Poor Father Mille! He had become an Oblate to be a missionary – yet within weeks of his priestly ordination, circumstance had made it inevitable that he be appointed superior of the seminary in Switzerland. At the age of 25 his missionary heart could not resist the temptation to do ministry outside of the scholasticate, much to Eugene\u2019s displeasure because he was neglecting the seminarians.<\/p>\n
\nWhile I am on the subject, I will say a word in passing about your zealous works during the Forty Hours. Do you want to know the conclusion that I have come to from your account? It is that you are as good a missionary as you are a poor superior.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\u2026 Does conscience require one to forsake one\u2019s special task to embrace another, however better it be in appearance?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Eugene had explicitly forbidden him to get over-involved outside of the scholasticate, but Father Mille\u2019s missionary ears had \u201cselective hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWhat can one say of your facility in interpreting your superior\u2019s intentions in a sense exactly contrary to his precise words and to his perfectly well-known intention – and he certainlyhas <\/em>an intention! No my dear friend, that is not the way to go about things. It is a poor concept of obedience to be always doing the opposite of what is prescribed.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
You cut a dash, you earn men\u2019s praises, you may even do some good, but you fail to do your duty – and what profit can one expect in such circumstances from even the most brilliant of deeds? It really hurts me to make these observations to you, but they are the fruit of meditation in the Lord\u2019s presence\u2026As a simple missionary everything you did would have been admirable provided it were done under obedience.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
But as superior charged with the care of the special ones of our family and with the duty of caring for it like the apple of your eye, you have not done well.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Letter to Jean-Baptiste Mille, 21 April 1832, EO VIII n 420<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Poor Father Mille! He had become an Oblate to be a missionary – yet within weeks of his priestly ordination, circumstance had made it inevitable that he be appointed superior of the seminary in Switzerland. At the age of 25 … Continue reading