The mission in the village of Ventabren, 10 miles from Aix, was the first of the 1824 parish missions and lasted from January 11 to February 8. Eugene was able to participate for the first ten days.<\/p>\n
Tempier must have suggested that Eugene do some other task while he was there, and Eugene was irritated:<\/p>\n
\nThe proposal that I take on at Ventabren anything else but the mission is an idle thought. Have you forgotten what a mission is?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Letter to Henri Tempier, 10 January 1824, EO VI n. 124<\/em><\/p>\n
I quote these two lines because they are so indicative of the emotive personality of Eugene. He was immediate in expressing his reactions. While he was generally warm, loving and expansive in his dealings with others, there was also the aspect of sharp reactions at times, like this caustic outburst: \u201cHave you forgotten what a mission is?\u201d<\/p>\n
When this happened and he calmed down and realized that he had hurt the person he was distressed and went out of his way to make amends. Thereafter he forgot about the incident and carried on with life without harboring grudges.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven.”<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thomas Fuller<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The mission in the village of Ventabren, 10 miles from Aix, was the first of the 1824 parish missions and lasted from January 11 to February 8. Eugene was able to participate for the first ten days. Tempier must have … Continue reading