A couple of days before his priestly ordination in 1811, Eugene had written:
You, you alone will be the sole object to which will tend all my affections and my every action. To please you, act for your glory, will be my daily task, the task of every moment of my life. I wish to live only for you, I wish to love you alone and all else in you and through you. I despise riches, I trample honours under foot; you are my all, replacing all else. My God, my love and my all: Deus meus et omnia.
Notes made during the retreat in preparation for priestly ordination, December 1-21, E.O. XIV n.95
Now 35 years later, within the context of refuting the accusation of seeking personal honors, he recalls how he lived this resolution after his ordination in 1811:
I then returned to the diocese of Aix, where I begged to be given no assignment, wanting to devote myself to the service of the poor, prisoners and young children. The path of wealth or of glory still did not lie there. In regard to wealth, I did not have any need of it, in regard to glory, I did not want it.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 31 August 1847, EO XXI
REFLECTION
The return of the talented son of a wealthy prominent family would have opened many doors for advancement in Aix en Provence. He could have asked for one of the best city parishes or a lucrative position in the diocesan administration, yet he opted for going against all these expectations and dedicated himself to the poor and most abandoned. I imagine that Madame la President de Mazenod may have experienced some discomfort when in the company of her noble friends and their social standards.
“Being humble means recognizing that we are not on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others” (Gordon B. Hinckley)
As Bishop of Marseilles, Eugene became aware of some criticism to the effect that he was ambitious and looking for honors. In his private journal, which he never intended others to see, he reflects on moments when he was offered positions of importance and never accepted.
The first was after his ordination to the priesthood. He recalls:
It was during this period that I refused the bishop who had ordained me, Bishop Demandolx, the honor which he had offered me of staying with him in the position of his vicar general; that’s the first response that I could make to those who accorded me the title of being ambitious because certain dignities fell upon me without my seeking them. I still see the window frame where the good bishop so greatly urged me to accept his compelling offer. He esteemed my title of friend of the family, we were compatriots, he would feel very happy to have me with him. I would be delivering him from a painful servitude…
I was hundreds of miles away from the thought of elevating myself. While expressing my thanks, I apologized and stressed my obligation to return to the seminary of Saint-Sulpice, where I was director. The saintly bishop had no idea what was going on in that house in Paris. We know that the Sulpicians, forced to withdraw, had entrusted the direction of the seminary to M. Teysseyrre, Tharin, Gosselin and myself….
When I told him that I needed to go to fulfill the role of director and, yielding to this consideration, he said to me, sighing: That’s different, I am insisting no further; I left him in this opinion and I returned to Paris, where I stayed for one year more as a priest.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 31 August 1847, EO XXI
REFLECTION
Being a nobleman, son of a judge, a graduate of St Sulpice and an accomplished speaker and organizer, it is easy to understand why many offers of ecclesiastical positions and honors came his way.
“When ambition ends, happiness begins.” (Thomas Merton)
Worried about the effects of typhus on his Oblate family in Canada, Eugene notes in his diary:
September 2: Letter from Fr. Guigues, from Fr. Telmon, from Fr. Aubert and from Fr. Bermond. Fr. Molloy is feeling better. Upon the arrival of the statue of Saint Joseph, which I had sent to Bytown, Fr. Telmon initiated a solemn novena. Not only the Fathers of the house, but the religious sisters and all the people of Bytown invoked the saint with trust and both Fr. Molloy and the five religious affected like him with this wretched typhus found themselves instantaneously better.
At Longueuil Fr. Brunet was slightly affected. It’s to be hoped that this will be nothing, but our Fathers will be called to render their service to Montreal. May God preserve them as I request him every day in offering the Holy Sacrifice for them.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 2 September 1847, EO XXI
REFLECTION
” Prayer is a person’s greatest power!” (W. Clement Stone)
Eugene was no stranger to epidemics of typhus and cholera. Knowing their destructive effects, he was concerned for the Oblates in Canada who were living through a typhus outbreak
I was waiting, my dear son, with an impatience stemming from anxiety for a letter which might reassure me about your health and that of our men. I knew through Brother Trudeau to whom his mother had written that the poor Irish had brought you an epidemic of a most dangerous sort and not receiving anything from you, my anxiety grew every day although I well understood that if the mail had been missed I would have to wait patiently for the arrival of that which could only leave fifteen days later. At last your letter of the 28th reached me…
In the meantime, since hearing the grim news, I have been saying Mass every day especially for you with the proper collect prayer which I have mandated and which I ask to be recited everywhere to obtain the Lord’s protection for you. I know what prayers are worth against this illness, as for everything, for I was stricken myself by it in a cruel manner in 1814 and it was prayer which snatched me from death. I contracted it from the poor Austrian prisoners who brought it to us in as malignant a form as that which the unfortunate Irish have possibly brought to Canada and which they are spreading everywhere. I count on you not to let a single mail leave without a letter from you for – any one of them missed would plunge me into unspeakable grief. I am already worried enough!
