Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

Father Guigues is entrusted with the responsibility of keeping everyone in the community focused on the spirit and letter of their God-given vocation, as expressed in the Rule.

The only appropriate expression of the gratitude we owe God for this miracle is a firm resolution to walk always in his presence according to our vocation, in the exact observance of our Rules. This is your responsibility, very dear Father Guigues, the man I have named superior of this new house and to whom I am confidently imparting a large share in the solicitude that is mine.

It is for you to open the Rule book so that each one may draw his inspirations from it, and knowledge of the style of conduct he must pursue.
Put aside all counsels of human prudence. There is no true wisdom outside the fulfilment of one’s duties, and duties are fixed and sanctioned by the infallible authority that has imposed them.
 Let the introduction of the least abuse be anathema to you. God would call you to account for it, for it is you who are to build the foundations of the new community, and it is vital that it diffuse abroad the aroma of Jesus Christ.

Letter to Bruno Guigues, 3 September 1834, EO VIII n 485

Why do all this? To allow the perfume of Jesus Christ to fill the world. The image that comes to mind is that of incense and how its smoke and smell permeate everything around. This is the vocation of the Mazenodian missionary: make known the beauty of the presence of the Savior in people’s lives.

The Constitutions and Rules of a religious congregation are not a set of laws to be slavishly obeyed so as to maintain good order and perfect obedience in the congregation.
Each founder lives her or his life according to a particular Gospel inspiration (in Eugene’s case it was the Good Friday experience of Jesus as Savior). The founder lives and shares this vision with others, who then want to be a part of the life and mission of the institute. At a certain moment, the founding community puts into writing its experience of having lived this Gospel vision so that succeeding generations will be able to enter into this same experience and same spirit. A Rule of Life is all about handing on the founding spirit and vision within the context of an ever-changing world and its demands.

The Rule of a Congregation is the Gospel perceived, lived and shared under a particular aspect. For Eugene it was the viewpoint of the Savior – and of the vocation of the Oblates being “co-operators of the Savior” and bringing the most abandoned to that same experience of being saved. Today we recognize the vocation of all the members of the Mazenodian Family to be co-operators of the Savior.

In this light we can understand Eugene’s insistence of absolute fidelity to the Rule (= to a life of “regularity”) 

The only appropriate expression of the gratitude we owe God for this miracle is a firm resolution to walk always in his presence according to our vocation, in the exact observance of our Rules.

Letter to Bruno Guigues, 3 September 1834, EO VIII n 485

The only appropriate expression of the gratitude we owe God for this miracle is a firm resolution to walk always in his presence according to our vocation, in the exact observance of our Rules.

Letter to Bruno Guigues, 3 September 1834, EO VIII n 485

Whenever some great act of God’s grace for the Oblates was manifested, Eugene’s response was always the same: God has given so much, now in response we need to give ourselves fully. The response has to be according to that spirit particular to us as expressed in the Rule. This was the case in 1826, when we received approbation by the Church, and it continues today for the Mazenodian Family

My dear Father Guigues, I have just left the altar where I offered the holy sacrifice in thanksgiving for the happy conclusion to the affair that means so much to us. Father Vincens is bringing you the copy of the letter the Bishop of Grenoble has just written me. See how the Master of hearts leads them as he wishes and join me in praising the Lord.

Letter to Bruno Guigues, 3 September 1834, EO VIII n 485

Yvon Beaudoin fills in the story and quotes the letter from the Bishop:
Father Dupuy, on becoming pastor of N.-D. de l’Osier had, it seems, set about forming a community of diocesan priests to serve the Sanctuary. When the Founder understood what was going on, he wrote to explain the situation to Bishop Bruillard on August 8. 1834.
The latter replied on August 30: I will owe my good fortune to an imprudence on the part of M. Dupuy. I wanted missionaries of local origin, and now I will have men who come to me from the heart of Provence. If I had had some from Dauphiné, they would have needed a period of formation and it would have been necessary to see the adoption of a Rule. Now I will have men already tried and accustomed to a Rule approved by the Sovereign Pontiff …. In all truth, my dear Sir, far from being put out by M. Dupuy. I am tempted to exclaim: Felix culpa! Yes, I accept your dear children 

Eugene was the one to whom the Holy Spirit had given the charism. As Founder and Superior General it was his duty to ensure that the Oblates lived and missioned according to his spirit. He was particularly insistent when it came to the communities made up of very young Oblates: 

Keep me up to date in everything and consult with me often.
The Superior would be assisted in his task:
Father Dassy will make the superior’s task easier by his obedience and his zeal for regularity. He will be his cooperator in laying the firm foundations of an institution that can prosper and bring honour to our Congregation only in so far as it is instituted on this basis.

They need to be aware of the needs of the newest addition to the community: 

Keep in mind furthermore that Father Vincens whom I am going to send you has been with us only a year; slackness will either scandalize him or lead him astray down a path diametrically opposed to what he has been taught is the only one by which the Society’s goals can be attained.

He concludes with words of encouragement: 

You see my concern, my dear children;
in God’s name, carry out my wishes;
you have the ability,
you have the will;
set to work.
 Notwithstanding our poverty, as soon as we get more priests. I will send you another one.

