Jourdan never recovered from the mental anguish he suffered from and died on 20 April 1823, a few months after his oblation. He was thus the first Oblate to die in the Society.<\/p>\n
Father Court\u00e8s, who was his superior at the time at Aix, wrote these few lines, the only ones we have on the circumstances surrounding his death: \u201c[Father Jourdan\u2019s] personality was gentle, shy and tended toward scrupulosity.\u201d Father de Mazenod had written several letters to him from Paris \u201cto bring reassurance to a conscience that was totally disoriented. The good advice offered was all in vain. The illness was making alarming progress. The person who at the time was in charge of the house at Aix, too inexperienced to tell the difference between a question of morality finding its source in mere scrupulosity and that which might arise from a mental aberration, never thought of adopting extreme measures until too late.\u201d Bourrelier was at his bedside day and night. \u201cOne moment of inattention on the custodian\u2019s part produced consequences forever regrettable. Finally, the wretched sick man, having exhausted his moral and physical strength, died on a Sunday. Father Jourdan had the makings of a man fit for community life. Gentle and humble, he would for a long time have edified the Society by his regularity and his obedience, if his scrupulosity, too long overlooked, had not damaged his brain and destroyed a life still so young.\u201d\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n Quoted by Yvon Beaudoin in ” Jourdan, Jacques Antoine” in Oblate Historical Dictionary, Volume 1.<\/em><\/p>\n Eugene wrote to all the Oblates to re-assure them:<\/p>\n Letter to Father Sumien, 2 May 1823, EO VI n 103<\/em><\/p>\n Three years later, reflecting on this event, Eugene was to write to Henri Tempier :<\/p>\n Letter to Henri Tempier, 24 May 1826, EO VII n 242<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFaith draws the poison from every grief, takes the sting from every loss, and quenches the fire of every pain; and only faith can do it.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Josiah Gilbert Holland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jourdan never recovered from the mental anguish he suffered from and died on 20 April 1823, a few months after his oblation. He was thus the first Oblate to die in the Society. Father Court\u00e8s, who was his superior at … Continue reading \n
What shall I say to you about the misfortune which has brought consternation to us all? I am dumbfounded and can scarcely believe it but I do not share your fears about the salvation of his soul. I finished yesterday in a most confident mood the five Masses that our Rules prescribe and, as our other Fathers will have done as much, I hope that the good God will have delivered him from purgatory and that he is enjoying at this moment the glory of heaven. <\/strong><\/h5>\n
His was a very beautiful soul. Who knows? Perhaps this poor brother had never sinned mortally. Oh! I repeat, I have the greatest confidence that he is saved.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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We could count on our Jourdan who was very saintly, and whose death was of a kind that could not be imputed to his will.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n