MAZENOD (EUGENE DE)

1. Personal Spiritual Evolution
2. The Spirituality of a Christian
3. The Spirituality of the Oblate of Mary Immaculate
4. Conclusion

Jean Leflon, the main biographer of Eugene de Mazenod, wrote: “In no way did the Bishop of Marseilles consider himself a master of a school of spirituality. [His spiritual efforts] are in keeping with the general movement of the Church in France […] they conformed with the style of that period without adding anything very original […]. … Although he wrote much concerning the paths leading to communion with God, he did so in a completely haphazard fashion – that is, through his episcopal acts, through the Rule of his Congregation and through his correspondence – and never did it occur to him to organize what circumstances led him to counsel into a compact body of teachings.” [1]

This seems to me to be an accurate judgment. Nonetheless, it encourages us to plumb more in depth the issue in question, to define more in detail the more personal features in the “style of that period” and the most outstanding attitudes he wanted to see his disciples incorporate into their lives. The “body of teachings” which he never composed, still remains to be drawn up. This is even becoming possible as his writings are published and as monographs appear on the various periods of his spiritual evolution or on specific points of his teaching. In this domain, the review, Vie Oblate Life, has rendered and continues to render outstanding service. In this article, we will make a brief study of Eugene de Mazenod’s spiritual evolution and the most basic elements of his spiritual teaching for the Oblates as well as for Christians in general.

Personal spiritual evolution

Several factors influenced this evolution. The following four are worth noting.

– Family influence and social milieu. Eugene was a young nobleman from Aix-en-Provence. He was born into a deeply Christian though rather worldly family. He experienced the French Revolution and the sufferings of exile. He also experienced family divisions and the humiliation of the Church, the wretched state of the clergy and the high degree of religious ignorance among the poor.

– His own temperament. Eugene was every inch a man of southern temperament with burning desires, a lively, authoritarian and very frank character with a judgment which was rarely in error. At the same time, he was a man of extreme sensitivity, a temperament which loved passionately and which demanded a response. Father Józef Pielorz sums it up in two words: “Strength and sensitivity […]. Neither the one nor the other are compatible with mediocrity in either doing good or doing evil.” [2]

– His theological and spiritual formation. His formation was that of his times with, however, a few influences specific to his life history. During his exile in Italy (1791-1802), a holy priest from Venice imbued with the spirit of the Company of Jesus, Don Bartolo Zinelli, certainly left his mark on him. His rule of life at Venice consisted of weekly confession and communion, daily Mass and daily recitation of the little Office of the Blessed Virgin, a regular practice of mortification, pious reading, prayer and study. This lasted from 1794 – 1797, from age twelve to sixteen. He would later write: “My vocation to the priestly life dates back to that time”. [3] Also, during this time, he read Lettres édifiantes sur les missions étrangères écrites par des missionnaires de la Compagnie de Jésus, which left their mark as well.

In France at the seminary of Saint Sulpice in Paris from 1808 to 1812, Eugene received a doctrinal formation which was predominantly apologetical and with moral theology being given more emphasis than dogma. The formation was rather strict, but not Jansenist. It was a formation in which devotion to the Pope and the independence of the Church with regard to the civil power was taught. The seminary training did have its gaps; nonetheless, it still remained the best training that time had to offer.

In the area of spirituality, a spirit of fervor, regularity and work prevailed. Eugene was particularly influenced by Monsieur Emery, the superior, and Monsieur Duclaux, his spiritual director; both were loyal disciples of Monsieur Olier. Monsieur Emery’s commitment to serve the Roman cardinals, a commitment which involved Eugene as a liaison person, certainly had an impact on him. Other things which certainly influenced him as well were his active participation in the Marian Congregation and in the seminary’s Aa, an organization of Jesuit inspiration, and the missionary group established by his colleague and fellow countryman, Charles de Forbin-Janson.

With his seminary training behind him and to the extent that his missionary and religious life began to take shape, other spiritual influences appeared and the old influences reasserted themselves, as for example, the influences of his patron saint, Charles Borromeo, Saint Ignatius of Loyola and a few Jesuit spiritual masters such as Jean Rigoleuc, Jean-Joseph Surin, Claude Judde, François Nepveu, Blessed Alphonse Liguori (especially for moral theology and the drawing up the Constitutions and Rules), Saint Vincent de Paul, the Lazarists and, in a more general way, the old religious orders. But we cannot say that Eugene de Mazenod was a man of one particular school of spirituality. No, he drew from many sources according to the circumstances, his own personal needs and those of his project. This is where a fourth factor comes into play: the grace of God in his life.

