Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

Five days later, on  January 25, Eugene came to the Tuilleries to take the oath to the king, which would officially prove his reconciliation with the July regime. He wrote to Father Courtès.

My dear Father Courtès, although Tempier is charged with the duty of passing on my news to those entitled. I don’t want my stay here to be prolonged any further without writing to you directly myself. I have completed the business which dragged me to this capital city. Now I am properly and legally a French prelate. No longer need I fear expulsion from the borders of France, to return no more, at the hands of some moody minister suffering an attack of ill-temper.

I have been twice to the Palace. In the first audience [the King] had me sit down beside him and kept me for a full three-quarters of an hour. He spoke to me very ably on all the topics he broached and took pains to give me reasons that I wouldn’t have dreamed or dared to ask for. The Queen and Madame Adelaide were also very gracious to me, but the King’s affection during the second audience passed imagination: for ten minutes he held my hands in his, and when I had to leave he again took my hands and told me yet again….

Letter to Hippolyte Courtès, 31 January 1836, EO VIII n 558

The Icosia saga was brought to an end with Eugene’s reconciliation with the King in January 1836 in Paris. Eugene describes the audience.

At midday the door of the King’s chambers opened and my name was called. The King came to meet me, paying me a small and very gracious compliment, then he had me sit down opposite him, and after I had expressed a few words of thanks to him, he told me that he was enchanted that I had gone to him, and he went on from there to recount, very ably, the story of the events that had forced him, against his will, to accept the crown so as to save France from the anarchy into which it was on the point of falling. Every time the name of Charles X came up in his narrative, it was always in the acceptable way. Every now and then I interjected some words, more to avoid seeming dumb than to interrupt.

Since the 1830 Revolution, Eugene had made no secret that he considered Louis-Phillipe to be a usurper to the throne of Charles X through his coup d’état. This explains why the King’s justified himself and his action.

I also brought the conversation around to the terrible incident that put the King’s life in grave peril: he spoke very strongly on that; he had a lot to say on his good intentions to do all he could for the advancement of religion; he hadn’t always done all he would have wished, but there were grave obstacles. He wishes to increase the bishops’ stipend, as he acknowledges it is inadequate.

The King had been in charge of an anti-religious government since 1830, and thus took pains to stress that his position had changed regarding religious tolerance.

In a word, how can I tell you everything he said to me in the course of a conversation that lasted three-quarters of an hour. I forgot that, at the outset of the audience, he asked me news of my uncle and reminded me of Palermo.

We talked a little about Marseilles, and he didn’t conceal the fact that the clergy had been represented as hostile to the Government. I told him the truth about that. I finished by asking permission to pay my homage to the Queen. So he loudly summoned his Chamberlain, and in such a way that all who were awaiting an audience could hear, he commanded that the Queen be advised of my visit, and when on taking my leave I reminded him that it was on Monday that I was to return to him to take the oath, he very graciously replied: “Yes, my Lord Bishop, it is on Monday that I will have the pleasure of seeing you again, and it is with every confidence that I will receive your oath. I went to the Queen’s apartments who had me sit beside her; we spoke about my uncle, the Queen of Naples, the welcome the King had just given me, and several other matters, and I withdrew.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 20 January 1836, EO VIII n 556

Grudgingly, Eugene had written the required letter to the King, but a sense of bitterness remained at the way he had been treated for so many years.

I have the feeling that there is an expectation that I thank the King; and there’s the rub; for when all is said and done, it’s an act of justice that has been rendered me and I’m still owed some reparation. What’s there in that to get excited about? Perhaps you’ll find the tone of my remarks shocking. I am waiting.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 1 September 1835, EO VIII n 540

This tone made for a very cold letter to the King and the Minister of Worship, which was not judged in Paris as being suitable (Tempier and Guibert agreed on this too), so Eugene was asked to rewrite it! “A sentence or two more would have done wonders,” wrote Father Guibert on September 4, as he requested a fresh letter for the Minister of Worship

Eugene finally responded:

My dear Tempier, my letter of yesterday will have caused you pain; and so I’m hastening to write again today to let you know my second thoughts; believe me that you and my other friends are the main reason for this resolution for it isn’t right that you should be saddened through your affection towards me and the desire it inspires in you.

Very well, then, I have decided to write to the Minister, as if I ought not to be shocked by all his suspicions, injurious to my character.

Without further ado I am copying you out my letter, which has already left. I hope it will make you happy.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 15 September 1835, EO VIII n 543

Thus the Icosia affair was finally settled and Eugene could return to Marseilles in October and await the invitation to come to Paris to make his oath to the King and have his citizenship restored and his episcopal status recognized. This happened three months later in January 1836.

