John Naughten, who had entered the novitiate in France the year before. It was a “chance encounter” engineered by God. 

Meanwhile a young man full of candor appeared one day at the Calvaire, I not know for what reason. His place was already reserved to leave for Rome the next day.

Fr. Aubert entered the sacristy by chance when the young man asked in Latin for what he was looking for. Fr. Aubertunderstood by his accent that he was English. He spoke to him in that language; the young man delighted to find someonewho understood him explained himself to the Father. From one thing to the other he made it known that he left Ireland to become a missionary. The opportunity was there to fulfill his wish because he was in a house of missionaries and he hadjust unknowingly spoken with the superior.

Nothing more was needed to decide the young man. He asked to be admitted, we cancelled his reservation, he entered thecommunity and Bro. Daly, who was sent to explain things better to him, saw in this a new sign of God’s will to continuehis work. It turns out that this young man is an angel, he has already done half of his novitiate to the edification of all who see him up close, and he gives us the greatest hopes. This young man’s name is Naughten, and he is from the region of the famous O’Connell.

Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 15 and 16 July 1841, EO XX

God opened the door of Oblate mission to the British Isles by sending William Daly to join the Oblates as a student four years earlier. Eugene understood the missionary significance of this and was impelled to action in 1841.

It is known that we have in the Congregation an excellent native Irish Father who came to us as if falling from the sky. This subject has been very successful. He has consistently been a model of virtue and regularity among us. Among hisgood qualities, we especially admire his modesty and gentleness.
 
Who would have thought that this good and dear youth nourished in his soul the fire of a most ardent charity and unfailing zeal for the conversion of his fellow English heretics in England and elsewhere? Hardly ordained a deacon, he busied himself preparing the way for a facility that could provide the Congregation the means to contribute to the great work. Hesuggested he write to Ireland to call subjects suited for our ministry. He received responses that gave him the hope ofsucceeding in this matter.

Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 15 and 16 July 1841, EO XX

This recalls Paul and Barnabas: “When they arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles.” (Acts of the Apostles 14:27)

A note on Eugene’s use of the word the word “heretic” – the dictionary definition is that of a person who does not accept all the articles of established Church teaching. We shall see this more clearly in future entries where Eugene was pained that the people of the British Isles had been forced by Henry VIII to change their allegiance all because of his marital situation. In the Roman Catholic view at that time, these people were living in error through no fault of their own. Eugene saw them as being “abandoned” and wanted to bring them back to the fullness of salvation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqfLkFnaW24&feature=youtu.be

In 1841 God began to write a new page in the history of the Mazenodian Family with the arrival of some heaven-sent visitors to Marseilles. Eugene wrote in his diary:

The Bishop of Montreal in Canada, passing through Marseilles a while ago on his way to Rome, talked to me about the needs of his diocese. He insisted that I give him at least four missionaries from our Congregation, whom he would charge with evangelizing his people and if need be they could extend their zeal to the indigenous people who live in these regions.

At the same time:

This project leads me to recall one like it that we continue by way of trial since Providence seems to have indicated it by bringing together certain circumstances that deserve our attention.

It is known that we have in the Congregation an excellent native Irish Father who came to us as if falling from the sky…

Moreover:

Meanwhile a young man full of candor appeared one day at the Calvaire  [ed. OMI Shrine in Marseilles], I not know for what reason… From one thing to the other he made it known that he left Ireland to become a missionary.

Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 15 and 16 July 1841, EO XX

In 1830 Eugene had written about his desire for the foreign missions:

The Lord will manifest his will to us when it pleases him

Letter to Henri Tempier, 26 July 1830, EO VII n 349

There is no doubt that God certainly did so unmistakably in 1841!

Writing to Fr Mille about the death of an Oblate, Eugene noted the need to replace them with new candidates:

Heaven is filling up with our men. If it is consoling to see all those who have been taken from us die as men predestined, it is impossible not to be saddened at seeing our ranks thin out, without anyone coming forward to replace those who have gone to take possession of glory, since it is the reward promised those who persevere to the end.

