Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

In the search for funds to maintain the foreign missions in Canada, Eugene wrote to the Propagation of the Faith describing the latest missionary outreach of the Oblates.

I wish to avail myself of this occasion to tell you something about the importance and the needs of the foundation recently opened by our Congregation at Bytown in the diocese of Kingston, as well as the one to be opened next spring in the Hudson Bay district. Besides the service rendered to the Catholics entrusted to their care in the city itself and to those of the other parishes where they go to preach missions, the fathers in the Bytown community have also been instructed to bring spiritual assistance to the men working in the lumber camps.

There are thousands of these lumberjacks in small groups spread throughout the forest where they spend the summer season felling trees. Up to now bereft of the comfort of religion, they have abandoned themselves to all kinds of excesses and became the scourges of the parishes where they returned after their work.

In order to prevent such a great evil, the bishop of the Diocese wanted the Missionaries of Bytown to be assigned to visit these various lumber camps to provide the comfort of their ministry to all those gathered there.

Letter to the Council of the Propagation of the Faith, 23 December 1844, EO V n 90

“From the time of his appointment as Bishop of Marseilles in 1837, he began to talk about the necessity of a new cathedral worthy of a great city. In the course of his trip to Paris in November and December of 1837 to swear allegiance to the king, as bishop of Marseilles, he told the king and the minister of Public Worship that he would need substantial help from the state to carry out this project. He requested three million francs from the ministry. The ministry responded by saying this was too much. The bishop replied that a city like Marseilles which brought in thirty two million francs from its customs fees alone richly deserved three million francs to build a monument which, in the eyes of everyone, it could not do without. (See Diary, December 16, 1837) From 1837 to 1860, Bishop de Mazenod wrote over one hundred letters to the mayor, to the prefect and to the ministers. The prefect of Bouches-des-Rhônes was in favour of the project. Hesitant at first, the mayor and the municipal council gave their consent on the condition that they would not have to contribute anything. In 1844, the bishop began to lose hope.” (See: https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/marseilles-cathedral/)

When one of the younger sons of the French King passed through Marseilles, Bishop Eugene invited him to Mass at the Cathedral. He described their arrival in his Diary and how he used the occasion to stress the need for a new and large cathedral

I received their Royal Highnesses at the door of the church, attired in my cappa magna, accompanied by the chapter and the Major Seminary. After having offered holy water, I addressed this discourse to them:

            “In coming today into this temple to fulfill here at the feet of the holy altars a duty of religion, your Royal Highnesses will be struck at seeing that the first church of a large city is so unworthy of its purpose.

A few years earlier the eldest son of the King had come to Marseilles and had responded to Eugene’s plea for this project.

” He consented to make himself, as soon as possible, as he himself told us, the advocate of a cause which had as its object the procurement from the government of the construction of a new cathedral. Unequivocal evidence attests how much he became attached to this idea, which his name still patronizes, and which I dare recommend to the fraternal piety which grieves so many defunct qualities and so many vanished hopes.

And addressing the princess:

“And you, Madame, whose faith, which in your Royal Highness calls to mind the daughter of blessed Louis, manifests itself by acts of edification which our populace enjoys honoring, consent also to take interest in the very legitimate desires of this Christian populace. It would give itself over to a wonderful hope, if your first steps on the soil of France were marked by such a patronage, and it would continuingly thereafter happily applaud the memory of your arrival among us, if the new church were one day raised within our walls as a sacred monument of your union with the prince your husband, and of your holy destinies in the bosom of the royal family.”

            The prince responded, in a few words, that he would not forget anything for complying with my wishes. He asked me for the paper on which was written my discourse, etc. I then reminded him about the good dispositions of the king, and I requested him to take a look at this miserable building

Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 8 December 1844, EO XXI

Eugene’s insistence eventually did pay off and he was able to begin the building project.

Reviewing the situation in Canada with the new Oblate superior, Eugene is torn between all the invitations coming to the Oblates to minister in different dioceses of Canada – so great was the need for priests – and the small number of Oblates available. The abandoned territory of Red River had just been offered to them, opening up a ministry in the area of Western Canada up to Hudson Bay and many indigenous groups.

You can well believe my heart bleeds when I hear you speak of all the good that is in prospect and which you cannot undertake because of lack of personnel…

We are a very small family which has exhausted itself by pitching its tents in America. Everything suffers in Europe and I am accused daily of having been too generous in making sacrifices so great in number and quality. I am not inclined to repent of this although I feel our impoverishment strongly.