On August 25, King Louis Philippe had written to Bishop Fortuné to thank him for his prayers on the occasion of his having been spared the assassination attempt. The letter concluded, “The King has not forgotten, my Lord, the circumstances of your stay in Sicily, that you now remind him of. His favour remains undiminished: His Majesty wishes to give proof of this and so restore to His Lordship the Bishop of Icosia the French citizenship rights that you have asked for on his behalf.” (Leflon II p 499)

Your letter of the 30th informs me of the conclusion of my affair. It can’t be denied that the King has been gracious in the matter; for he didn’t wait for the letter that he must have been told he could expect from me.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 1 September 1835, EO VIII n 540

Tempier’s letter and Jeancard’s persuasion eventually did the trick and Eugene succumbed to the pressure and wrote the required letter to the King.

My dear Tempier.

This letter will be brought you by Jeancard who will tell you orally everything we discussed together. Even so I’m giving him a letter for you, though it isn’t my intention to scold you for the bad humour you were unable to hide in the last two items of our correspondence. I understand that you could be upset at finding me resistant to certain plans you have set your heart on; however, the motives I adduced were sufficiently well-founded in reason and especially in religion to turn aside any annoyance at my resistance.

I see in the letter I got today that your anger hasn’t cooled down yet… However, you must have received my letter, sent on the 27th from Gap, in which I wrote out for you what I was proposing to write to the King. It has been dispatched and in all probability will be in his hands the day after tomorrow; I hope he will find it satisfactory and the first stage of our business will soon reach a satisfactory conclusion.

Eugene underlines the important point:

Jeancard will tell you in what sense I agree to the matter of being coadjutor and do not want a diocese. It is that if I have misfortune to lose my uncle, no-one would force me to accept the succession.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 31 August 1835, EO VIII n 539

Apart from all the reasons stated above which Eugene gave for not cooperating with the wishes of the government, he kept on insisting that he wanted to spend the remaining years of his life in the restful peace of an Oblate community. Henri Tempier, usually introverted and deferential reveals his own frustration and his own personal desires which he has always subdued for the sake of Eugene.

I think this is the last time that I shall speak to you about all this, for I am sick and tired of it. I can tell you that if a rest is so pleasing to you, I also call and desire a rest at least as much as you. Why is it that I have to be here and let my blood run dry for twelve years, forever harnessed to the cart, in most difficult situations!

Providence has always arranged things in such a way that, whatever be the crisis we have had to undergo, no matter what its nature, I have ended up all alone to taste its sweetness. All the difficult moments that I have had to experience in diocesan business and for you especially in countless instances, have worn me out, have wearied me to the point that business annoys me to no end: I am fed up with it.

Why shouldn’t I enjoy a bit of rest? It seems to me that I would be asking for only what is justly due to me.

Letter of Henri Tempier to Eugene de Mazenod, 23 August 1835, EO2 Tempier n 83

Eugene’s reaction:

Your last two letters are too harsh; you mustn’t be surprised that I am hesitant when conscience, honour and the peace of my whole life are at stake.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 25 August 1836, EO VIII n 538

We have been following Eugene’s struggle with the situation of being reconciled with the King and the government, and how he had many objections to what was being asked of him in order to achieve this.

Henri Tempier was justifiably frustrated with Eugene for not cooperating with those who were trying to help to extract him from his situation as an exile from Marseilles, to restore his French citizenship, and to have official recognition that he was in fact a Bishop. Tempier sent Father Jeancard to Laus to speak directly to Eugene and to help him to write the letter required by the King.

Jeancard brought this letter from Tempier. It is direct and an ultimatum to stop making conditions and to make up his mind one way or the other.

My dear Lordship and beloved Father,

Do you or do you not want to extract yourself from the grim situation in which you are placed? If not, well and good! But in that case you really shouldn’t let us incur all the expenses of the proceedings, you ought to forbid Guibert categorically to speak a word about you; you will have to put up with all the injuries they heap on you; you must say amen to all the harassment, past, present and future, whether coming from ill-disposed members of the Society or from the Government. If that is what you want, I have nothing to say.

He needs to listen to his friends who have his welfare at heart and who have spared no effort to redeem him from his wretched situation.

But if, on the contrary, you do wish to extract yourself from this situation, that I am justified in describing as wretched, you will have to submit to some extent and yield to the opinion of your friends, who also have some concern for your honor. They have done nothing unworthy of you up to now and would never ever suggest that you take a debasing and improper step.

It is absolutely necessary that you co-operate with the measures we are taking on your behalf. We consider this so indispensable that, so as not to lose yet another week in negotiations by letters, we have decided to send Jeancard to you; everything that he will tell you has been thoroughly discussed in committee in the presence of his Lordship [ed. Bishop Fortuné].

Fr Jeancard, a former Oblate, was a respected collaborator of Eugene, who would eventually make him his auxiliary bishop in Marseilles, and Tempier and Bishop Fortuné hoped that he would bring some sense into Eugene’s head, even if this were to mean accepting the responsibility of  diocese.

Another difficulty is accepting a diocese, should they offer you one. Now why would you not be willing to follow the way that Providence is opening for you? I am speaking to you as a friend and as the confidant of your most secret thoughts: you would act badly were you to refuse a bishop’s see, should they want you to take one. I would only hope, for your own peace of mind and many other considerations, that you will be bishop elsewhere than in Marseilles, for elsewhere you would be able to do more good.

