As a person passionately in love with Jesus the Savior, it is no surprise that Eugene had a strong attachment to the devotion to the Sacred Heart. In 1819 he had made the Oblate Church of the Mission the center for this devotion in Aix. When he moved to Marseilles, he tried to return to Aix every month to be with the Oblate community on first Fridays.<\/p>\n
\n… You know quite well what a pleasure it would be for me to spend the Feast of the Sacred Heart with you. But various reasons oblige me to be absent. In the first place a pastoral visitation has been fixed for the vigil and the day after ….<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Letter to Hippolyte Court\u00e8s, 5 June 1833, EO VIII n 446<\/em><\/p>\n
Now that he was a bishop, it appears that he was to preside at the procession through the city on the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Pastoral commitments in Marseilles did not make this possible.<\/p>\n
Ren\u00e9 Motte writes about how Eugene instilled a sense of the importance of the love of Jesus Christ in others.<\/p>\n
Eugene is quoted as saying to Father Timon-David:<\/p>\n
\nThere is no need for me to recommend to you to develop in your young people a thorough understanding that in adoring Our Lord\u2019s Sacred Heart, they should not so much focus their attention on this sacred object of their love as they should extend it to the living person of Jesus Christ who is present.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Blessed Joseph Gerard\u2019s reaction to the news of Eugene\u2019s last illness is one of many illustrations of this devotion when he wrote: \u201cI have just learnt that your Lordship has fallen seriously ill [\u2026] We remember with edification your great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and we are going to appeal to this Sacred Heart with the most ardent confidence\u201d.<\/p>\n
(See R. Motte, \u201cSacred Heart\u201d in https:\/\/www.omiworld.org\/lemma\/sacred-heart-the\/#_FtntRef3<\/a> )<\/p>\n
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As a person passionately in love with Jesus the Savior, it is no surprise that Eugene had a strong attachment to the devotion to the Sacred Heart. In 1819 he had made the Oblate Church of the Mission the center … Continue reading