Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

HOLY SATURDAY: A TIME OF EMPTY WAITING

“That is what Holy Saturday has taught me about being Christian. Between the great dramas of life, there is almost always a time of empty waiting — with nothing to do and no church service to help — a time when it is necessary to come up with your own words and see how they sound with no other sounds to cover them up. If you are willing to rest in this Sabbath, where you cannot see your hand in front of your face and none of your self-protective labors can do you one bit of good, then you may come as close to the Christ as you will ever get — there in that quiet cave where you wait to see how the Maker of All Life will choose to come to you in the dark.” (Barbara Brown Taylor, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/learning-to-wait-in-the-dark_b_5175191)

In the end, though with sadness, I go my way, placing my trust in God alone. Let us love him always more.

Letter to Father Forbin Janson, 12 September 1814

OMI Rule of Life, Constitution 5:

“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.”

In the days when Christ was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.

Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered;
and when he was made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

Hebrews 5:7-9

In the incarnation, Jesus became fully human and became one with us in all our experiences. On the cross, he entered into the extreme experience of human hopelessness: the sense of having been abandoned by God.

He became one with us in all those situations where we cry out in darkness and despair: “Where are you God, why are you absent?”

As we embrace Jesus Forsaken on this Good Friday, let us embrace the door that he opened through his suffering and death: his resurrection and ours.

St Eugene knew darkness and seeming-hopelessness many times in his life. Yet he recognized that in these dark moments, his Savior was present, and he attests to this in constantly in his writings. Just one example:

It is true that I have always put all my confidence in the goodness of God.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 16 February 1826, EO VII n 224

OMI Rule of Life, Constitution 4:

“The cross of Jesus Christ is central to our mission… Through the eyes of our crucified Saviour we see the world which he redeemed with his blood, desiring that those in whom he continues to suffer will know also the power of his resurrection (cf. Phil 3: 10).”

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day, for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven (John 6: 54-58)

Eugene had made his first communion on Holy Thursday at the College of Nobles in Turin. It was always an important moment for him to recall the joy of this important event. Antoine Ricard, who had been a diocesan seminarian in Marseille, illustrateded this:

One Holy Thursday – as I personally recall – we were in the Cathedral of Marseille. The bishop (Eugene de Mazenod) was officiating with the gentle dignity and recollection that made him renowned among all the bishops, his contemporaries. Unexpectedly we saw him cry and, while trying, he could not conceal it. The seminarians who surrounded the bishop’s throne, struck by the emotion of the Bishop, were moved as they looked at him. He noticed this, and turning to one of them, the author of these lines, whose short-sightedness made his staring more obvious:
“Young man,” he said with that simplicity that made him win hearts, “do not be startled like that – today is the anniversary of my first communion.”

Mgr Antoine RICARD, “Monseigneur de Mazenod, évêque de Marseille, fondateur de la Congrégation des Missionnaires Oblats de Marie Immaculée,” p. 12.

OMI Rule of Life, Constitution 33

“The Eucharist, source and summit of the Church’s life, is at the heart of our life and action… In gratitude for this great Eucharistic gift, we will seek the Lord often in his sacramental presence.”

As we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, perhaps we could make this the opportunity to recall our own first communion with joy and thanksgiving.

“My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”

The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.

Mt 26: 18-19

St Eugene knew darkness and seeming-hopelessness many times in his life. Yet he recognized that in these dark moments, his Savior was present. It was a Passover invitation and he attests to this in constantly in his writings. Just one of many examples:

Eugene had looked forward to retiring from Marseilles to devote himself more fully to the Oblate Congregation once his 87-year-old uncle retired or died. Unexpectedly, he was appointed to succeed his uncle as Bishop of Marseilles. Unburdening himself to his medical doctor and friend, Eugene revealed his fear about the nature of the responsibility that was now given to him for the rest of his life:

Now here I am, doomed to die in harness and this terrible responsibility that I have always so feared, here it is ready to shatter me…

For myself, I am bewildered when I reflect on it and have to summon up my inexhaustible trust in God’s goodness, in the help of the prayers of the just who still bother themselves about me, in the protection of the saints who have found themselves in the same crisis as myself, to win a little respite.

