As Vicar General of his uncle Bishop Fortun\u00e9, Eugene had had to be the hatchet man in the diocese to clean up many messy situations and to instill a measure of discipline among the clergy, who had not had a resident bishop for over 20 years, and many had become independent “bishops” in their parishes – this resenting any interference from the Vicar General in the name of Bishop Fortun\u00e9<\/p>\n
I thank God for having enlightened me in this regard by some quite cruel experiences. In my vanity had I not told myself many times that although so many people suddenly rose up against me because of a clearly unjust and blameworthy prejudice, it was due perhaps more to the fact that I was misunderstood than to the jealousy and hatred which useful ideas and salutary reforms, even necessary ones provoke. But again, this also was vanity\u00a0<\/strong>[Ecclesiastes 2;2].<\/em><\/p>\n
Have I not been misunderstood, misjudged, mocked, calumniated, and hated by those who do not know me well, or who at least who could have known me \u2013 living with me, seeing me in action with their very eyes \u2013 and by those who had been not only the witnesses of my excessive kindness, but also its recipients and by those upon whom I had lavished many favors? Vanity of vanities! All is vanity. But again, this also was vanity<\/strong> [Ecclesiastes 1:2;2:1].<\/em><\/p>\n
What possessed me to write all these things? My heart overflows\u2026[Psalm 45:1]. Here I have opened my heart to express very poorly what I thought I would never be able to say. Let\u2019s get back to my Diary.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Eugene de Mazenod\u2019s Diary, 31 March 1839, EO XX<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As Vicar General of his uncle Bishop Fortun\u00e9, Eugene had had to be the hatchet man in the diocese to clean up many messy situations and to instill a measure of discipline among the clergy, who had not had a … Continue reading