“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (Jn. 4: 13-15)
It is then the mercies of the Lord I must proclaim… for he has quite exhausted the treasures of his grace for my sake…
Beginning with the happy moment when, regenerated in the saving waters of baptism, I was raised to the awesome dignity of child of God, filled with the gifts of my Saviour, I could more easily count the successive and rapid movements of my breathing than the number of the inestimable benefits that this adorable Master has poured out on me in generous measure.
Spiritual conference given by Eugene de Mazenod, 19 March 1809, EO XIV n 48
REFLECTION
We thank you and praise you, O God,
that however we may thirst,
whatever we may need to satisfy our souls,
you offer it freely and abundantly in Christ;
So we drink deep of the living water
and, as we draw from your wells,
we seek to pass the cup to others
who, like us, are thirsty for your grace.
Amen
Cf John van de Laar (https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2011/09/prayer-living-water)
I shall get up and go to my father… (Lk. 15:18)
You are my special benefactor and applied your merits in an altogether special way to me; my generous friend, you forgot all my acts of ingratitude to help me as powerfully as if I had been always faithful to you; my tender father, who carried this rebel on your shoulders, warmed him against your heart, washed his wounds.
Eugene de Mazenod’s experience of being the prodigal son (EO XIV n. 95
REFLECTION
O most tender and most loving of all Fathers! You are willing to receive this prodigal child, to change my affliction into joy, and misery into happiness. Who can sufficiently admire such an excess of goodness! I detest from my soul my past disorders…Sincerely do I desire to return to you my Father: all my thoughts, affections, desires, and actions, shall serve this day as so many steps towards my return to you.
(The Catholic prayer book and manual of meditations)
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes.” (Mt.21:42)
In the 1820’s the policy of the Vatican was not to grant official recognition and approval to the countless new religious congregations that were being founded after the Revolution in France. Eugene was thus overwhelmed when the Pope ignored this and gave the Missionary Oblates official approbation. He wrote to the Oblates:
Do you realise that nothing ever has been seen so astonishing as this? Those whose duty it is to deal with such matters are the first to make this remark and to be all the more surprised with the happy outcome of the steps we took, all of them inspired, directed, blessed by God, inasmuch as the policy was no longer to do anything of the sort and I, being here and pursuing my endeavor with the help of the Master of hearts, have seen many fail and not obtain what they asked for.
Eugene de Mazenod to his Oblate Family, 18 February 1826, EO VII, n. 226
O Lord, remind me to be strong and steadfast; to have no fear or dread of others, for it is you, my God, who marches with me; God will never fail me or forsake me. (cf. Dt. 31:6)
There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. (Lk. 16:19-20)
I worry little about the infinitely small number of bourgeois people who have not yet shown any sign of good will… In any case, their souls are not worth more or less than those of the least peasants, if we consider them in terms of the price the Lord has paid for them.
Letter to Jean Baptiste Honorat, 28 February 1837, EO IX n 606
REFLECTION
Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our brothers and sisters throughout the world, who live and die in poverty and hunger.
Give them, through our hands, this day their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give them peace and joy.
Make us, Lord, worthy to serve our brothers and sisters, scattered all over the world, who live and die alone and poor.
Give them today, using our hands, their daily bread and, using our love, give them peace and happiness. Amen.
daily-prayers.org/jesus-life-stories-2/parable-of-the-rich-man-and-lazarus-2/
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied, “My chalice you will indeed drink. (Mt. 20:22-23)
Our Lord Jesus Christ has left to us the task of continuing the great work of the redemption of mankind. It is towards this unique end that all our efforts must tend; as long as we will not have spent our whole life and given all our blood to achieve this, we can say nothing; especially when as yet we have given only a few drops of sweat and a few spells of fatigue.
Letter of Eugene de Mazenod to Father Tempier, August 22, 1817
REFLECTION
Eternal Father, I offer you whatever I shall do this day and renounce all search for selfish satisfaction. I confess my weakness and place my confidence in your strength and power.
Eternal Word, I offer you all my thoughts and words this day and I reject beforehand all presumption and ambition, all that may be vain and useless. In your light and wisdom only do I place my hope. Holy Spirit of God, to you I consecrate all the affections of my heart. I renounce the disorder of my natural inclinations and desire only that holiness and love which is your gift to us.
