Establishing Oblate missions outside of France required personnel and funds. The Society for the Propagation of the Faith was generous in giving financial assistance. In order to receive a grant each year, Eugene had to write to them to give a report on the Oblate missionary situation. He obviously stressed all the achievements so as to entice the benefactors to be generous.
Today these letters give us a glimpse of some aspects of the missions that are not always recorded in Eugene’s diary. Even better, when possible, a personal visit by an Oblate to the Propagation offices made a huge difference in the willingness to give a grant.
Dear Sirs,
The Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, of which I am the Superior General, after evangelizing for a number of years after its approbation by the Holy See a large number of dioceses in southern France has undertaken to open foundations abroad. Around two years ago a number of its members left for Canada. There are now seven priests and six lay brothers[1] and in the novitiate they have received young ecclesiastics who wish to join their ministry. The good they have wrought in the diocese of Montreal as well as the surrounding dioceses has been the cause of great wonderment in those areas. While His Excellency the Bishop of Montreal encourages their effort in favor of his sheep among whom they are established, the other bishops also ask them to open houses in their dioceses. They are especially prompted to this effect by the prelates of Upper Canada. Their increase in this country, however, depends very much on the resources to be placed at their disposal.
Letter to the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, 15 June 1843, EO V n 82
Then, to add a personal touch, he wrote:
Divine Providence places me in a position to be grateful for the kindness granted to our missionaries by the Propagation of the Faith…
I assume that you will soon see one of our missionaries from Canada. He will tell you about all the wonders brought about by their ministry. They have already brought back a large number of heretics and the one whom I expect coming to Europe for a few months single-handedly confuted 5 or 6 ministers in a public debate they had had the temerity to promote…
P.S. I forgot to tell you that the two missionaries who were to leave for Canada were held up at the time of embarkation due to illness. They will leave with the person I am waiting for and who should go back in August.
Letter to the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, 3 June 1843, EO V n 81
Father Telmon had come to France to attend the General Chapter in Marseilles and to bring back to Canada three reinforcements for the Oblate mission: Fr. Allard and two deacons: J.-N.Laverlochère and Aug. Alexandre Brunet.
One of Eugene’s greatest joys was to receive news from his Oblates about themselves and their missionary work. The length of time that letters from Canada took was a source of frustration for him, thus making it a special occasion when a letter did arrive.
Since my last letters, my very dear Father Honorat, I have received in the same mail yours of April 14 and that of Father Telmon of the 5th of the same month. This is too much enjoyment in one day… You would not believe what I went through with his letter.
I who am so avid for every detail about your community, your persons and your activities, am obliged to keep my eagerness bottled up and champ at the bit while reading two dull pages only on the subject of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary. I writhed as I watched the paper being consumed without anything said about you. For the love of God, play no more tricks like this on me. Ten lines suffice for anything not related to you.
Letter to Jean Baptiste Honorat, 31 May 1843, EO I n 19
Letters at that time were usually made up of one sheet of paper folded into four pages, with the last half being left for the address to be written on before it was sealed. There was no envelope. This explains Eugene’s frustration when useless things filled up the pages instead of news – added to which was the high cost of the paper and the postage for each sheet.
Young Father Lucien Lagier was 27 years old when he arrived in Canada. He was impressionable and had been unduly influenced by the negativity of Fr. Baudrand. Now that the latter had been removed, Lagier was able to come to terms with his shortcomings and mistakes.
Eugene wrote to Father Honorat, his superior in Canada:
In thus agreeing amongst yourselves, in esteeming each other, in loving one another as you ought, you will inevitably lead the young Father Lagier, who needs it, in the right direction with this good example. Father Telmon can be very useful to him in correcting his compositions which the latter should submit to him with simplicity and gratitude for to give him this family training is to render him great service. I have always thought that this youngster would not be so unruly as he has been in his letters and presumably as he has shown himself in conversation, had he not before his eyes the aberrations of Father Baudrand.
Neglect nothing to put him back on the right path but, to the efforts he makes to renew himself in the spirit of his vocation, let him join a serious application to study. Persuade him that it is not given to everyone to have the talent of Father Telmon and that so far from being humiliated in following his advice, he should count himself fortunate to have so close to him in the family a brother who shares his knowledge with him and who helps him to develop.
Letter to Jean Baptiste Honorat, 31 May 1843, EO I n 19
The caring approach succeeded, and Father Lagier became an accomplished and successful preacher in Canada and in the United States. He certainly managed to rediscover the “spirit of his vocation.”
