Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

Bishop de Mazenod was a busy man who took care of the Oblate Congregation at the same time as the Diocese of Marseilles. In between his many activities he attempted to write letters to the Oblates.

My dear Fr. Semeria, look how much I have been able to write to you between May 9 to 11, when I take up again, I will not say my pen, which I have never put down since that time, but the letter that was intended for you. During the interval I have written to the whole of North America.

The missionary opportunities in Canada were rapidly opening up as the needs were perceived more clearly and loudly: thousands of people whose faith needed reawakening or who had never heard the Gospel. Eugene wanted to respond but did not have sufficient men to send. The young Oblates, who had not finished their formation and studies, were rearing to go and promised to complete in Canada.

On this very day four of our Brothers and a Lay-Brother are to embark for Canada. They have among them only one priest, a deacon on whom I conferred the diaconate the second day after I had made him subdeacon, and two in minor orders. These last two have not yet begun their theology – Fr. Allard will have the responsibility of teaching it to them at Longueuil; the deacon has only done one year’s theology. You will say that we are eating our wheat while it is still green, but it is not true: they will do their studies as well at Longueuil as here, and they will acclimatise themselves to the country as they learn the languages. Also, it was necessary to take advantage of the opportunity of a ship that was leaving Marseilles to go direct to Boston and offered us the advantages of saving five or six hundred francs a head.

To Fr. Étienne Semeria in Jaffna, 9 May 1848, EO IV n 3

REFLECTION

Eugene’s zeal for the salvation of souls led him be optimistic in his plans for these men and their desire to have the opportunity to learn the local language and to absorb the culture. Their own zeal to evangelize often meant that their promises to complete their studies did not take priority and were often not fulfilled. Eugene was later to realize his mistake and to insist on the completion of the formation process before being sent on mission.

Our vision today: ” From a personal and coherent faith vision, scholastics will be able to present Christ’s Gospel in such a way that it reaches and touches the hearts of their contemporaries. Above all, they will interiorise in prayer what they study and begin to live what they learn, so that they will be credible signs of the message they are to preach.” (CC&RR Rule 66 b)

The Bishop of Montreal’s diocese was enormous, leading him to the decision to ask for a part of it to be cut off to form a new diocese: the Diocese of Bytown (today Ottawa). To lead this new diocese he had suggested the name of Father Guigues, who had proved himself a capable superior of the Oblates in Canada. Initially, Eugene was against it because he relied so heavily on the leadership skills of Guigues to maintain unity of life and mission amongst the Oblates. Eventually Eugene saw the possibility of Guigues continuing to be the Oblate superior while being bishop. In this way the tradition of the Oblate bishop being the “provincial” superior of the Oblates began – a practice which was to last around a century.

The Oblates were unhappy about this course of events, as Eugene’s letter to Bishop Bourget shows:

Do you believe, Monseigneur, that I need not even the briefest letter from you after you have seen the storm which struck me as the aftermath of the resolution you had taken and which my confidence in you had induced me to second? I have had a very bad time because of the kind of vortex which seems to have had everybody’s head whirling. I shall not characterize the conduct of your clergy for to express what I thought of it would perhaps grieve you but I will tell you that all our missionaries without exception, seized by I know not what obsession, had lost their wits… The fact is that in the end I was obliged to write a most severe letter in order to put an end to all this turmoil.

Finally, Eugene reminds Bishop Bourget that he has a special role in the life of the Oblates and calls on him to reassure the Oblates that the appointment of Guigues as Bishop of Bytown would be a positive step and would not signal the destruction of the Oblate mission..

I need not remind you that more than ever you must be the Father of our Oblates of Mary. They feel weakened by the election of their superior to the See with which you have entrusted him. Help us as well as him to pacify them and reassure them as I have not ceased to do from this side.

Letter to Bishop Bourget of Montreal, 12 February 1848, EO I n 93

REFLECTION

“When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.” (John F. Kennedy)

In earlier entries https://www.eugenedemazenod.net/?p=5368 and following) we had met the Canadian Father Pierre Fisette, who had been sent to work in France. He was a very likeable person, but his vanity, lack of piety and prayerfulness had worried Eugene, who despaired of his behavior. Yet Eugene persevered in being a loving father and accompanied him. Eugene’s perseverance paid off, as we see in this letter he wrote to Bishop Bourget of Montreal.

Shall I add a few words about the Canadians over here? Fisette has remained with the Trappists after having passed through the Chartreuse. He has been a novice for some months at Aiguebelles.

[…] I pray God that Fisette will persevere with the Trappists. He has written to me several times and I to him for he retains for the Congregation and for me personally an extraordinary affection. Poor child! I love him ever so much. He has a good heart and one should add that he has shown great generosity in being ready to assure his salvation by a way that is so difficult. This is heroism. Pray, Monseigneur, also for him and never forget me before the Lord in return for the veneration and the friendship I have for you.

Letter to Bishop Bourget of Montreal, 12 February 1848, EO I n 93

REFLECTION

Fr. Fisette’s conversion was not a flash in the pan. He remained a Trappist monk for thirty years until his death in the Trappist monastery that he had founded in Staouéli in Algeria.

