The future of the Missionaries hung in the balance. Eugene was convinced that the direction for the growth of the Society could only be via the route of religious life and professing the evangelical counsels by making vows. Four of the seven priests did not agree with him on this radical step. It is here that Eugene resorted to consulting the three young men in formation, the direction of whose lives would be affected by this decision. Leflon describes the scene:<\/p>\n
It was at that crucial moment that the Founder went into action. Having failed to win over the opposition with arguments and entreaties, he now resorted to more forceful measures. Under guise of explaining the Constitutions to the three scholastics in minor orders, who were full-fledged members of the Society, he summoned Brothers Dupuy, Court\u00e8s and Suzanne to the Council, knowing that they wholeheartedly favored his plan to change over to the religious state. None of the three failed him.<\/em><\/p>\n After \u201chearing the Rule read, they unanimously agreed to accept it and assured the Founder, as they had already done privately that they approved the proposed vows.\u201d So states the official record. [ed. Actes du premier Chapitre g\u00e9n\u00e9ral, octobre 24, 1818. A.G.R. Registre des D\u00e9lib\u00e9rations des Chapitres g\u00e9n\u00e9raux de la Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 des Missionnaires de Provence]<\/em><\/p>\n If, as Suzanne assures us, Father de Mazenod wanted to prove by this maneuver that these commitments were not frightening to the other members of the community, and that he hoped thereby to bring about a general adhesion, the experiment must have failed, for, in order to reverse the majority, he had to go still further by giving each of the three scholastics a deliberative vote. Thanks to these added votes, the contested articles were passed by the thin margin of 6 to 4.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The future of the Missionaries hung in the balance. Eugene was convinced that the direction for the growth of the Society could only be via the route of religious life and professing the evangelical counsels by making vows. Four of … Continue reading