To fill the ranks, Eugene had just opened the first Oblate juniorate. As this was the beginning of a long process of discernment and formation, Eugene reflected to the young Mille:

The little colony of Lumières is a source of hope, but it will have to live longer than I can count on to enjoy results of a good initiative that is so strong in its seedling state. You are still young enough to see the ear of corn forming, coming to maturity and you will gather it in jubilation; as for me it seems that I am destined only to sow in tears. If that be God’s will, I accept it.

Letter to Jean Baptiste Mille, 16 April 1841, EO IX n 728

In his personal diary, Eugene wrote about this venture that today we call a pre-novitiate which was started

to receive the students that we have decided to admit to provide subjects for our novitiate which is completely depopulated. The trial that we did this year is encouraging. All the young people in this house of studies are animated with a good spirit. They burn with the desire to be worthy to beadmitted to the novitiate when they finish their classes.

To provide for their instruction, we brought our Oblates [ed. scholastics] to this house, those who have finished their theology as well as those whoare still taking courses. While studying themselves, they will make others work and their good example will strengthen them in their vocation. Those of our Fathers who have visited the house were delighted. Let us pray God to spread more and more of his heavenly blessing upon it.

Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 12 May 1841, EO XVIII

Holy Week and the feasts, care of our sick, concern for their danger, sorrow at their loss, all these have contributed, my dear Father Mille, to delay my writing you …

I am afraid the men at Calvaire failed to inform you of the blessed death of our saintly Father Paris. He severed his ties on the night of the Resurrection after very prolonged cruel sufferings.

Father Henri Paris had been an Oblate priest for 13 years, all of which had been spent teaching at the major seminary in Marseilles, which was staffed by the Oblates with Fr Tempier as its superior. Despite protesting to Eugene that “he had not joined the Oblates to be a professor” he taught Scripture and Theology. During this time he founded a congregation of religious sisters in Marseilles, the “Congregation of the Victims of the Sacred Heart.” After his death they did not survive for many years longer. (See https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/paris-balthazar-joseph-henri/)

As always, whenever there was the death of an Oblate, Eugene referred to his conviction that their dedication had earned them their eternal reward.

Heaven is filling up with our men. If it is consoling to see all those who have been taken from us die as men predestined, it is impossible not to be saddened at seeing our ranks thin out… it is the reward promised those who persevere to the end

Letter to Jean Baptiste Mille, 16 April 1841, EO IX n 728

As we recall our own deceased loved ones, let us keep in mind the words, “Heaven is filling up with our loved ones”

The last years of Father Pierre Mie’s life were spent in teaching seminarians and ministering to the poor on the streets. At his death, Eugene had written:

Like myself, you too will feel the great loss we incur in the person of this blessed man whose presence among us here on the earth was a constant source of edification.

Letter to Jean Baptiste Mille, 11 March 1841, EO IX n 726

Jeancard described his ministry:

Fr. Mye saw with sorrow that most of the poor beggars were spiritually abandoned. He began by going among them at the door of the church, instructing them and showing them the true value of charity. This catechism and these daily conversations at the church door were something touching. They were not without fruit; he listened to these poor and impoverished people in confession, he urged them to bring others to him, and he became the spiritual director of the beggars. He taught them more and more to sanctify their state of misery, a state often dangerous for them because of the freedom left to them by this idle and crude life in the darkest depths of society. He did a lot of good to these poor people removing them from their ignorance, and often from their vices.

“Notice sur le révérend père Mie”, in Missions, 5 (1866), p 463

With deepest sorrow I inform you of the death of our good and saintly Father Mie…

Like myself, you too will feel the great loss we incur in the person of this blessed man whose presence among us here on the earth was a constant source of edification.

Letter to Jean Baptiste Mille, 11 March 1841, EO IX n 726

Jeancard wrote:

“However, he was far from being insensitive to the temporal sufferings of his brothers. Beneath his often cold appearance, he hid a most affectionate charity for all those, especially those who were afflicted by tribulation. The poor, especially the poor, and the most abandoned and repulsive, were the object of his care. He tried, as far as possible, to alleviate their physical misery, but even more so their moral misery. It was to them that the most active care and the most frequent solicitude of his ministry was directed.

He well deserved to have the motto of the Congregation applied to him. Evangelizare pauperibus misit me.

His natural goodness added a charm to his charity that made him loved by all those with whom he was in contact.