Saint Monica prayed for seventeen years for her son’s conversion and when it happened was able to say: “Son, for my own part I no longer find joy in anything in this world. What I am still to do here and why I am here I know not, now that I no longer hope for anything from this world. One thing there was, for which I desired to remain still a little longer in this life, that I should see you a Catholic Christian before I died. This God has granted me in superabundance, in that I now see you His servant to the contempt of all worldly happiness. What then am I doing here?”

Throughout the missionary history of the Oblates we invariably find religious Sisters somewhere in the picture, rendering selfless missionary service according to their charism: catechists, school teachers, nurses and generous cooperators in whatever was necessary for the success of the missions.

Eugene gratefully acknowledged the importance of the various congregations of Sisters throughout his life. Here we find one example as he acknowledged the service of the Sisters to the Canadian Oblates in ministry, but especially in caring for the men who had fallen ill as a result of the typhus epidemic. He gave them a full share in the spiritual benefits of the Oblate Family – which today we refer to as “Honorary Oblates” (HOMI)

Although the laws of Christian charity make it a duty for us to pray to God on behalf of all, we nevertheless believe ourselves more strictly obliged to do so in regard to the persons to whom we are indebted for spiritual and temporal services rendered to the members of our Congregation. Wherefore, Sisters, on learning of the charity and indefatigable zeal that you have exercised towards the Oblates of Mary Immaculate established in Canada, we wish to give you a solemn and lasting witness of our gratitude. So, confiding ourselves to divine mercy and to the powerful intercession of the Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary, our patroness, by the authority which God has given us, in spite of our unworthiness, we grant you for ever a full and entire communion in all the holy Masses, prayers, penances and of all works of piety and zeal which by the grace of God are performed and will be performed in future in the various houses of our Institute as much in America as in other parts of the world, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

We beg that it be the will of Our Lord Jesus Christ to ratify in Heaven this promise and engagement in order that, He, compensating for our unworthiness from the inexhaustible treasure of His merits, may heap upon you, Sisters, every grace and heavenly blessing in this life and reward you hereafter with the crown of a glorious eternity.

Given at Marseilles under our sign, the seal of our arms and the countersign of the secretary of the Congregation, the 24th of May, 1848.

+ C. J. Eugene, bishop of Marseilles, S.G.

To the Religious Sisters of the Hotel-Dieu of Montreal known as the Sisters of Saint Joseph, EO I n. 98

It was often said that Eugene’s heart was as big as the world. His vision extended beyond the borders of France and even beyond his missionaries in several continents so as to be in unity with the universal Church. As Bishop of Marseilles he invited his people to respond to the needs of suffering Catholics in various troubled parts of the world. The typhus epidemic in Canada was one of these occasions, as he wrote to the Bishop of Montreal who had ” been plunged by the frightful sickness which has decimated your clergy and has brought you yourself within inches of death.“

Alone of all the Catholic bishops of the world, I take to heart your deplorable situation. Seeing you overwhelmed by the weight of adversity, it is not enough for me to express my pleas to the Lord in private. Too great is the evil in my eyes not to apply a more powerful remedy. I raise then my voice in the midst of the Church, I want it to resound throughout the whole of France in the hope of inducing by my example other bishops to do as much.

I order public prayers in the whole of my diocese. At each Mass is to be said a Collect, Secret and Postcommunion apt to arouse fervour in the most tepid soul, should such be found among my priests; the people are to be united by such prayers and of their charity they are to be moved also to implore relief from your sufferings each time the Blessed Sacrament is taken from the tabernacle to bless the multitude. My people respond to my thoughts and unite their intentions to mine, they pray with so much fervour that they obtain, I am confident, what we ask for with ardour and perseverance, at least it has been noted that not another priest of yours has died since the name of the Lord has been invoked on their behalf.

Letter to Bishop Bourget of Montreal, 12 February 1848, EO I n 93

REFLECTION

“If we can cultivate a concern for others, keeping in mind the oneness of humanity, we can build a more compassionate world.” (Dalai Lama)

Fr.  Jean-Pierre Bernard (24 years old) had been ordained a priest by Bishop de Mazenod in September 1847, and within days had left for Canada. On the same day Fr. Augustin Gaudet had been ordained and the two had travelled together to Canada. Eugene wrote to Gaudet:

The good Father Bernard who had so well endured the ocean crossing, being so strong and well constituted, I saw him at death’s door; what grief I felt! But I never lost hope. I had unlimited confidence in the goodness of God and in the protection of the Holy Virgin

Letter to Fr. Gaudet in Montreal, 29 April 1848, EO I n 94

REFLECTION

God heard these prayers and Jean-Pierre was restored to health and was to be a zealous missionary in Canada, USA, and France for the next 37 years.

