Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

Around the year 415 AD John Cassian had established the first monastic complex in Western Europe in Marseille – a concept that was to inspire Benedict to do likewise in the following century. The Provençal Eugene would have been justly proud of this event and of the development and achievements of countless monasteries in France. Then the French Revolution destroyed all this.

It was in the context of this emptiness that Eugene wants his Missionaries to fill the vacuum, and so he stated as the second aim of the Society:

Article 1. The end of this association is also, as much as possible, to make up for the absence and loss of fine institutions which have disappeared since the Revolution and which have left a terrible gap of which religion is becoming daily more aware.

1818 Rule, Part One, Chapter One. The ends of the Institute, §2.  Missions, 78 (1951) p.13-14

Today, Eugene’s call on behalf of the “most deprived” continues to ring out to all the members of his Mazenodian family:

Where the Church is already established, our commitment is to those groups it touches least. Wherever we work, our mission is especially to those people whose condition cries out for salvation and for the hope which only Jesus Christ can fully bring. These are the poor with their many faces; we give them our preference.

CC&RR Constitution 5

At a moment in his youth when Eugene felt “most deprived” of a direction in his life, he understood that it was in the direction of the Cross that his solution would come. Understanding the love of Jesus Christ the Savior for him, everything changed and he was no longer “deprived.” With the joyful acceptance of a fixed direction in his life, he became painfully aware of the many who were “deprived” of any enduring meaning in their lives. His early ministry as a young priest was a response. He dedicated his life to helping the “most deprived” to come to his same transforming realization.

In 1816 he was inspired to invite others to join him in a life of making a difference to the lives of these persons. Now in 1818, he codified this commitment in the Rule. Its first two articles showed the direction of the initial response of the Missionaries to those most deprived of spiritual things in Provence:

Article 2. That is why the members of this Congregation will work under the authority of the Ordinaries on whom they will always depend, by providing spiritual aid to the poor people in the rural areas and to the inhabitants of the country villages who are the most deprived of spiritual things. They will provide for those needs through missions, the teaching of catechism, retreats, or other spiritual exercises.

1818 Rule, Part One, Chapter One. The ends of the Institute,
§1 Preaching the Word of God to the people

All Saints’ Day has arrived: from three in the morning, those who made up the Chapter are awake; before four o’clock they are all in the chapel praying in front of the altar, preparing themselves for the most beautiful, the most consoling of all the sacrifices.

Mémoires of Suzanne and Moreau cited by Rambert, I, 290-291.

Leflon narrates:

It must indeed have been a time of great satisfaction for Father de Mazenod. On November 1, 1818, after receiving the necessary authorization from Guigou, he pronounced his vows of chastity, obedience and perseverance in the presence of Fortuné; during the Mass which followed, he accepted the vows of Fathers Maunier, Mie, Tempier and Moreau and of the scholastic brothers Dupuy, Courtès and Suzanne.

Leflon 2, p. 169

The formula used by Eugene was:

In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the presence of the Most Holy Trinity, the Blessed Virgin Mary, all the Angels and all the Saints, all my brothers here assembled, I, Charles Joseph Eugene de Mazenod, profess, promise to God and vow perpetual chastity and obedience; I swear and likewise vow to persevere until death in the holy institute and society of the Missionaries known as Missionaries of Provence. So help me God.
Eugene de Mazenod missionary priest

Oblation formula, 1 November 1818, EO XV, n.149

In 1818 there were only priests, and within a few years the Congregation expanded to being brothers and priests. Today, our Rule of Life expresses the foundational pillars in this way:

The call of Jesus Christ, heard within the Church through people’s need for salvation, draws us together as Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Christ thus invites us to follow him and to share in his mission through word and work.

We are a clerical Congregation of pontifical right. We come together in apostolic communities of priests and Brothers, united to God by the vows of religion. Cooperating with the Saviour and imitating his example, we commit ourselves principally to evangelizing the poor.

CC&RR Constitution 1

With the growth of the Mazenodian family today, I dream of one day seeing our First Constitution include these elements:

The Mazenodian family is formed by men and women called by Jesus Christ the Savior, each in their own way as laity or religious or priests, to be linked in apostolic community in living the charism of Eugene de Mazenod as co-operators of the Savior to evangelize those who are the most abandoned.

The first article of the Constitution of any group is always the one which defines the purpose and juridical nature of the group. Eugene’s first paragraph does exactly this.

The purpose of the Institute of the Missionaries of Provence

Until 1826 we were known as the Missionaries of Provence, before changing the name to Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

is first of all to form a group of priests who live together

Our vocation is always to community on the model of Jesus and the apostles.

and who strive to imitate the virtues and examples of our Savior Jesus Christ

Since Eugene’s conversion experience centered on Jesus Christ the Savior, we are brought together and our focus is on the Savior.

principally by dedicating themselves to preaching the Word of God to the poor.