Letter to Fathers Guigues and Dassy, 18 August 1834, EO VIII n 484

“Regularity” refers to following the Oblate Rule of Life (“regula” – hence “regularity” is following the Rule and guiding one’s life by it).

A young and dynamic community would attract many people to the sanctuary devotions and sacraments, but also to visit with the Oblates. Eugene here gives an important piece of advice: do not let an exaggerated number of visitors become a distraction to their religious lifestyle.  

If the number of visitors is found to be a disturbing factor, steps should be taken to preserve regularity, notwithstanding that. There will be more edification through fidelity like that than from an over-politeness that would entail wasting a considerable amount of time and a lot of disturbance.

Letter to Fathers Guigues and Dassy, 18 August 1834, EO VIII n 484

Advice that continues to be relevant for today: while being close to people we need to keep focused on the witness we should be giving and WHY we are close to them.

Eugene had placed great responsibility on the shoulder of the 29 year -old Fr Guigues: to assume responsibility for the Marian shrine and to work at increasing the number of pilgrims and to ensure that the Oblate community ran smoothly in accordance with the Oblate Rule. 

I want Father Guigues to have a thorough grasp of all the obligations incumbent upon him.
If he fails to institute perfect regularity in his community, he will have to answer for it to God and the Society. I permit no re-interpretation.
The Rule should be followed in all its details and by everyone.

Letter to Fathers Guigues and Dassy, 18 August 1834, EO VIII n 484

To make up for his inexperience he was to ensure that the three young Oblates lived according to all the prescriptions of the Constitutions and Rules. Thus it would be the Rule of Life that would be the guide, and not the whims and ideas of the superior. Good advice that is still pertinent today in our communities.

Imagine a 29 year-old Oblate being tasked with the responsibility of starting a brand new ministry in a shrine and being appointed religious superior of a 26 year-old hyperactive and extremely intelligent Oblate (Dassy) and also of a newly professed and highly-talented Oblate (Vincens) who is two years older than himself. A daunting task, humanly, for the inexperienced Guigues – hence the admonitions of Eugene to remember that, despite his youth, he is the superior and that he has serious obligations.

… I will be sending you Father Vincens who begins his retreat today for his oblation on Monday. I am asking a big sacrifice. I was counting on him to assist the Master of Novices and to prepare himself through an on-going experience of the novitiate’s classical regularity to become Superior at Billens.
I want Father Guigues to have a thorough grasp of all the obligations incumbent upon him. 

Letter to Fathers Guigues and Dassy, 18 August 1834, EO VIII n 484

Our chronological reading of Eugene’s letters introduces us to the Oblate missionary, Joseph Ambroise Vincens, who became an important figure on the history of the Congregation.

At the age of 27 he was ordained a diocesan priest for the Archdiocese of Aix. Observing the mission of the Oblates in the city, he discerned a call to join them and entered the novitiate, making his oblation in 1834. He was assigned to the Shrine of Notre Dame de l’Osier, where he was to remain for 20 years.

Yvon Beaudoin tells us:

The community brought the Marian shrine back to life and especially preached many missions in the diocese. Father Vincens was usually the one who headed up the missionary teams. He was pilgrimage director during the summer season and a tireless missionary during the winter.

During this time he also founded a congregation of religious: the Oblate Sisters of Mary Immaculate. He drew up their rules, giving them as objectives their personal sanctification, the important work of retreats, care of pilgrims, receiving boarders, etc. In 1868, this congregation amalgamated with the Sisters of the Holy Family of Bordeaux. During his lifetime he was also Novice Master and Assistant General

Father Fabre wrote about him: “It is impossible for us to tell the number of parishes that were evangelized… God alone knows the good that was done by his humble servant, who knew how to make fruitful the talents given to him by the Father of the family.”

Bishop de Mazenod considered him a very good missionary, the kind that he wanted the Oblates to be. In this regard, Father Fabre wrote: “Reverend Father Vincens was a man of genuine eloquence, popular eloquence. Consistently lofty in his style, he was always master of the content of his sermons and of the way in which he expressed it, while at the same time, he had the knack of instructing minds that were ignorant and engaging the minds of the elite. With his simple and astoundingly lucid approach, he immediately captured his audience whom he quickly brought to share his convictions. The immediate most striking impression he made was the depth of feeling he conveyed in what he said, the love for the truths he was proclaiming…”

See the Historical Dictionary article: https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/vincens-joseph-ambroise/

Eugene concludes his letter to the Bishop of Grenoble by telling him that he would be sending Father Vincens to join the new Oblate community at Notre Dame de l’Osier.

The man that I am assigning to increase the little family is excellent in every respect. I am making a great sacrifice by sending him to that community, for I was counting on giving him as Superior of the house that we have in the Canton of Fribourg. He preaches like a true apostle, that means very well, without pretension and with results. He is kind, agreeable and regular, he will be a treasure for the house of l’Osier.

Letter to Bishop Philibert de Bruillard of Grenoble, 18 August 1834, EO XIII n 82

It is good to recall this calibre of Oblate missionary, reminding us with gratitude of many others we have known.