The circumstances we ask God to CHANGE are often the circumstances God is using to CHANGE US. (Mark Batterson)

Continuing his heartfelt reflections on the young Oblate, Jean-Pierre Bernard who had just arrived in Canada and was dying of typhus, Eugene confided in his diary:

Since his ordination to the sub-diaconate, this dear son had done no other than grow rapidly in virtue. His generosity was unfailing. Passing through Paris, he kissed the relic of the martyr Perboyre and wrote to me, “You understand why?” He was so happy to sacrifice himself for the salvation of those who did not believe! […]

The holy Bishop of Montreal has ordered a novena for him, and we’re still hoping for his recovery […] All I fear is that the Lord has found him ripe for heaven and will take this good worker away from us before he can carry out all that his good will inspired him to do. It’s a great sacrifice that the good Lord requires of me. I do everything as if it wasn’t meant to be and I pray with confidence. Who knows if God, in anticipation of these prayers which come from the depths of my heart and which my trust in his mercy inspires, will not have granted me the preservation of this precious child? This thought sustains me as I await the first letter from America.

Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 6 March 1848, EO XXI

REFLECTION

“Prayer is an act of love; words are not needed. Even if sickness distracts from thoughts, all that is needed is the will to love.” (Saint Teresa of Avila)

Fr.  Jean-Pierre Bernard (24 years old) had been ordained a priest by Bishop de Mazenod in September 1847 and within days had left for Canada. Within day s of his arrival in Canada, Eugene received the news that

our very good, very fervent Fr. Bernard is so ill that he received, that very day, the last sacraments. I am truly devastated by this news. Could we not permit ourselves some dedication to God and to the salvation of souls by this fervent missionary, with his good hand, his wonderful voice, his robust health! My God, what a new trial!

Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 6 March 1848, EO XXI

The typhus epidemic in Canada:

In 1847-1848 there was an outbreak of deadly typhus in eastern Canada caused by a large emigration as a result of the Great famine in Ireland. Crowded ships carrying around 90,000 migrants became sources of infection and were referred to as “coffin ships.” Sheds were erected to quarantine all who had been infected, and these became places of great suffering and death. Between 3500 and 6000 typhus deaths were recorded in Montreal and over 4000 in Ontario. Religious responded with the Grey Nuns, the Sisters of Providence and the Oblates among others, with many becoming infected and several dying. Bishop Bourget of Montreal appealed to the Catholics of Quebec to come forward and help their fellow-Catholics. Many adopted children who had been orphaned as a result of the epidemic.

(See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1847_North_American_typhus_epidemic#Bytown_(Ottawa)

REFLECTION

“The pandemic has been such an awful time for so many people around the world, but it has also been a reminder for us about the things that really matter – the people in our lives and the love we have for them.”  (Ananya Birla)

Eugene invites all the Oblates to be inspired by the extreme personal sacrifices being made by the first four members of their religious family to go to western North America to teach people “the love of Jesus Christ.”

I have just received a letter from Father Ricard. It is dated August, and they had another 200 leagues to travel before reaching their destination. Our three missionaries, as well as the brother catechist, are well; but what a trip they have just made.

Let none among us complain anymore of anything. for we have so generous an advanced contingent that makes conquests for Jesus Christ by so many sacrifices, and what merits do they not acquire in the eyes of the Lord and of the Church.

Dear Brothers, how admirable they are! Let us pray much for them and let us be proud to be one with such apostles of the Lord.

Letter to Fr Toussaint Dassy, 12 February 1848, EO X n 966

REFLECTION

In his stirring visionary writing at the beginning of the Oblates, the Preface, Eugene had described the spirit of Oblate missionaries:

” free from inordinate attachment to the world or to family, men filled with zeal, ready to sacrifice goods, talents, ease, self, even their life, for the love of Jesus Christ, the service of the Church, and the sanctification of their brethren. And thus, filled with unbounded confidence in God, they are ready to enter the combat, to fight, even unto death, for the greater glory of his most holy and sublime Name.“

The west coast of North America was opening up to Oblate evangelization with the arrival of four missionaries. (See the entry and the ones that follow in: THE FIRST OBLATE MISSION IN THE UNITED STATES – https://www.eugenedemazenod.net/?p=5355)

These four missionaries had sailed from France in February 1847 and after 54 days at sea arrived in New York. Five months later they finally reached in Oregon.

I have just received a letter from Father Ricard. It is dated August, and they had another 200 leagues to travel before reaching their destination. Our three missionaries, as well as the brother catechist, are well; but what a journey they have just made.

Letter to Fr Toussaint Dassy, 12 February 1848, EO X n 966

(Note that at the time of the Founder the word “missionary” denoted priests, which is why he observes the distinction between missionaries and catechist brother. Since then the understanding of the word “missionary” has changed to include all Oblates and members of the charismatic family who are involved in this ministry)

REFLECTION

With our high-speed travel today it is difficult for us to imagine this missionary journey. Let us pause and think of the physical hardships involved and the courage and perseverance involved. Then let us go deeper and reflect on the psychological challenges: Fr. Ricard was 41 years old and had suffered poor health in France. The three others were in their twenties, two being scholastics who had not yet completed their studies. As they left France and loved ones, they knew that in all probability they would never see them and their country of origin ever again.

Such was the price of their love for God and their missionary zeal for the salvation of people who did not know Jesus Christ. It certainly invites us to reflect and challenges us to look at ourselves and our response to God in our fast-moving instant-gratification world…