…. To be poorly dressed, to have only one cassock and one pair of shoes, to never ask that worn-out clothing be replaced, to eat and live like the poorest, this is what he never stopped doing. He sought to never have anything new, to wear cassocks, underwear and even hats that others had already used for a long time.”

“Notice sur le révérend père Mie”, in Missions, 5 (1866), p 454-456

With deepest sorrow I inform you of the death of our good and saintly Father Mie.

Letter to Jean Baptiste Mille, 11 March 1841, EO IX n 726

Once Napoleon came to power in 1799, Father Mie was able to be openly in charge of a parish, without danger of persecution. For the following 14 years he was in parish ministry, hospital chaplain, and preacher of parish missions.

Yvon Beaudoin narrates:

In the spring of 1814, he gave a mission at Saint-Paul-lès-Durance with Father Tempier who had been ordained priest a short while before.

In the fall of 1815, Father de Mazenod invited him to join his missionary band. Father Mie readily responded to this invitation for it was in line with the desire to preach missions which the Lord had planted in his heart. He gave his adherence to the Missionaries of Provence in October 1815, but entered the community in a definitive way only during the annual retreat and General Chapter of 1818. Together with his confreres, he pronounced his vows on November 1, 1818. He had also been elected fourth assistant general; in fact, he was appointed assistant general by each General Chapter until his death in 1841.

He was not a gifted orator, but was able to transmit what he had in his heart in such a way that “his audience was gently filled with God’s Spirit as it listened to him.”

Father Mie was tireless as a missionary. He took an active part in all the missions that were given from 1816-1819. For many years thereafter he spent half the year evangelizing the parishes of the south-east of France. His usual calm and placidity gave the impression of apathy. Thus, he was no orator in the pulpit but rather a good catechist. His word was calm, his gestures rare, his appearance not very lively. And yet, as Jacques Jeancard writes, he communicated a certain conviction and feeling which transmitted what he himself believed in his heart. His audience was gently filled with God’s Spirit as it listened to him. Few possessed, to the degree that he did, the art of giving a solid religious instruction the unlearned classes. He explained the Church’s teachings, both dogma and morality, with simplicity, clarity, precision of expression, bringing out the various elements and their mutual unity in such a way that unlearned and even unlearned minds could understand all he was saying.

https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/mie-pierre-nolasque/

With deepest sorrow I inform you of the death of our good and saintly Father Mie.

Letter to Jean Baptiste Mille, 11 March 1841, EO IX n 726

With these words Eugene announced the death of one of his first companions, with whom he had founded the Oblates in 1816. Pierre Mie and Henri Tempier were the only two of the original founding figures to have persevered as Oblates. For this reason, I will dedicate several reflections to this man.

Born in 1768, he was 21 years old when the Revolution broke out in France and he had almost completed his theological studies for the priesthood at the seminary in Aix. He interrupted his studies so as not to have to make the oath of allegiance to the Revolutionary government. He worked as a teacher and helped the priests who had remained loyal to the Church and had to minister in secret in the villages. Six years later, when the persecution of the clergy had become more violent, and there was a desperate need for priestly ministry, he was ordained in secret.

His first years of priesthood were in the village of La Fare where he worked as a tailor’s apprentice during the day, and did priestly ministry in secret during the night. Jeancard describes this:

Mye returned to La Fare, where he secretly exercised the holy ministry. To hide his true apostolic mission, he pretended to be the apprentice of a local tailor. During the day, he appeared to be busy in the store of the tailor, a good Catholic, who knew the secret of his so-called apprentice’s situation, and at night he carried out his priestly duties. It may well be that he did not apply himself very much to learning his trade as a tailor; he made no progress in this art, for which he had not the slightest aptitude. People who did not know what he really was were surprised that he always did the same thing without succeeding. He did not worry about it and suffered, without saying a word, the reproaches that one of his relatives made on his incapacity apprentice – he did not know that his nephew had other things to do than making clothes,.

However, he was known in the area as a priest. This did not produce any compromising effect; the hostility had calmed down, and the one who had not ceased to be called Father Mye seemed to them rather to be a priest than a tailor of clothes.

“Notice sur le révérend père Mie”, in Missions, 5 (1866), p 435