An important method of maintaining the Congregation faithful to its charism and spirit was by the regular correspondence between Eugene and the local community superiors. This was especially the case with Father Honorat, the Canadian mission superior, and father Aubert in England, who regularly reported on the community life and missionary activities of the Oblates. After their initial interpersonal setbacks a level of community harmony had been reestablished in Canada. Eugene rejoiced.
I hasten to finish so that my letter may leave today, otherwise I will miss the sailing from Liverpool. Adieu then, but let me say before ending how happy I am with the harmony that reigns amongst you. To think of this consoles and helps me bear your absence. Live always thus. Speak to one another with open hearts without fear of displeasure. When you are of one heart, you always take everything in your stride. Adieu.
Letter to Jean Baptiste Honorat, 27 April 1843, EO I n 17
A month later:
It would be difficult for you to imagine the joy which I experienced on your confiding to me that perfect harmony reigns amongst you. In thus agreeing amongst yourselves, in esteeming each other, in loving one another as you ought, you will inevitably lead the young Father Lagier, who needs it, in the right direction with this good example.
Letter to Jean Baptiste Honorat, 31 May 1843, EO I n 19
How much our broken world needs us to take this seriously today!
Eugene as Bishop of the second-largest city of France and Superior General of a growing missionary Congregation, had very little time for himself. These two extracts give an example.
I let myself go, my dear Father Honorat, and wrote an interminable letter to our good Father Telmon. He addressed to me one so amiable in regard to his sentiments and so interesting that I was bound I would not spare myself in responding to all he had communicated. I locked myself in and, deaf to thirty-six thousand double knocks at my door, I pursued this task as if I were alone in the world.
Letter to Jean Baptiste Honorat, 27 April 1843, EO I n 17
To the Bishop of Montreal:
Having wished to give myself time to reply in detail to the kind and touching letter that you have had the kindness to write me, I have found myself obliged to wait until today when, in order to escape from the incessant and daily disturbances at Marseilles, I have come to take refuge in the country. I have been telling myself: as soon as I shall have an hour to myself, I shall devote it to my venerable friend whose excellent letter is ever under my eyes, but this hour of liberty, experience proves, I shall never have in the midst of my immense population as long as I do not change my system. I know it, my door is open too wide and I am too much at the disposition of everyone, whether it be the sick who must be reassured or the religious ceremonies become so numerous in my episcopal city. I say this, Monseigneur, to explain the delay for which my heart has reproached me many times although it is excused of necessity by my rather unique position. At least I feel relieved today in my solitude, as I take up my pen to converse with you. Half a league away from the city, I promise myself that no one will disturb me.
Letter to Ignace Bourget, Bishop of Montreal, 30 May 1843. EO I n 18
Closeness to his people, in Marseilles and in the Oblates, was always paramount for him – a characteristic he has left to his Mazenodian family until today.
Eugene finished quoting the Bishop of Montreal’s letter to him about the Oblates:
“As for the rest, what I have to say to you about it, Bishop, is by no means to complain about it, but solely to bring you up to date about what is happening here.”
Then he refers to that special grace of state which Eugene had as Superior General :
“Because, having the fullness of heavenly gifts necessary for the government of this congregation, you have the grace of state to give spirit and life to each and to all these members. It is with this perspective that I believe it necessary to ask you to insist, in the recommendations that you give to them…”
Then follows a list of recommendations, which he ends with
“Again, if I make these revelations to you, it is only to put you in a state of better exercising over your infants of Canada this efficacious action whose virtue will always be perceived beyond the seas.”
Eugene’s comment:
What an admirable letter! However helpful it may be for me, it fills my soul with the most lively sentiments of gratitude for this holy prelate who went out of his way to write to me.
The Bishop of Montreal’s letter to Eugene, that we have been studying in these entries, pointed out some of the faults of the Oblates that needed attention. The way in which he did this was a lesson in itself. Eugene commented:
What moderation, what gentleness, what charity! With so many topics of dissatisfaction, to not utter a complaint; to even accentuate the works and the virtues of those who show themselves to be so imperfect, so much beneath their holy mission, as he does in the first part of his letter which I have not copied. But also what a lesson in the recommendations that he suggests making to them!
When it came to some of the mistakes, Eugene was disconsolate because he feared that his dreams for the religious life and missIonary success of his sons would be compromised and only lead to failure.
