Tag Archives: preaching

EUGENE AS MISSION PREACHER: COMMUNICATING HIS OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Marius Suzanne describes Eugene’s preaching on Good Friday of 1820 during the Aix mission. He who had been captivated as a young man by Jesus the Saviour on that Good Friday more than twenty years before, truly showed himself to … Continue reading

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EUGENE AS MISSION PREACHER: HIS SECRET OF SUCCESS WAS HIS OWN INTIMATE EXPERIENCE OF GOD

Make it evident that we are penetrated with what we teach, and that we have begun to practice, before attempting to instruct others 1818 Rule Part 1, chapter 3, §1 That Eugene was preaching from his own intimate experience and … Continue reading

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EUGENE AS MISSION PREACHER: HIS AIM WAS TO LEAD OTHERS TO THE LOVE OF GOD

My chief occupation will be to love him, my chief concern to make him loved. To this I will bend all my efforts, time, strength, and when after much toil I have succeeded in winning but a single act of … Continue reading

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EUGENE AS MISSION PREACHER: A SIMPLE STYLE OF COMMUNICATION

Eugene’s biographer, Rey, describes the 1826 jubilee preaching at the Calvaire in Marseilles, which lasted twenty one days (REY, Histoire I, p. 419-420). Eugene preached on the Our Father each morning in Provencal, and then later in the day in … Continue reading

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PARISH MISSIONS: NEVER LOSE ANY POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO INSTRUCT THE PEOPLE

No opportunities were neglected to instruct. At some of the Sunday Masses one of the missionaries in the pulpit prayed aloud in the style of a meditation following the priest’s actions. Every occasion was used to catechise – in this … Continue reading

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PARISH MISSIONS: AIMING AT CONVERSION BASED ON THE INSTRUCTION RECEIVED

It is not enough to assemble a lot of people in the church, one must instruct them, one must move them in a manner that they will be converted. Letter to Jean-Baptiste Honorat, 27 January 1824 in O.W. VI n. … Continue reading

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MISSION PREACHING: CONVINCE THE PEOPLE TO LEAVE THEIR WARM BEDS TO COME TO CHURCH

We must seek only to instruct the faithful, to be attentive to the needs of the greater part of the audience, and we must not be content to break the bread of the Word of God for them, but also … Continue reading

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MISSION PREACHING: AN INTENSE COURSE OF ADULT CATECHESIS

The instructions were generally held twice a day: in the morning and in the evening. In the morning they began with a prayer and were followed by Mass, and they were usually referred to as “conferences.” The morning topics were … Continue reading

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PARISH MISSIONS: INSIST ON MAKING JESUS CHRIST KNOWN AND LOVED

The instruction of the missionaries did not stop at giving people academic knowledge about the catechism and who Jesus was, but Eugene insisted that they were to teach them that Jesus was their Saviour and aimed at inviting them to … Continue reading

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PARISH MISSIONS: PREACHING THAT AIMS ONLY AT INSTRUCTING

According to Eugene’s Rule of 1818, the missionaries had to seek “only to instruct the faithful” and not dazzle them with eloquent speech. They had to be content not only “to break the bread of the Word for them, but … Continue reading

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