On the anniversary of Father Marcou\u2019s death, Eugene\u2019s reminiscences led him to recall his exemplary last days.<\/p>\n
\nFr. Marcou lived only for a few more months, gradually fading away and resigned to being the victim who made his sacrifice to God.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
My sorrow was so great at losing such a precious man and was shared by all our confreres, that I suggested trying to tempt the good Lord to work some sort of miracle to save him and at the same time contribute to the cause of canonization of the holy person whom we would invoke. I brought the community together and having recommended our intention to the intercession of Blessed Alphonsus de Ligouri we went from the chapel to the sick room to arouse his faith. I then took a tiny piece of the relic of the Blessed which I had brought back from Rome and had the sick man swallow it in a spoonful of water. But the Lord had other plans. He wished to reward his servant prematurely. The moment approached when he was to take possession of the glory of heaven.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
I had the sick man brought to our country house at St-Just where we thought he would be better. On the day when we were celebrating the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, I was assisting my uncle at the pontifical ceremony when I was told that the frequent lapses into the unconscious were a sign that the end was near. I left the altar to go in haste to St-Just and found the good priest weak enough to administer the holy Viaticum to him without delay and he received it with his usual fervor. I also gave him Extreme Unction. The patient revived somewhat but I was all too aware that the end was near. I went to visit him every day during that last week of his holy life.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
On the 20th of the month, feast of St. Bernard I did not leave his bedside. I remained there to inspire good thoughts and to suggest feelings appropriate to his condition. A few words were sufficient to set his heart aflame and he had to be made to keep silence when he wanted to express the consolation and happiness he felt, in a loud voice. “Oh how happy I am to die in the Congregation!” he would say, remembering the blessings that God had given him.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
His only suffering was to witness my sorrow which I could disguise only with difficulty. He was too well aware of the tender affection I had for him since his childhood not to understand the torture I felt and so he frequently spoke tenderly to me which increased my suffering and tore at my heart. His father was present but all his thoughts focussed on supernatural things. When his father came near to speak some words of hope in his own way, the good priest responded only by smiling at him and showing him the crucifix.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
While I was speaking to him and while his sweet smile and his invocations let me know how my words were penetrating his heart, suddenly he fixed his eyes on high and raised his arms as if to let me know where he was about to go. He cried out with an exclamation of joy which I am unable to describe but which I still clearly remember. He cried: “beautiful heaven” and breathed his last, leaving me convinced that God had come to reveal to him the place he was to occupy. That was the way in which this perfect model of Christian charity and apostolic zeal ceased to live here below and his memory must live with us alongside that of Suzanne, Arnoux, etc.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Diary of 20 August 1838, E.O. XIX<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die\u2026 the world cries and you rejoice.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Native American saying<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the anniversary of Father Marcou\u2019s death, Eugene\u2019s reminiscences led him to recall his exemplary last days. Fr. Marcou lived only for a few more months, gradually fading away and resigned to being the victim who made his sacrifice to … Continue reading