Not one word is false. It’s the undiluted truth. It’s the faithful mirror of a too incontestable reality. I am brokenhearted about it. Here they are convicted of having conducted themselves poorly in everything. Not a single exception to well-merited reproaches. They have all contributed their share to discrediting and compromising themselves as well as the Congregation, about which they give such a poor impression in the new world.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 20 March 1843, EO XXI
His “nightmare” never materialized and the missionaries produced admirable fruits.
What does stand out for me is how Bishop Bourget was able to see the good in every person and their possibilities – and never allowed their faults to eclipse their goodness. Eugene recognized this when he responded to his letter:
What a letter is this to which I am to respond! I bow to the heart which dictated it. No, Monseigneur, I shall never be able to express to you how much it has moved my sensibility or excited my admiration and gratitude. Let me pour out my heart with such simplicity and frankness as can banish all flattery; in each line I admire the generosity of the bishop, the goodness of a father, the trust of a friend. I would wish that those who are the object thereof might always have under their eyes this admirable letter, just as I keep it etched in my soul…
I am happy over the good they are doing in your diocese and the tribute you kindly give them fills me with joy, but this is not enough, I intend that they give you no anxiety or worry and I dare say it will be so.
Letter to Ignace Bourget, Bishop of Montreal, 30 May 1843. EO I n 18
Father Telmon was a man of zeal for the Gospel with a capital “Z” – but until he came to Canada his experience had been of France and he did not understand the protestant churches. Bishop Bourget continues to narrate to Eugene:
“Fr. Telmon, with his passionate manner, reacted unsuitably several times with the best intentions in the world. He unfortunately consented to engage in a public debate with some Protestant ministers. Although he would have floored and beaten them on an even playing field, and there would have resulted a great good therefrom, nevertheless, from other aspects, this debate had some regrettable consequences and there especially resulted therefrom a public impression that he had not been victorious in this battle. The reason for this is that his enemies had the effrontery to sing a victory song and that a good number of Catholics, who were present, did not have sufficient instruction to discern the solidity of his arguments and the futility of those of his adversaries which are always very hollow for people who are not accustomed to controversy.
In the 19th century the Oblates (and the Church in general) were not familiar with the concept of ecumenism and were motivated by the doctrine of “outside of the Church there is no salvation.”
On another occasion, he burned some Bibles and Protestant books, without taking sufficient precaution to conceal his action. As well, it became an affair of state to the point that the periodicals of the United States and of Canada, which are committed to publishing people’s mistakes, seized upon it and tried to establish a spirit against the Catholic missionaries who have, they say, committed the awful sacrilege of profaning the Holy Bible. If this good Father were to consult, a little more, people experienced with the country, he would not expose the faith to being thus compromised and would not put the bishops in a very great predicament.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 20 March 1843, EO XXI
The ecumenical movement entered into Church thinking and practice only in the 20th century, so let us not be too harsh in judging people who acted according to the mentality of their time. Despite all his faults, Pierre Telmon was an amazing missionary who brought many to know Jesus Christ in France, Canada, Eastern USA and Texas – as we shall see later.
The Bishop of Montreal then wrote about the Superior of the missionaries, Father Jean Baptiste Honorat.
“Some of your Fathers have found that their superior does not have the tact necessary in this country where there are many matters to handle carefully, in the unfortunate circumstances wherein we find ourselves.
Yvon Beaudoin explains the “unfortunate circumstances”: “Bishop Bourget is undoubtedly alluding to the insurrection of 1837-1838 and, as a consequence, to the Act of Union of Lower and Upper Canada, voted for by the English parliament in 1840. By this act, the French Canadians lost much of their autonomy in their own province. Fortunately, Lord Elgin, governor general from 1847 to 1854, found the idea of anglicizing the French Canadians to be absurd; he revoked the clause of the prohibition of French in the Act of Union”
The Bishop continued:
He has, as a matter of fact, carried out some imprudent activities whose consequences his heart, upright and simple like the dove, has not permitted him to foresee. They consulted me in order to make sure that it would not be appropriate to request his recall to France. I counselled them to do nothing about it and to rely on Providence, which would arrange everything. I hope that I will not be mistaken in my expectation.