Despite the lack of personnel, Eugene sees this invitation to minister to the “most abandoned” as providential:

Providence will come to our help where you are…  I’ll go further: judging the importance of the mission proposed by the Bishop of Juliopolis and by what you tell me about the representations of this Prelate, and mindful of the obligations we have towards him, my decision is that you ought to undertake it with the means you have in your power. It will not be a proper establishment at first and instead of three persons, you will only send him two for part of the year if you cannot do otherwise, but you cannot risk the great setback that you fear of seeing this mission taken away from you and of losing the opportunity, as you argue very well and rightly, of evangelizing the whole of North America by serving in the diocese of Quebec, Montreal, Kingston and Red River.

Believing that this invitation was from God, Eugene expressed his constant experience that God always showed the way ahead to the missionaries.

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. Everywhere we have established ourselves we have made a feeble start. The time has not yet come to do otherwise. So, I repeat, without hesitation, respond to the wish of the Bishop of Juliopolis and begin this work even with only two Oblates while awaiting others from the goodness of God.

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

The writings of Eugene de Mazenod that I present each day reflect the many tasks he was involved in: Superior General of the Oblates in France and Canada, the one responsible for the personnel, mission, and community life of all the Oblates and at the same time, bishop of the second largest diocese of France.

Separated from his missionaries in Canada by the Atlantic Ocean, he was particularly concerned to maintain the God-given spirit and mission of the Oblates whom God had led him to found. Faithfulness to this charism would ensure missionary success. It is clear in this letter to Father Guigues, the new superior of the Canada mission.

Nothing you might tell me could bring me more pleasure than the witness you have rendered to the good dispositions and virtues of all our Fathers. I pray God that he keep them in this attitude of mind that you have recognized in them. It will enable them to do wonders everywhere they are sent.

The first superior had been Fr Honorat, who had done his best to establish the new mission, but who had suffered from many difficulties and obstacles.

I expected nothing less of Father Honorat than the good example he is giving. No one has ever rendered more justice than I to his religious virtues. The burden that I was obliged to impose upon him was too heavy for his shoulders. Now he is relieved. In his new post, he will do well. It should be the same with all the others.

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

The Oblates had taken responsibility for the ministry of the Marian shrine of Notre Dame de Lumières (Our Lady of the Lights) in 1837. As a shrine it was a center of permanent mission from which the Oblates went to the surorunding villages to preach parish missions.

You know that I acquired the former property of the Carmelites at N.D. de Lumières in order to station at the shrine some devoted priests who work and serve in the Avignon diocese. Each day I was more pleased to have made this sacrifice since everyone assures me – and you have told me the same thing yourself – that those good priests are fulfilling their ministry worthily and are doing a great deal of good at Lumières where they live, and  in the parishes to which they are invited.

The Mayor of the town was an anti-Catholic Freemason and was determined to cause difficulties for the missionaries. Eugene thus wrote to an influential Catholic of the area to ask him to intervene.

But now the Mayor of Goult is troubling me regarding the possession of my property by bringing up claims contrary to what I believe to be my rights. Here I have consulted distinguished legal advisers who recognized my titles to be legitimate and are sure that, if the Mayor persists in his claims, he would lose his suit. However, I must admit, my dear Marquis, that whatever my convictions might be on this matter, I feel I am extremely reluctant to stake the extreme measure of pleading my cause against the very commune where is located the residence of these kind priests who are peaceful by character as well as by vocation. Thus I confidently approach you to use your good standing with the Prefect and have him dissuade this troublesome Mayor from forcing me to defend my rights before the courts; to avoid this trouble, I would be on my part willing to make some sacrifices.

Letter to the Marquis de Cambis, 4 December 1844, EO XIII n 103

The good ministry of the Oblate community continues to this day in the shrine and surroundings.

The Oblates had been preaching a parish mission in a village of Provence and were experiencing hardships and lack of success. Eugene commented in his diary:

Letter from Fr. Courtès. He gives me the worst news about the mission of Bargemon. Never anything more hopeless. One ought to conclude from it that this poor Courtès is unfortunate on mission. Nevertheless, this is to lose courage a little quickly.

Despite the setback, Eugene recalls his experience that God produces results in every parish mission.

Which is the mission where one does not see those who appeared the most distant at the beginning return to God? One must not, therefore, appear beaten nor to be disposed to cede the field of battle… It is therefore necessary to hand over this work purely and simply to the care of God. Let us wait with patience and resignation.

Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 16 November 1844, EO XXI

When we are faced with difficulties, let us entrust ourselves simply to the care of God.

Father Hippolyte Courtès was one of the first Oblates and Eugene had much confidence in him and in his preaching abilities. For this reason, he sent some of the young Oblates to live in his community in Aix en Provence so as to benefit from his talents and experience.

Father Rey is part of your community. I recommend that you hold him to working at his desk; demand absolutely that he compose, that he write out his instructions, and that you be the one responsible for examining and correcting what he writes.

The Good Lord did not give you your talents for your own use only; but in calling you to the Congregation, he wished you to use these talents for the good of the whole family, and especially for those whom I place, while they are young, close to you so that they may be formed in your school…

I do not claim that you will finally make a great orator of Father Rey; others may have been more gifted and might have profited more from your help, but it is always important to have him produce all he can.

Letter to Fr Hippolyte Courtès, 5 November 1844, EO X n 861

We are reminded of the Gospel parable of the talents and of Paul’s image of the body with its many parts in I Corinthians 12: God gives us talents to be used for the benefit of others. In the case of each member of the Mazenodian Family, it is an invitation to a greater generosity in sharing our knowledge and love of the Savior in our daily lives.

Fr Etienne Semeria was a successful mission preacher in Corsica, (see: https://www.eugenedemazenod.net/?p=4685) and Eugene intended to recall him to Marseilles to look after the large number of Italian dockworkers in the city. “Shortly after his arrival in Marseilles as vicar general of the diocese in 1823, Father de Mazenod noticed that many Italian immigrants were deprived of spiritual help because of a lack of priests to minister to them in their own language. He resolved to take this matter in hand and gathered them in the church at Le Calvaire which, shortly before, had been entrusted to the Missionaries of Provence. He then put in charge of this work the Oblates of Italian origin.”(https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/marseilles-ministry-italians/)

Providence is opening up a new field for your zeal. I hope that the mission at Marseilles to your countrymen will make up for what you have not been able to do elsewhere.

… Nothing is more moving than your mission at Guagno. That will be an edifying page for our successors in the history of our missions. Your mission of Suarella, like all the others, has been blessed by the Lord, thanks be to Him.

Letter to Fr. Etienne Semeria, 25 October 1844, EO X n 860

It was because of his successes in parish missions on the island that the local Bishop fought against Fr. Semeria’s move, and thus he never returned to Marseilles for the Italian ministry. God had other plans for him in Asia.

Father Honorat had not had an easy time as the founder and superior of the first Oblates in Canada. Despite this, Eugene acknowledged the admiration he had for this dedicated Oblate

…I perceive quite well in you the religious man imbued with the spirit of his calling who only wills and seeks the glory of God, the greater good of souls, the honour and prosperity of our dear Congregation. For the rest, my dear Father Honorat, you can be sure that I expected nothing less of you, so it is not surprise which prompts my satisfaction and my joy. On the contrary, I am confirmed in my foresight which was founded on the knowledge I had of your principles and your sentiments.

The time had come for Fr Honorat to establish a new Oblate community and mission in Saguenay among the migrant woodcutters and then to the First Nations People.

So we now see you, dear Father Honorat, in charge of the new establishment which divine Providence has obtained for us. I applauded the choice that Father Visitor made of you for this delicate mission. God in his goodness for the like of you who devote themselves in His service will bless your task. All that I recommend is that you settle down there on good foundations. The Rule! Keep strictly to the Rule, without excepting anyone under any pretext whatever.

Letter for Fr. Jean Baptiste Honorat, 20 October 1844, EO I n 49

In the nine years in which he stayed there, Fr Honorat became a champion of social justice issues in defense of the most abandoned – a dedication that did not endear him to the civil and business authorities.

(See: https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/saint-alexis-saguenay-1844-1853/ )

Young Father Bermond gave Eugene many headaches as a result of his critical attitude and spirit of independence. In 1844 he had just been given an obedience to move to a new community in another part of France and had refused to move because he did not like the climate. Eugene gently told him “to grow up!”

I pray the good Lord withdraw you from dreams of childhood and give you the heart of a man and especially of a religious man. You will be the happier for it and much more useful.

Letter to Father Francois-Xavier Bermond, 19 October 1844, EO X n 859

We will have the opportunity to encounter him again in future writings of the Founder. Despite his shortcomings, he was a capable missionary who served the poor faithfully for 55 years of Oblate life in France and in Canada “with the heart of a man.” (See: https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/bermond-francois-xavier/ )