I have not the heart to speak of other things but as I am pressed for time and the mail is due to leave today – that is I am obliged to post my letter today if I do not want to miss the departure on the first ship from Liverpool
Letter to Father Bruno Guigues in Canada, 26 August 1847, EO I n 87
REFLECTION
“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
I must not keep to myself my intention that our missionaries be not reduced to the status of parish clergy. I would wish to found in England a real community of our Oblates, living according to their Rule within their house and thence going forth as ordered by the Bishops to bring aid where it is deemed useful.
Letter to Bishop Wiseman of Liverpool, 17 August 1847, EO III n 17
Bishop Wiseman had obtained a large house (Grace Dieu) for the Oblates in England so that they could live in community. Eugene was grateful and took the opportunity to remind the bishop that the vocation of the Oblates was primarily to be missionaries and not parish clergy.
REFLECTION
Eugene founded the Missionaries in 1816 to bring the Gospel to the most abandoned – to those who were the furthest away from Jesus Christ. Over the years that mission has continued to expand and involve every member of the Mazenodian Family. The demands of the mission led us to become very involved in parish ministry but always needing to avoid the danger of becoming predominantly “parish clergy” to the detriment of reaching out to the most abandoned in whatever ministry we do.
The Mazenodian Family is charism-centered and not parish-centered; it is important to remember this particularly in the case of those groups which exist in parishes which are no longer staffed by the Oblates.
In 1822, Eugene had written to Fr. Henri Tempier: “First companion of mine, you have from the first day we came together grasped the spirit which must animate us and which we must communicate to others… everyone knows this in the Society and they count on you as they count on myself.” (Letter to Henri Tempier, 15 August 1822, EO VI n 86)
Twenty five years later this was still true, and was the reason why Eugene sent him to represent him in the various communities and to make necessary decisions.
On your return, you would do well to visit all our houses without exception, and to inform yourself precisely about everything that is going on. Almost everywhere people have begun to make remarks on the placement of our men; I pray you to repeat everywhere that this practice is becoming abusive and untimely.
As the missionary demands increased, Eugene was not always able to place the missionaries in situations that they would have preferred. Responding as best as possible to the needs of the people they were ministering to was a paramount consideration.
I know as well as anybody the worth of each member and the needs of each house; so it is useless to pester me in my dealings. I have pointed out rather sharply that no one should repeat such complaints. I am decided not to listen to them. There is trouble enough in organizing the difficult placement of our men with the rather small number of good men we have available, without someone coming along to increase my difficulties.
The tone of impatience in these words is perhaps explained by the following words of an exhausted bishop:
I am answering your letter at the end of a four-hour ceremony.
Letter to Henri Tempier, 17 August 1847, EO X n 939
REFLECTION
In the individualistic self-satisfaction society in which we live, it is good to be reminded of the words of Jesus: “Love one another as I have loved you” and to renew our resolve to put the needs of others in the first place.
“This is the paradox of the Gospel: we are free when we serve, out of love. That’s where freedom comes from. We fulfill ourselves to the extent we have the courage to give of ourselves. We possess life if we lose it (cf. Mk 8:35). This is pure Gospel.” (Pope Francis)
You tell me good things about Father Rey. I am glad to hear that, but do not lose sight of the fact that he must be helped through particular care and supervision. Insist that he devote himself to the composition of his sermons. Require that each day he consecrate at least a few hours to his work. He would readily be content with that unprepared speech which so compromises the Lord’s work…
The Missionaries were founded to be preachers of the Gospel, and for this reason Eugene insisted on adequate sermon preparation and was intolerant of anything below standard. Writing to Father Dassy, who was the superior of a group of young Oblates, he stresses this point.
Do not allow them to entertain the destructive principle that we must preach spontaneously; that is allowable to a man of talent and experience like our good Father Hermitte, but the exception must not be the rule. Have Father Pulicani also work in the same. The juniors must not take up all his time, he should reserve part of it to write out his instructions. What I have said against the abundance system also applies to Father Chauliac; be merciless on this point. Let them be alerted in time, and let them prepare.
Letter to Father Louis Dassy, in France, 14 August 1847, EO X n 937
REFLECTION
How important our ministry of preaching is, and what a responsibility we have to our people to give them of our best! As important as the preparation of a text is, Eugene always stressed that what is paramount is our preaching through the witness of the quality of our lives. Through our baptism, all of us members of the Mazenodian Family (and not just the priests and brothers) are evangelizers in action and example.