God will not fail to bless all the works of a very holy man such as this Father Honorat. The opinions given to him by me have always been welcomed with respect and I see with consolation that he is on his guard so as not to expose himself to those who take advantage of everything when they want to belittle a work which does not please them.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 20 March 1843, EO XXI
Eugene responded to Bishop Bourget:
Father Honorat is indeed such as you portray him to me. He is an angel of candour and simplicity, excellent religious, fully possessed of the spirit and virtues of his state. Sometimes his manner is a little hard; his voice accentuates this somewhat, but this is only his exterior. Within he is good and will ever be amenable to any good advice your paternal charity will prompt you to give him.
Letter to Ignace Bourget, Bishop of Montreal, 30 May 1843. EO I n 18
Even though we occasionally make many bad judgements and mistakes, God will not fail to bless our good intentions as we stand up and begin again.
As we explore Eugene’s diary entry regarding the situation in Montreal, some important lessons emerge.
But the letter from the Bishop of Montréal contains reflections that are too accurate, he passes a judgement too wise for me to resist transcribing here. After having made the most amiable, the most paternal statements up until the third page, he continues:
“Now, Monsignor, I am going to update you about small troubles which have been noticed among these men of God and where are there none of them? since God sees them in his angels! First, they have not had the advantage of seeing themselves and of living together long enough to develop this sympathy and this cordiality which forms a Cor unum et anima una [ed. Acts 4: 32: One heart and one spirit] of the entire community. The lack of this perfect harmony has been noticed by the priests of the country and even by certain laity. Some have lamented about it and others have made it the object of their joking. Fortunately, things are much better in this account.”
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 20 March 1843, EO XXI
Eugene responded to this situation:
First, in the matter of certain petty and internal troubles, I believe I have put an end to them by recalling Father Baudrand who is a self-opinionated man of a mentality which does not know how to adapt to circumstances. If he had taken more notice of my advice, he would have been immunized against his tendency to judge and appreciate things and persons only according to his own ideas. He would have distrusted his own notions and inexperience and thus would not have had the stupid pretension to blame his superior in front of strangers, still less would he have asserted that his superior was not suitable for the responsibility I had laid on him. He himself has shown that he is unworthy of the mission with which I had honoured him.
I am withdrawing him, quite confident that unity and cordiality will reign in the community when he will no longer be there to perturb it with his pretensions and his complaints. Excuse my error: I did not train this Oblate myself but I had believed he would have a better understanding of the duties imposed on him by his position.
Letter to Ignace Bourget, Bishop of Montreal, 30 May 1843. EO I n 18
Eugene had always insisted on BEING men of God and the necessity of a Christ-centered supportive community as the sine qua non of DOING the missionary work of evangelization successfully. The fumbling of the first community in this regard confirmed Eugene’s wisdom: “be” in order to “do.” How often do we make this mistake when we form a new team for a particular task and fail to get the members to grow in unity, in “being” before they reach out to others in the “doing.”
The first six Oblate missionaries sent to Canada had arrived evidently unprepared for ministry in a new continent and culture. Their experience had been of the church in France and they had worked under the constant guidance of Eugene. Now it had all changed for them: a new country, a totally different cultural environment, and correspondence with Eugene that took months for delivery. It is clear that six far-from-perfect men would make mistakes. We have seen some of this in previous entries.
Eugene wrote in his Diary:
Letter from the bishop of Montréal. I read it with emotion, admiration and gratitude. I am not able to transcribe it because it is not less than eight pages; but it is precious as a document and it gives an exact knowledge of the state of the community in Canada.
He knows all its troubles and he judges them with an entirely paternal moderation. It results no less from his observations that our Fathers have conducted themselves with a rare imprudence from the beginning. They have shown themselves in all their imperfection, not only in the eyes of the bishop, who was inclined to excusing them, but also in the eyes of the clergy and even of the laity.
Eugene could not hide his distress:
It’s pitiful! Dashing in this way every hope, abusing my trust, not attaching any importance to my directions for overcoming themselves, for mutually supporting one another, for standing by those from the outside; instead of this, deceiving themselves and denigrating themselves not at all from the point of view of virtue, but on their character, their knowledge, etc.
He, however, was not blind to the good work that they were achieving.
In spite of this, the good God has blessed their ministry “for the glory of his name” [Ed. Psalm 78:9] and by a continuation of the protection which he deigns to grant to our Congregation.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 20 March 1843, EO XXI
Yet another example in the history of our Mazenodian Family where God uses weak instruments to produce a Gospel harvest for others.