– The grace God bestowed upon him. This grace transformed and led him. It guided him gradually toward the priesthood and the founding of a missionary religious institute before making of him the head of an important diocese of France, at the crossroads of the world, the diocese of Marseilles. Eugene did his best to cooperate with the workings of divine grace. He considered fidelity to this action as one of the main foundation stones of his spiritual life. [4]

Eugene de Mazenod was an apostolic man. His spiritual journey is practically inseparable from his missionary action. Also, it is very difficult to determine the stages of his interior life by relying solely on events or interior graces which could point to his entering into a new stage. It is not that such graces were absent; there are some present in his life; they are manifestly present. But they are perhaps less strikingly present than in the lives of saints of the contemplative way and they are given especially to confirm an action or an apostolic commitment.

Finally, Leflon’s division of his biography of Eugene de Mazenod into three stages seems to me to be the simplest, and the most objective to treat of his spiritual life as well.

a) First stage, 1782-1814

This is the period in which Eugene’s vocation as an apostolic man at the service to the poor buds forth, takes on its particular character and develops. God prepared him by the external events of his life: the experience of exile, family trials, the birth and then the crisis of his vocation, his “conversion”, his becoming aware of the Church’s needs, his ordination to the priesthood and the beginnings of his ministry to the poor.

During this period of time, two interior graces are worth noting. The first is the grace of the Good Friday “conversion”, probably in 1807, during the veneration of the cross. This grace consisted in a personal experience of the love of Christ who shed his blood for him. He was permeated by a profound trust in the mercy of God along with a desire to make reparation by making a total gift of himself. The second one was a “strong impulse from the outside”, a genuine spiritual impulse which, at the age of twenty-six, convinced him to set his sights on the priesthood.

He determined to become a priest, a priest for the poor. In this orientation, there was then, on Eugene’s part, a desire to make reparation: reparation for his own sins and for those of the great number of Christians who had left the Church. His desire was particularly to cooperate with Christ in the work of the world’s redemption so that the blood shed by Christ, blood not shed in vain for him, would not be shed in vain for the world either. The four years he spent at the seminary of Saint Sulpice gave him an even deeper awareness of the needs of the Church and provided him with an opportunity to deepen his devotion to Christ and the Blessed Virgin. These years also provided a certain structure to his spiritual life in terms of exercises of piety, a method of oraison, examination of conscience and a rule of life.

b) Second Stage, 1814-1837

This period is exteriorly one of major projects: the founding of the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, January 25, 1816, and its approbation by Pope Leo XII, February 17, 1826, Eugene’s being named bishop, October 14, 1832, and the re-establishment of the diocese of Marseilles, and a period of struggles, apostolic trials, as well as the experience of his own limits. He began his ministry in Aix in 1812 at thirty years of age. He would be fifty-five when he would succeed his uncle Fortuné to the episcopal see of Marseilles in 1837.

Internally, it was a period of maturation, purification, of apostolic choices and the quest for balance. The spiritual adult called to guide others as Founder of a missionary institute and as head pastor of a vast diocese was gradually being formed. First, he had to make a definite option for an apostolic and communitarian ideal and divest himself of his desire for a monastic life which was more contemplative than missionary. Subsequently, in his own life, he had to strike a balance between prayer and devotion to service of neighbor. This would be a long and difficult endeavor. He would have already made substantial progress in this direction when, in September of 1818, he would draw up the first Constitutions of the Missionaries of Provence. In October of that same year, he wrote: “God forbid that I should wish to renounce service of my neighbor! Far from it, since, if possible, it would be my desire to do more than I have done up until now […], but I will act more prudently and, while serving my neighbor, I will not forget my own needs as I have done in the past. I will not so easily convince myself that the exercise of charity towards my neighbor can prevail over everything, excusing myself from meditation, preparation for Mass, thanksgiving, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, prayer, etc.” [5]

Apostolic choice is, then, deeply rooted in him. Some special graces or signs from God confirmed him and sustained him in his journey, for example, in September 1815, at the time of founding the Oblates, a “strong impulse from the outside”, which confirmed him in this direction, as was the case for his commitment to the priesthood and, August 15, 1822, a kind of spiritual confirmation with regard to the value and worth of his endeavor, while he was in prayer before the statue of Mary Immaculate, a statue he had just blessed in the Mission church in Aix-en-Provence. This is how he describes this grace in a letter to Father Henry Tempier: “I believe I owe her (to Mary( also a special experience that I had today, I will not go so far as to say more than ever, but certainly more than usual. I cannot describe it too well because it comprised several things but all related, however, to a single object, our dear Society. It seemed to me that what I saw, what I could put my finger on, was that within her lies hidden the germ of very great virtues, and that she can achieve infinite good; I found her worthy, everything pleased me about her, I cherished her rules, her statutes; her ministry seemed sublime to me, as it is indeed. I found in her bosom sure, even infallible, means of salvation, such is how they looked to me.” [6]

