When faced with difficult situations, Eugene turned immediately to Jesus in prayer. He speaks of this gesture in terms of instinctively turning to a friend.<\/p>\n
\nI admit, my dear good Guibert, your letter had deeply affected me. This was to the point that I did not have fortitude enough to write to you and that I needed to pour my heart into the bosom of our mutual Friend, the only confidant I could choose in this anguish<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Letter to Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert, 26 June 1823, EO VI n. 109<\/em><\/p>\n
Writing to one of the member of his missionary family, he\u00a0is able to speak\u00a0of \u201cour mutual friend\u201d \u2013 the bond that unites all Oblates is that with Jesus Christ, whom we are all invited to consider as our common friend.<\/p>\n
Based on this experience of our Founder, our Rule of Life tells us:<\/p>\n
We achieve unity in our life only in and through Jesus Christ. Our ministry involves us in a variety of tasks, yet each act in life is an occasion for personal encounter with the Lord, who through us gives himself to others and through others gives himself to us.<\/em><\/p>\n
CC&RR, Constitution 31<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI am born for God only. Christ is nearer to me than father, or mother, or sister – a near relation, a more affectionate Friend; and I rejoice to follow Him, and to love Him. Blessed Jesus! You are all I want – a forerunner to me in all I ever shall go through as a Christian, a minister, or a missionary<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Henry Martyn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When faced with difficult situations, Eugene turned immediately to Jesus in prayer. He speaks of this gesture in terms of instinctively turning to a friend. I admit, my dear good Guibert, your letter had deeply affected me. This was to … Continue reading