It was obvious to Eugene that to ensure the future of the Oblates, he needed to approach the Pope to be officially recognized as a religious congregation in the Church. It took him a long time to take the first step to do this.<\/p>\n
\nI leave tomorrow for Rome. I shall not forget you at the tomb of the holy apostles. I implore you not to forget me in your prayers during this journey which I am undertaking out of love for the Society, but reluctantly.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Letter to Pierre Mie, 25 October 1825, EO VI n. 202<\/em><\/p>\n
The historian, Leflon, gives us some background. Why a man who was so prompt to adopt drastic measures and to ride roughshod over obstacles should have vacillated and hesitated so long, is explained by Jeancard who was witness and privy to the Founder’s perplexities:<\/p>\n
I sometimes heard him murmur what he had often told himself; that he was not important enough to be recognized by the Church as the founder of a religious order; that it would be presumptuous on his part if he were to go to Rome and request that title from the Sovereign Pontiff, or at least a decision implying that title; that the Society he had founded was but a weak creation which did not merit such high approval and that it could never be ranked among the Church’s religious institutes, the majority of whose founders were famous men of history and great saints raised to the altars of the Church\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n
On the other hand, he felt that if he took steps with the Holy See and then failed, such a setback, which would certainly become public knowledge, would bring discredit upon his Society; that if, instead of an outright approval, he was given only praise and encouragement, and this seemed very likely, the question of raising the Society to the rank of a religious congregation, equal to those recognized and authorized by the Church, would be pre-judged in a way which, even if it were only slow, would still be of a kind to blight any future hopes for authorization since the authorization would be postponed indefinitely.<\/em><\/p>\n
Bishop Jeancard, M\u00e9langes historiques sur la Congr\u00e9gation des Oblats de Marie Immacul\u00e9e, pp. 227-28<\/em><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cA real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0 Tony Robbins<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was obvious to Eugene that to ensure the future of the Oblates, he needed to approach the Pope to be officially recognized as a religious congregation in the Church. It took him a long time to take the first … Continue reading