On February 17, 1826, Pope Leo XII officially approved the young Society. Preparatory negotiations for this approbation had been visibly blessed by God. Eugene de Mazenod felt this entire period was tangible proof that the existence of this Society was God’s will. He emerged from it filled with joy overflowing with hope as if it was “the happy beginning of a new era for the Society”. [7]

The Lord was waiting for him there. The ten years which followed, 1827 to 1836, were a genuine night of the soul for Eugene, a time of intense purification such as one encounters in apostolic men. Trials came thick and fast: dissension, illness, defections and bereavement, and even a temporary loss of his French citizenship in addition to being considered suspect by the Holy See. To his great cost Eugene had to learn the price of handing himself over to the Lord and serving his Church. It would be a bruising experience for him, but he would emerge from it more humble with a deeper understanding for others and stronger in his faith and love.

Father Yvon Beaudoin made a good analysis of this difficult period in the life of the Founder in his introductions to volumes VII and VIII of Eugene de Mazenod’s Letters to the Oblates of France. He indicates the main causes: “Failure to improve the training and perseverance of the members, failure of the Congregation to attain the desired level of religious and apostolic life, resistance of the diocese of Marseilles to the reforms that had been judged necessary, the death of cherished persons such as Marcou, Suzanne, Nathalie de Boisgelin and Leo XII, the illness of several fathers and of the Founder himself who was incapacitated for eighteen months.” [8]

In addition to Eugene’s illness, the immediate impact would be moments of discouragement and depression. January 2, 1828, he wrote Father Hippolyte Courtès: “Dear Courtès, I am at the end of my tether while death comes near as I approach old age. When I shall be free, [he was Vicar General of Marseilles at the time] I will no longer be able to act. While waiting for the good God to deliver you from the nonentity of the man that I have become, the rest of you act on my behalf. May the work of the Lord be accomplished…” [9] And on another occasion, August 20, 1835, while he was Bishop of Icosia and relegated to forced retirement, he confided to Father Tempier: “What am I lacking, after all? Absolutely nothing. … At one time the labours of the greatest bishops in Christendom, the works even of those who have done most to shed luster on the Church, didn’t seem beyond my courage; I asked but the opportunity to follow in their footsteps, and to rival them, if I dare speak in this way, in zeal. Today, whether because I am too old to begin again, or because men’s injustice has embittered or changed my character, I don’t view things any longer in the same way, and my only happiness lies in the hope of finishing the course busying myself with naught but my personal sanctification and that of the family I am already charged with; it is really a lot.” [10]

The end of the trial period would finally come. As we said, Eugene would emerge transformed: even stronger and more zealous for the glory of God, service of the Church and the salvation of souls. His retreat in preparation for taking over the episcopal see of Marseilles in 1837 is significant in this regard: “I shall have to become attached to these people as a father is to his children; my existence, my life, my whole being will have to be devoted to them; I must have no thought except for their benefit, no fear except that of not doing enough for their welfare and sanctification, no solicitude except that which concerns all their spiritual interests, even in a certain sense their temporal interests. In short, I must spend myself for them, prepared to sacrifice my comfort, my inclinations, my repose, even my life itself for them.” [11]

c) Third stage, 1838-1861

This is the period of full maturity. Exteriorly, his activity was intense. The Congregation for which he was still responsible was developing rapidly; in a few years it extended to England, Canada, the United States, Ceylon [Sri Lanka], South Africa. At the same time, his diocese was growing; he saw new parishes develop; he welcomed a number of religious institutes to the diocese and its population grew.

Interiorly, Bishop de Mazenod was filled with zeal; he encouraged, inspired, corrected and supported people. Filled with courage for himself and others, he maintained an imperturbable peace. His confidence in God was without limits.

His pastoral letters and correspondence with his fellow Oblates reveal him as a pastor, a genuinely apostolic man entirely devoted to his two-fold task of bishop and superior general. In both instances, he was motivated by the glory of God, the good of the Church, the edification and salvation of souls. He possessed a profound sense of his paternal spirituality. It would be very difficult to envision him as anything other than the bishop of a diocese and the father of a religious family.

