Having enthused about the lofty ideals of the Missionaries and having drawn up the plan of action to achieve them, Eugene now returns to reality. The Nota Bene was written in response to the havoc being caused in the Church by priests who were not living up to the ideals of their vocation, who were blocking the way to God for others through their bad example. So he returns to that painfully negative theme.<\/p>\n
\nWe have to penetrate even more deeply \u2013 to the very heart of the sanctuary, to sweep away so much refuse collected at its entryway, its interior to the very steps of the altar where the Sacred Victim is sacrificed,<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The ministry of those who have remained faithful, despite persecution, danger of death and derision and indifference, is compared with a fire struggling to stay lit. The Missionaries must help these priests at all costs:<\/p>\n
\nto rekindle the sacred fire of pure love which is nurtured only by a small number of holy ministers who carefully guard the final sparks which will soon become extinguished with their passing, if we do not hasten to step forward to gather round them<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
By the quality of their lives and their generous oblation, the Missionaries can make a difference \u2013 they can be agents of renewal, conversion and new hope. They do this through their ministry of preaching parish missions and in their various permanent missions from their community \u2013 but most of all by the quality of their generous oblation. It is a question of \u201cBE\u201d in order to \u201cDO\u201d:<\/p>\n
\nand there, acting in concert with them, to offer to the living God in reparation for so many crimes, the most thorough and total homage and devotion, the sacrifice of one\u2019s entire being to the glory of the Savior and to the service of his Church.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
1818 Rule, Part One, Chapter One, \u00a73. Nota Bene<\/em><\/p>\n
The vocabulary may have changed, the painful situations may have taken other forms, but today that challenge to generosity still resounds in the Mazenodian Family<\/p>\n
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Having enthused about the lofty ideals of the Missionaries and having drawn up the plan of action to achieve them, Eugene now returns to reality. The Nota Bene was written in response to the havoc being caused in the Church … Continue reading