“It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.” (Francis of Assisi)
The Oblates were on the crest of a wave of missionary zeal and expansion. They were also receiving recruits at the novitiate.
His will is too clearly manifest for us not to be obliged to go forward with blind confidence. It is at this moment that the Lord calls our Congregation to extend its zeal to a great many countries, and who at the same time inspires a great number of men to offer themselves to accomplish his desires, and how could we refuse to accept their devotedness which enables us to obey the will of our Master! I cannot give in to this, no matter what human prudence seems to say. So receive all those that the good Lord sends us. This does not mean to receive them without examining them. On the contrary, be careful to discern well the motives which bring them to us, to weigh their virtue and to judge if their talents are sufficient.
Blind confidence did not mean blindness in the acceptance of candidates who slipped in with the wrong motives:
… I see that you have allowed yourself to be fooled by the trickery of little Ginies. The information I have received about him tells me that he is a real hypocrite, a thief and a liar, not to say more. He does not lack ability, but what is talent worth when virtue is totally absent. We risk too much in trying to bring him to a good behaviour. Can we rely on a villain who uses all his skill to betray those he depends upon. Do not let yourself be taken in.
Letter to Father Ambroise Vincens, Novice Master, 12 August 1847, EO X n 936
REFLECTION
“Little Ginies” must have been pretty bad to merit Eugene’s unusual hard words! Normally he went out of his way to bring smoldering wicks to burn brightly again.
“Seeing reality for what it is, is what we call discernment. The work of discernment is very hard” (Lewis B. Smedes)
The more new missions were opening up, the more Eugene had to look for missionaries to send. Among the many recruits that Fr Leonard had brought in, were some who were already ordained diocesan priests. In order to become Oblates they had to do a full year of canonical novitiate. Eugene wrote to the Cardinal Prefect in Rome to try to get two of these to the missions sooner.
It is a matter of granting to two priest novices of the Congregation, of which our immortal protector, benefactor and father Leo XII made me the Superior, a dispensation of several months of novitiate in order to canonically make religious profession before the year required by the decrees. There is an urgent and legitimate reason for this dispensation.
The “urgent and legitimate reason” shows how quickly the missions were spreading:
The Congregation of Oblates of Mary Immaculate is evangelizing the indigenous people along the banks of the Saint Lawrence, Saint Maurice, Ottawa and Saguenay Rivers; they are also preaching the gospel to those of Abitibi and Temiscaming. They have just penetrated into Oregon, are already on the Red River, and are planning to head toward the Hudson Bay on the Moose River. Your Eminence is quite aware that we need men for all these missions. It is indispensable that I send at least four of them without delay, but two who are most apt for this difficult ministry have not completed their novitiate year; they are however sufficiently tested and full of holy zeal for their sublime vocation. I therefore beg Your Eminence to obtain from the Sovereign Pontiff the dispensation that I am requesting in the enclosed form.
Letter to Cardinal Orioli, Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops and Regulars in Rome, 30 July 1847, EO XIII n 114
REFLECTION
It is moving to read about the enthusiasm of these pioneer missionaries who left their countries of origin knowing that they would probably never see their families and country again. Like Eugene they were set on fire by the awareness of the transforming power of God’s love and mercy – and they wanted to share this with those who had never known the salvation offered by knowing Jesus Christ.
Today, circumstances have changed, but the fire of Eugene still burns and impels us to be missionaries wherever we find ourselves according to our state of life, lay or religious.
Sometimes the difficulties of the missionaries in foreign countries seemed insurmountable and they lost confidence. Eugene, whose faith and enthusiasm was fuelled by his unshakeable belief in God’s unfailing providence, was aware of their difficulties and often encouraged them.
Much good remains for us to do. Let us be of good heart and undismayed by difficulties. Who is there who has none to overcome? I would wish the weak and timid could hear the words I hear from the lips of bishops and missionaries who pass through my house. It is quite different from what happens to us. But they go forward and God helps them. Let us adopt their attitude. They do not worry about weak beginnings. Things improve with time and experience shows that time does not hold back when one puts one’s confidence in God.
Letter to Fr Eugene Guigues in Canada, 20 July 1847, EO I n 86
REFLECTION
There is much that we can learn from Eugene’s example and intercession: if we are doing God’s will, then we can rely on God’s supportive presence.
“I’ve learned that fear limits you and your vision. It serves as blinders to what may be just a few steps down the road for you. The journey is valuable, but believing in your talents, your abilities, and your self-worth can empower you to walk down an even brighter path. Transforming fear into freedom – how great is that?” Soledad O’Brien
