{"id":5288,"date":"2022-11-08T01:00:30","date_gmt":"2022-11-08T00:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/?p=5288"},"modified":"2022-11-07T04:01:32","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T03:01:32","slug":"you-are-bound-to-strive-towards-a-greater-perfection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/?p=5288","title":{"rendered":"YOU ARE BOUND TO STRIVE TOWARDS A GREATER PERFECTION"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because God loves us.\u201d (C.S. Lewis)<\/span><\/h3>\n

The four newly-professed Oblates had just completed their novitiate training. Now they had to continue their formation in order to become priests and become missionaries. Ongoing study and growth is essential for all of us in the way of discipleship, each according to their particular state of life. Oblates undergo a novitiate, Lay Associates participate in a program of formation before making a commitment to Mazenodian discipleship, all brnached of the Mazenodian Family have some form of initiation period. So, for all of us, that is not sufficient because ongoing formation is necessary to deepen our relationship with God and our discipleship and service to those most in need.<\/h3>\n

Eugene stressed this:<\/h3>\n

You have shown yourselves good, pious and edifying during the novitiate. That is what has made you fit to be admitted for profession. But, remember, my dear sons. that far from relaxing your efforts now that you are out of the novitiate, you are bound to strive towards a greater perfection. All that you have done hitherto is, so to say. only a preparation for the holy state you have embraced and which you possess now.<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

The novitiate was a period of trial to see if you are fit to fulfil the duties inherent in religious profession. Now the full weight of these duties rests on you, if it is at all proper to call the sweet and light yoke of the Lord a burden. It is nonetheless true that you are bound by your duty of state to walk in the way of the highest perfection…<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

All these things you must ponder and meditate during the entire period you will be in formation, so that when you are ordained priests and have acquired the necessary knowledge and are called to fulfil the tasks of the ministry proper to the sons of Mary Immaculate, you will be fit for the kind of service to which you will be assigned to produce in people the results they expect from you, to be a credit to your ministry, and a source of consolation to the Church and to the Congregation, your Mother, who has done so much to form you and who has every right to count on your cooperation.<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

These words apply to all of us as we fulfil our baptismal vocations.<\/h3>\n

Goodbye, my dear sons. I press you to my fatherly heart and bless you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

Letter to “our very dear Brothers and sons in Jesus Christ, Brothers Bonnard, Martini, Cooke and Dunne”, 22 August, 1846, EO X n 910<\/em><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because God loves us.\u201d (C.S. Lewis) The four newly-professed Oblates had just completed their novitiate training. Now they had to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}