Eugene’s letter to Doctor M. d’Astros, 16 April 1837, EO XV n 183

OMI Rule of Life, Constitution 32

“It is as missionaries that we worship, in the various ways the Spirit suggests to us. We come before him bearing with us the daily pressures of our anxiety for those to whom he sends us (cf. 2 Cor 11:28). Our life in all its dimensions is a prayer that, in us and through us, God’s kingdom come.”

Peter said to him,
“Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you.”
Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”

Jn 13:36

I have entirely got over an illness that brought me to death’s door and from which I recovered only through the countless and very fervent prayers that were made for me to the good God in every quarter of the town…

It was at the barracks where some 2000 Austrian prisoners were held that I contracted what they call jail fever. On the morning of St. Joseph’s feast day I was close to the end…

Eugene’s letter to his father, 17 June 1814, E.O. XV n. 126

OMI Rule of Life, Constitution 2:

“We are men “set apart for the Gospel” (Rom 1: 1), men ready to leave everything to be disciples of Jesus. The desire to co-operate with him draws us to know him more deeply, to identify with him, to let him live in us.”

Despite opposition from some in the city, the military authorities and the press, the procession was a great success.

The news of this decision had filled the Catholics with joy and, in spite of the remarks of certain fainthearted persons who foreshadowed trouble, it could have been said that a person could rely more on the tranquility of spirit that I showed than on all these fears, and each one made it a duty to reply to the invitation that I extended to the various confraternities and congregations to unite with me to give glory to our Lord.

A large number of women and young ladies from different parishes of the city, the gentlemen of the association for the accompaniment of Holy Viaticum, the churchwardens, the penitents and the clergy went to the cathedral at the appointed hour and, since the cholera [ed. the deadly epidemic of 1837], never had a procession been so splendid and so touching. It was a concert of praises and of admiration to which the entire populace responded. Everyone competed, in accordance with the beauty of the day, in contributing to the magnificence of the feast and to the public joy.

Now everyone is complimenting me, and I am enjoying a true happiness in seeing how things transpired and with what piety this grand feast was celebrated.

Eugene’s Diary, 15 August 1848, EO XXI

A few days later he wrote to an Oblate:

Here we tried to honor her in the best of way we could. I ordered the statue of Our Lady de la Garde brought down to be part of the procession of the Blessed Sacrament which was very solemnly done on August 15, the Blessed Virgin has thus received her share of homage from the people of my diocese. Everything went very well, and I find that I have all the more to congratulate myself for having resisted all insinuations that wanted to deter me from having this beautiful procession. Nothing like it had been seen since our processions at the time of the cholera: the same eagerness, respect, and even more, universal joy in all the population. This is not the first time that I recognize that there are graces of state.

Letter to Fr. Joseph Arnoux, 20 August 1848, EO X n 985

REFLECTION

“Lourdes, where non-Catholics imagine that we accord Mary undue eminence, is no doubt that place in the world where Christ in the Eucharist is most glorified. It is the only place in the world where, under the veil of the Host, Christ mingles in the midst of so many people and is as closely pressed by them as He was during His mortal life. His mother prays for these bodies and these souls, and Christ cures them. The procession of the Blessed Sacrament in Lourdes starts from the Grotto to show that Jesus was given to us by the Virgin. And she who stood on Golgotha, at the foot of the Cross a condemned Man, stands here by the side of the King of eternal glory.” (Francois Mauriac)

Writing in his diary, Eugene reflected on the procession he had had the courage to organize:

General procession. This procession had been recommended as having to make up for those which were not able to take place at the time of Corpus Christi, because of the barricades and the disorder occasioned by the riot. I regarded this procession as necessary, either because I had announced that the processions of Corpus Christi were only delayed or because it was time for our city to give this homage to our Lord Jesus Christ. I thought that the day of the grand solemnity of the Blessed Virgin would be well chosen, because I would benefit from this circumstance in moving down the statue of Our Lady de la Garde, and because I would secure through this a double homage to our Blessed Mother and to her divine Son.

This determination being known, the good faithful experienced great joy therefrom; but certain considerations convinced my vicars general and some others to not approve it.

