Eugene had come to Rome specifically to ask the Pope for an official recognition and approval of the Oblate Congregation. He had brought all the required documents with him to Rome. Now, in preparation for this meeting with the Pope, he had to draw up an official petition to present to him. It is an important document in the history of our development because is sums up synthetically what we were all about ten years after our foundation. I will present it in the coming days.<\/p>\n
\nMost Holy Father,\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Father de Mazenod, Vicar General of Marseilles, prostrate at the feet of Your Holiness, has the honour of informing you that since 1815, after the Sovereign Pontiff Pius VII had made known his desire that missions be preached in France to the people who have been disorientated by the Revolution, he saw it as a duty to dedicate himself, with several chosen companions, to this holy ministry in the Diocese of Aix en Provence.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Petition for approbation to Pope Leo XII, 8 December 1825, EO XIII n.48<\/em><\/p>\n
For Eugene, our existence was as a direct response to the call of the Church to serve those who had been distanced from God as a result of the Revolution, and who were the most abandoned in the ministry of the local church.<\/p>\n
He is stressing that the founding of the Oblates was not his personal initiative, but a response to the call of God as expressed through the leader of the Church. It is the central idea that he expresses emotively in the Preface to the Rule:<\/p>\n
\nThe Church, that glorious inheritance purchased by Christ the Savior at the cost of his own blood, has in our days been cruelly ravaged. The beloved spouse of God’s only begotten Son is torn with anguish as she mourns the shameful defection of the children she herself bore\u2026 Faced with such a deplorable situation, the Church earnestly appeals to the ministers whom she herself enrolled in the cause of her divine Spouse, to do all in their power, by word and example, to rekindle the flame of faith that has all but died in the hearts of so many of her children.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Preface of the CC&RR<\/em><\/p>\n
It is a conviction echoed in the very first Constitution of the Oblate Rule of Life today:<\/p>\n
The call of Jesus Christ, heard within the Church through people’s need for salvation, draws us together as Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.<\/em><\/p>\n
CC&RR, Constitution 1<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can be committed to Church but not committed to Christ, but you cannot be committed to Christ and not committed to church.\u201d \u00a0 Joel Osteen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Eugene had come to Rome specifically to ask the Pope for an official recognition and approval of the Oblate Congregation. He had brought all the required documents with him to Rome. Now, in preparation for this meeting with the Pope, … Continue reading