1818 Rule, Part One, Chapter One. The ends of the Institute,
§1 Preaching the Word of God to the people.  Missions, 78 (1951) p.11

We imitate that particular aspect of the mission of the Savior: to preach the Gospel to those who need it the most.

Becoming fully what the eight points of the “identikit”of the opening paragraph hold out is the aim and result of living fully according to the Rule. Not only individually, but the Rule gives clear identity, unity and strength to the whole body of Missionaries and assures its continuation and fruits in the lives of those they minister to.

The example of the saints and reason itself make it clear that it is necessary, in order to maintain good order in a Society, to establish certain rules of life that unite all its members in a common practice and a common spirit; it is this that gives the body its strength, maintains its fervour and insures that it endures.

Avant propos, Règle de 1818, Missions, 78 (1951) p.11

The vocation and life of the Missionary was presented in glowing terms in the first paragraph of the Foreword, and the members were exhorted to allow themselves to be totally transformed by these great ideals. Now Eugene continues to show that it is a gift that does not just fall from heaven, but that it is necessary to work towards this state. The route is clearly and unmistakably mapped out in the Rule:

To attain this so desirable an objective, they must apply themselves as well with the greatest care to adopt the most appropriate means to lead them to the goal they have set before themselves and to never depart from these prescribed rules to ensure the success of their holy undertaking and to maintain themselves in the holiness of their vocation.

Avant propos, Règle de 1818, Missions, 78 (1951) p.11

In writing the Rule in 1818 Eugene wanted to put down in writing the spirit of how the Missionaries had experienced themselves for three years. His aim was that others would be transformed by the same spirit through following this Rule of Life as Missionaries. The foreword contains some of the important the elements of our vocation, and could be described as an eight-point identikit, still very valid for us today.

1/ If the priests to whom the Lord has granted the desire

One becomes a Missionary (or joins the Mazenodian family) as a response to a desire placed in us by God. God’s initiative is the absolute pre-requisite to our vocation.

2/ to come together in community

Our very first response to God’s call is to become part of a community. Eugene thus stresses that we are not individual workers or “lone rangers.”

3/ to work more effectively for the salvation of souls

Together, as a united body, we are able to pool our talents and efforts and be more far-reaching and effective in inviting others to the Kingdom of God.

4/ and for their own sanctification

The Missionary is a co-operator of the Savior and this necessitates our working for our own salvation, first of all, so that we can invite others to share our own experience of the Kingdom.

5/ wish to achieve some good in the Church,

The vocation of the Missionary is always in the context of the Church. We act in the name of the Church and as part of the Church’s mission.

6/ they should first of all be deeply convinced themselves of the aims of the Institute which they have become a part of,

The member has to be constantly aware of the purpose and spirit of the Missionaries and be convinced of the goals of the Congregation. It is not a place for each one “to do his own thing,” no matter how excellent this may be.

7/ they should be deeply convinced of … the greatness of the ministry to which they are called

The Missionary needs to understand fully the importance of what we are called to do and our dignity as a co-operator of Jesus Christ.

8/ they should be deeply convinced of … the enormous fruits of salvation which their work can produce if they acquit themselves of their duties in a worthy manner.

The Missionary needs to be fully aware of the richness of what we are offering through ours preaching and actions, and how these can change the lives of others.

The full text:

Foreword

If the priests to whom the Lord has granted the desire to come together in community to work more effectively for the salvation of souls and for their own sanctification wish to achieve some good in the Church, they should first of all be deeply convinced themselves of the aims of the Institute which they have become a part of, the greatness of the ministry to which they are called and the enormous fruits of salvation which their work can produce if they perform their duties in a worthy manner.

Missions, 78 (1951) p.11

The formula used by Eugene was:

In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the presence of the Most Holy Trinity, the Blessed Virgin Mary, all the Angels and all the Saints, all my brothers here assembled, I, Charles Joseph Eugene de Mazenod, profess, promise to God and vow perpetual chastity and obedience; I swear and likewise vow to persevere until death in the holy institute and society of the Missionaries known as Missionaries of Provence. So help me God.

Eugene de Mazenod missionary priest

Oblation formula, 1 November 1818, EO XV, n.149

What today’s Oblate Rule of Life says about the first commitment of the novices, is a direct application of the sentiment of the first commitment of Eugene and his companions in 1818.

Novitiate formation ends with a free and faith-filled commitment in the Oblate Congregation. The novice, having experienced the Father’s love in Jesus, dedicates his life to making that love visible. He entrusts his fidelity to the one whose cross he shares, whose promises are his hope.

CC&RR Constitution 59