Letter of Henri Tempier to Eugene de Mazenod, 23 August 1835, EO2 Tempier n 83

“In the prolonged silent prayer we make each day, we let ourselves be moulded by the Lord, and find in him the inspiration of our conduct” (OMI Rule of Life, 33).

The practice of Oraison was an important part of St. Eugene’s daily prayer during which he entered into communion with the members of his missionary family. While they were all in France it was easy for them to gather in prayer at approximately the same time. When Oblate missionaries started to be sent to different continents it was no longer possible to pray at the same time, yet each day there was a time when they stopped and prayed in union with one another – even though not at the same time.

This is a practice that Eugene wanted the members of his religious family to maintain. This is why you are invited to take part in this practice of Oraison. Sunday, September 15th, is the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows and the anniversary of the beatification of Blessed Joseph Gerard, OMI. With Mary contemplating Jesus Christ crucified and with Bl. Joseph Gerard who dedicated his life to preaching Him, you are invited to set apart some time this day to enter into prayerful communion with the whole Mazenodian Family.

Just choose a time for personal prayer wherever you like, and consciously unite yourself with all the members of the Mazenodian Family in praying for one another.

The choice of length and content of the prayer is for each one to decide. Here are two texts that you may find helpful.

John 19:25-27 – Our Crucified Savior is at the heart of Mazenodian spirituality, and Mary was at the foot of the Cross, sorrowful but trusting in God’s salvation. We are invited to take her to the home of our lives.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

Blessed Joseph Gerard OMI was beatified on this day in Lesotho. He dedicated his Oblate missionary life to bring others to know the love of the Crucified Savior. Here, from his personal diary,  is the secret of how he did it:

“There is a secret to be loved, it is to love. Also, for the Basotho, the Matebele, even the unbelievers, in seeing them we can ask ourselves what to do to convert them? The answer is on every page of the Gospel: we must love them, love them in spite of everything, love them always. The good God has wanted that we do good to a person in loving that person. The world belongs to the person who loves it most and proves it.”

(For further details on Blessed Joseph Gerard see https://www.eugenedemazenod.net/?p=3699)

Softening his attitude for the sake of his 87-year-old uncle, Eugene was prepared to make the oath of fidelity to the King, but on condition that he can stay in Marseilles as suffragan bishop to Fortuné, but not accept to be a bishop responsible for a diocese.

So once again it is my justifiable conclusion that nothing else is required of me but to remain in my present state, recognized as such by the Government, to which I don’t refuse to take the oath, if it asks for it, as suffragan or vicar general of my uncle, since I have always had it as one of my principles, although it didn’t want to believe it, that the ministers of the Church are established for the spiritual order only, that they must submit to what God permits, maintain peace by the influence of their holy ministry, avoid letting themselves be the instruments of any party whatsoever, be they legitimists or republicans, as that would be to compromise the Church, the defence of whose interests is their principal duty.

Eugene was prepared to take these steps only out of dedication for his uncle, on whom the diocese was weighing heavily

My determination in this position will make its impression, I think, on you and my uncle. My reasoning is based on principle, consistent always with the just affection I owe him and that I have pledged to him with all my heart. And why, after letting my conscience and head have their say, should I not let my heart speak too?

His heart tells him that if he were to accept a diocese in another part of France, the separation from his loved ones would be too heavy.

Yes, anything that would separate me from so venerable and dear an uncle, from you and a very small number of others, would be of all exiles the least bearable, practically a death sentence. Who will say that I am obliged to make so many sacrifices?

Letter to Henri Tempier, 25 August 1835, EO VIII n 537

Eugene continues to express his anguish at the situation in which he found himself. The King was willing to offer a reconciliation, but the price was heavy if his episcopal status was to be recognized – it was to accept a diocese.

The idea that anyone at Paris could take seriously the project of offering me a diocese disturbs me and leaves me no more peace. My repugnance towards entering into that career at fifty-four years of age, with the tastes I have at present, and in the position I find myself in vis-à-vis the Government and the universal Church, is insurmountable; it goes against my conscience, my happiness and my honour. My conscience imperiously demands that I reject the burden with all my strength; all the more because it is certain that, notwithstanding all the good will in the world, and even if you like with a connatural understanding of what the duties of a bishop are, and even if I could work miracles, I would never be able to obtain satisfactory results. The reason for this is basically the prejudices that have been disseminated everywhere against me…

Not only had he collected many prejudices against him from political authorities and from some in the Church itself, but now would be in danger of being accused of personal ambition, of sacrificing his principles in order to gain a promotion.

Again, do you not see that my honour would be as compromised as my happiness in the new career into which they want to push me? In the first place, everyone will say that I have sold my loyalty in exchange for a diocese; that this is what I was after all along, etc.

The very Government, believing me capable of such baseness, will think to buy me for that price and will persuade itself that it will be able to make demands upon me that my conscience and my tact would no less have refused it; and then what will happen?

Letter to Henri Tempier, 25 August 1835, EO VIII n 537