The Missionary Oblates had arrived in the east of Canada in 1841. Now, five years later, they were invited to establish themselves in the west coast of North America. Eugene de Mazenod wrote to an Oblate in France:

Bishop Blanchet, Bishop of Walla Walla, brother of the Archbishop of Oregon, wants to entrust his interesting mission to our Congregation; he wants the Fathers of our Society to work with him to extend the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in the regions entrusted to his care. By this preferential choice, the work of the Congregation will extend from sea to sea, and by spreading out we will range from Canada to the United States.

Letter to Fr. Pascal Ricard, 8 January 1847. EO I n 74

REFLECTION

“Dear brothers and sisters, I continue to dream of a completely missionary Church, and a new era of missionary activity among Christian communities… Indeed, would that all of us in the Church were what we already are by virtue of baptism: prophets, witnesses, missionaries of the Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to the ends of the earth!” (Pope Francis 2022)

How can I be a witness today in my ordinary everyday life?

Father Adrien Telmon’s missionary zeal in caring for others was indefatigable, but at a price. He had eventually fallen ill and needed to be cared for by the Grey Sisters in Ottawa. Eugene’s letter of gratitude to them for their care is filled with the plea to make Fr. Telmon see the foolishness of his endless activity which affected his health.

“Would to God, my dear Sisters, you had as much power to dissuade this Father from throwing himself into a whirl of activities as you have charity to cure his illness… Tell him that this is not willed by God and consequently no one in the world can demand him to ruin his precious health.”

Letter to the Grey Nuns of the hospital of Bytown, 30 July 1846, EO I n 68

REFLECTION:

“Love begins by taking care of the closest ones – the ones at home.” Saint Mother Teresa

Loving God, may the care I take of myself be motivated on my being there for others.

Father Adrien Telmon, one of the Oblate pioneers in Canada, was a whirlwind of activity! Highly talented, creative and impulsive, he zealously threw himself into countless missionary projects in France, and now in Canada. Eugene was concerned for his welfare.

I come back to your health. I see with deep sorrow that it is considerably weakened by the excess of work you have taken upon yourself. You have never known how to be moderate, my dear child. Yet you know the value I set on your existence and all I hope from your zeal and intelligence. Why make yourself incapable of acting for lack of measuring your strength?

Eugene de Mazenod to Fr. Adrien Telmon in Canada

REFLECTION

“If you don’t take a Sabbath, something is wrong. You’re doing too much, you’re being too much in charge. You’ve got to quit, one day a week, and just watch what God is doing when you’re not doing anything.”  (Eugene H. Peterson)

Lord, in our zeal to do good, help us to avoid burnout by listening to our bodies.

For more details please see: https://ost.edu/event/enlarging-the-tent/ 

A BLESSED CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES

There will be a pause  in these reflections until Monday January 23.

One of the privileged moments of prayer for Eugene was to be able to unite himself with those he loved in the presence of God. In our Oblate tradition we have come to know this exercise as “oraison.” As a seminarian in Paris he wrote to his mother one Christmas morning describing how united he had been with her during Midnight Mass, despite the distance that separated them.

Dearest Mother, do you really think that I was not beside you last night? How could I fail, meditating as I was on the holy Mother of God, who had just been filled with consolation on giving the world its Saviour, and at the same time had to experience so vividly the poverty, weakness and misery to which she saw her Divine Master reduced for love of men, how could these tender sentiments fail to draw me close to you?
Indeed yes, darling mother, we spent the night together at the foot of the altar, which for me represented the crib in Bethlehem; together we offered our gifts to our Savior and asked him to come to birth in our hearts and strengthen us in all that is weak, etc.
You know my heart all too well, since it was formed from your own, so you will have a very clear understanding that it is as active and goes through the same feelings as your own.

Letter to his mother, 25 December 1809, EO XIV n 37

Who are the people I want to unite myself with before the crib in Bethlehem this year?

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord… the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.

Lk 1:46 – 50

How consoling it is to see him rise triumphant over death and hell, and what gratitude must fill our hearts at the thought that this good Master has really willed to make us sharers in his resurrection, destroying the sin that is in us and giving us a new life.

Letter to his mother, 4 April 1809, EO XIV n 50

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Elizabeth said: “For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

Lc 1:44-45

I am not a prophet, yet I have always been a man of desires and some of them have been heard and fulfilled. May those I address to God for you, my dear children, draw upon you every heavenly blessing and fill your souls with graces and consolations.

Letter to the first Oblates leaving for Canada, 9 October 1841, EO I n 9

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

And coming to her, the angel said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.

…Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Lk 1:29-31;38

We need to have some courage and confidence in God who shows us the road and will not abandon us when we act in his name and for his glory.

Letter to Fr Bruno Guigues in Canada, 5 December 1844, EO I n 50