Eternal Father, let me seek the fullness of your perfection. Son of God, let me walk only in your light. Holy Spirit of God, fill me with the wisdom of your love.
(Oblate Prayer Book pgs. 18-19)
Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;but whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Mt. 23:11-12)
Encouraged however by a desire to serve you, we placed all our trust in the Lord and our hope has not been in vain, as the outcome has been that the holy Word transmitted to you has received an eager welcome…
But called by my vocation to be the servant and priest of the poor to whose service I would like to be able to devote my whole life, I cannot help being touched when I see the eagerness of the poor to hear my voice
Eugene de Mazenod’s sermon to the poor of Aix en Provence, 1813
REFLECTION
Lord Jesus, when you walked the earth, Your humility obscured your Kingship. Your meekness confused the arrogant.
Teach me to model after your eminence,
To subject my human nature to humility.
Grant me with a natural inclination
To never view myself greater than anyone.
Banish all lingering sparks of self-importance
That could elevate me greater than you.
Let my heart always imitate your humility.
Adapted from https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/prayer-index/humility
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.” (Lk. 6:36-38)
Charity is the pivot on which our whole existence turns.
Letter of Eugene de Mazenod to Fr. Hippolyte Guibert, 29 July 1830, EO VII n 350
REFLECTION
Lord Jesus Christ,
you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father,
and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him.
Show us your face and we will be saved. You are the visible face of the invisible Father,
of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy:
let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified.
Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing,
so that your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed, and restore sight to the blind.
(Pope Francis)
Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God. (2 Tm 1:8)
How happy they are to be able to sacrifice themselves for their brothers whom they are sanctifying, saving, placing in glory, at the price of their lives, like our Divine Master who died for the salvation of people! How admirable they are! But also, how fortunate, these dear martyrs of love! What a beautiful page in the history of our Congregation!
Letter of Eugene de Mazenod to Fr. Bruno Guigues describing the heroic ministry of the Oblates during the cholera epidemic, 1 August 1835, EO VIII n 529
REFLECTION
Lord Jesus, give me the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting my teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes me strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for me. Jesus, give me strength in my weakness. Amen.
Wendy van Eyck
And today the LORD is making this agreement with you: you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you;
and provided you keep all his commandments, he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory above all other nations he has made, and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God, as he promised.
(Dt. 26:17-19)
You are God’s children, the brothers of Jesus Christ, heirs to his eternal kingdom, chosen portion of his inheritance; you are, in the words of St. Peter, a holy nation, you are kings, you are priests, you are in some way gods, You are gods, children of the Most High.
So lift up your spirits, that your defeated souls may breathe, grovel no longer on the ground: You are gods, children of the Most High. (Ps. 81:6).”
Eugene de Mazenod’s sermon to the poor of Aix en Provence, 1813
REFLECTION
Father, I thank You that You can heal broken hearts and bitter memories and damaged self esteem. Thank You that patterns can be erased and reversed. Thank You that You turn nobody’s into somebody’s. Jesus, I ask You to help people to begin seeing themselves today through Your eyes of love.
Adapted from: https://www.reunioncommunity.org/post/2017/11/12/seeing-yourself-as-god-sees-you-seeing-through-god-s-eyes
Go first and be reconciled with your brother. (Mt. 5:24)
This time I admit that we must even redouble our gratitude for the marvels of this beautiful mission of Zicavo: we have to shed tears of joy.
From here. I see you surrounded by all these bloodthirsty men who become like lambs at your call, the daggers falling from their hands: they forgive and embrace each other. Oh how beautiful this is! And this moving response: now that their arms, loaded as they were to kill their enemies, now that these latter no longer existed, it was only right that they be shot off in your honour. Yes, that is superb!
Letter of Eugene de Mazenod to Fr. Etienne Semeria in Corsica, 16 October 1841, EO IX n 741
REFLECTION
Lord, though the human race is divided by dissension and discord, yet we know that by testing us you change our hearts to prepare them for reconciliation.
Even more, by your Spirit you move human hearts that enemies may speak to each other again, adversaries join hands, and peoples seek to meet together.
By the working of your power it comes about, O Lord, that hatred is overcome by love, revenge gives way to forgiveness, and discord is changed to mutual respect.
(Preface for Reconciliation II)