In the light of the recent unrest, Fr Tempier had approached Eugene to dissuade him from this very public show of faith, reminding him of how the mob had murdered the Archbishop of Paris.

I had all too well thought about the decision which I had to take in order to withdraw from my project. It’s necessary, moreover, to really acknowledge that the bishops have the grace of state for the government of their diocese. It was a matter here of fulfilling a promise, of satisfying a popular expectation, of rendering to our Savior Jesus Christ the public homage which he still had not received for this year… I, moreover, did not experience any anxiety; I had been convinced of the good effect that our wonderful feast would produce, and I felt myself so sure of success, in the midst of a population like ours, that I finally responded that, even though I would not be granted one soldier, I would nonetheless do the procession.

Eugene’s Diary, 15 August 1848, EO XXI

REFLECTION

“You come to me and unite Yourself intimately to me under the form of nourishment. Your Blood now runs in mine, Your Soul, Incarnate God, compenetrates mine, giving courage and support. What miracles! Who would have ever imagined such!” (St. Maximilian Kolbe)

Eugene had appointed Fr Joseph Burfin as superior of the community in Limoges. Their relationship was not always smooth and they had occasional disagreements. In responding to him Eugene used the Oblate Rule as his guide. The spirit of this Rule is also a source of inspiration to all the members of our Mazenodian Family.

 Letter to Fr. Burfin. I am giving him some rules of conduct. I note down some expressions from his letters. I reply with the text of our rules to what he said to me about the tediousness which was being experienced at Limoges.

Diary of Eugene de Mazenod, 5 July 1848, EO XX!

REFLECTION

“The Constitutions and Rules set out a privileged means for each Oblate to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. They are inspired by the charism lived by the Founder and his first companions; also, they have received the approval of the Church. Thus, they allow each Oblate to evaluate the quality of his response to his vocation and to become a saint.” (OMI Constitutions and Rules, Constitution 163)

It seemed that Eugene had been unable to find a new Novice Master and so changed his mind and appointed Fr Dassy, to whom he had previously written: “a Master of Novices who must be considered a saint in his own novitiate, but also a good father.”

I want to confide the novitiate to you. Take firm resolutions that, to the regularity that you must exact from each, you add a great degree of moderation, much goodness, and fatherly sentiments for those who, faithful to the voice of the Lord, leave their country and their family, and give up everything to consecrate themselves to the service of the Church in our Congregation.

They must find with us a true family, brothers and a father; we have the obligation to represent Divine Providence to them. Never deviate from these principles.

My dear son, I am a bit afraid of your natural temper, a certain severity of manner, reactions that are too quick and too cutting. The Master of Novices must in a way be unaffected, must always act reasonably. If, unhappily, he were only once perceived to be unjust, the confidence in him that must be retained always would disappear.

Letter to Fr. Toussaint Dassy at Nancy, July-August 1848, EO X n 983

REFLECTION

The Master of Novices has the particular responsibility of inspiring and accompanying the young men on their journey of becoming missionaries imbued with the spirit and charism of the Oblates. While not having the title of “master of novices” all leaders of communities and groups within the Mazenodian Family have this role: to create a true charismatic family.

” A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.” (Horace Mann)

Father Dassy was a talented missionary and also an intellectual scholar who liked to do research and and write – but had a difficult character. He had offered to take on the role of director of the formation of the novices in Nancy. Eugene, who had a great esteem for him, responded in an outright and honest way.

You may perhaps tell me that if I gave you a good assistant you could take on this task. I believe in your piety, regularity, zeal, but I fear your severity, your demands. Though gentle in appearance, you lack suppleness in your character, you hold on too much to your ideas, you do not know how to give way in certain small things that it is best often to ignore in order to obtain major matters more easily. I fear that your authority in your usual contacts with the novices might be difficult to endure. You might perhaps not be sufficiently on guard against certain prejudices. In a word, you would have much and perhaps too much of introspection to win the confidence of young men; the latter is of primary necessity in the functions of a Master of Novices who must be considered a saint in his own novitiate, but also a good father.

Letter to Fr. Toussaint Dassy at Nancy, 23 June 1848, EO X n 980

REFLECTION

“The constructive criticism that I take very seriously is from people I know and respect.” (C. Thile)