Eugene meditates ont he Oblate Rule of Life and reacts.<\/p>\n
\nBut for following in the footsteps of such models, a common virtue will not suffice. The Constitutions will make it plain.<\/em> \u201cAnd how should men who want to follow in the footsteps of their divine Master Jesus Christ conduct themselves if they, in their turn, are to win back the many souls who have thrown off his yoke\u201d<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Read attentively and hold fast to what comes next, for it is what your Constitutions require you to be, so weigh each word, engrave the meaning on your heart:<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n
\u201cThey must strive to be saints.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
They must walk courageously along the same paths trodden by so many before them: apostolic labourers for the Gospel who, while carrying out the same ministry to which they themselves now feel called, handed on such splendid examples of virtue.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\u00a0They must wholly renounce themselves, striving solely for the glory of God, the good of the Church, and the growth and salvation of souls.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
They must constantly renew themselves in the spirit of their vocation, living in a state of habitual self-denial and seeking at all times to reach the very summit of perfection.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
They must work unremittingly to become humble, meek, obedient, lovers of poverty and penance, mortified, free from inordinate attachment to the world or to family, men filled with zeal, ready to sacrifice goods, talents, ease, self, even their life, for the love of Jesus Christ, the service of the Church, and the sanctification of their brethren.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
And thus, filled with unbounded confidence in God, they are ready to enter the combat, to fight, even unto death, for the greater glory of his most holy and sublime Name.\u201d<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Can one conceive anything more perfect on the face of the earth? <\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n
Reread this paragraph attentively, and when you have done that re-read it again.<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Retreat notes, October 1831, EO XV n. 163<\/em><\/p>\n
The spirit underlying the vocation of the Mazenodian Family members, each according to their state of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Eugene meditates ont he Oblate Rule of Life and reacts. But for following in the footsteps of such models, a common virtue will not suffice. The Constitutions will make it plain. \u201cAnd how should men who want to follow in … Continue reading