Throughout the course of the entire period of the last twenty-four years of his life, Eugene de Mazenod’s spiritual life was characterized by internal equilibrium and a deep unity. Solidly grounded in his love of Christ and the Church, he no longer thinks of himself, but of all the people for whom he is responsible and the work of evangelization entrusted to him. Interiorly, he became very free. Faced with the prospect of the cardinalate which had been promised and which slipped away from him because of political considerations, he had this to say: “After all, it is all the same whether one is buried in a red cassock or a purple one; the main thing is to get to heaven”. [12] To the very end, he maintained an intense devotion to the Blessed Virgin; his joy overflowed when on December 8, 1854 Pope Pius IX promulgated the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

When Bishop de Mazenod died, May 21, 1861, he gave the impression of being a man in full possession of his faculties, conscious of having fulfilled the mission that the Lord had entrusted to him and eager to carry out his holy will until the end. To his doctor, he said: “Oh! How I would like to die fully conscious in order to wholeheartedly accept the will of God!” [13] And to the people surrounding him, he said: “If I happen to fall asleep or my condition gets worse, please wake me up; I want to die knowing that I am dying”. [14] To the Oblates, he left this legacy, a legacy which captured his life in a nutshell: “Among yourselves practice charity, charity, charity – and outside, zeal for the salvation of souls”. [15]

His death was a death of love, not caught up in the ecstasy of contemplation, but in the attitude of the loyal servant who is bent on doing the will of his Lord to the very end.

THE spirituality OF THE Christian

There are two ways of approaching Eugene de Mazenod’s spiritual teachings; they are, no doubt, complementary, but are characterized by a different emphasis. Eugene taught his Oblates the way to holiness as members of his religious family. That is the best known and most developed of his spiritual teachings. He also taught the Christian faithful, those who heard his preaching or benefited from his ministry as bishop.

On this second aspect, very little has been written. What ideal of Christian life did he present to the faithful? By what means could they attain to it? A serious study of that aspect still remains to be done. There are some sources available: the acts of his ministry with the Association for Christian Youth of Aix, his correspondence with his family, his sermons as missionary and preacher, his pastoral letters as bishop. I am cannot develop that topic here. I do indicate, however, a few guideposts that seem necessary to provide an adequate idea of his spiritual teaching. Then, we will see what he demanded from his Oblates.

Eugene de Mazenod’s most basic attitude before the human individual was one of trust and faith – even if, in certain circumstances, he deplored human weakness and took the time to describe the evils of his times. Two very solid convictions on his part explain this attitude. The first one was that everything which occurs on earth, on the personal as well as the civil and social level, depends on Divine Providence. The second is that God wants all men to be saved and all, rich and poor, have been purchased by the blood of Christ.

From his writings, especially his pastoral letters, the following points can be gleaned:

1. All are called to salvation and holiness. In our ministry toward them, we must strive to “lead men to act like human beings, first of all, and then like Christians, and finally, we must help them to become saints”. [16] Father de Mazenod reminded the Oblates that their existence was dedicated to “the service of the Church and the sanctification of souls”. [17] As bishop, his dream was to make of Marseilles, “a city of saints”, [18] following the example of one of his predecessors Jean Baptiste Gault. Yet again, on February 20 1859, he wrote: “We are intensely concerned with finding means of ensuring your sanctification. Before God, that is what we care about the most ,because over and above our paternal affection for you and the charity of Jesus Christ which spurs us on (2 Corinthians: 5, 14) like it spurred on the Apostle, your sanctification is the very will of the one who set us over you (1 Thessalonians 4:3) for us to work at it with all our strength.” [19]

2. To remain on the road to sanctity and make progress, the Christian should look upon himself with the eyes of faith. No matter how poor or destitute he might be, in the eyes of faith, he is “a child of God”, “brother of Jesus Christ”, “heir of his eternal kingdom”. [20] He was ransomed by the blood of Christ; this expression constantly recurs in his Lenten pastoral letters. There lies his true dignity, his greatest riches.

3. Holiness consists in conversion of heart, fidelity to the law of God, to the inspiration of his grace, in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. The Lenten pastorals of February 2, 1842, February 8, 1846, February 2, 1850 and February 16, 1860 give us some very fine pages on these themes. The first pastoral gives us a deion of the “servant of God”; the second deals with our living union with Christ; the third sketches the portrait of the “Christian”; the fourth reminds the Christian that he is a “member of the Church” and that “to love the Church is to love Jesus Christ”.

4. The journey to holiness demands a constant ongoing conversion. Lent is the opportune time for this conversion. The theme recurs in almost all the Lenten pastorals. The bishop of Marseilles wrote: “Each year, we watch the coming of the season of Lent with a mixture of fear and hope. We tell ourselves: Once again the people entrusted to our care will be put to the test of mercy in a general and solemn way […]” [21]

“If, at the present time, the Church is urging you, if she threatens you, if she uses all the means available to her charity and her power to involve you, once and for all, in emerging from your state of indifference that is leading you to destruction, the reason is that knowing the value of your souls and the value of the treasures you are losing by your own fault, she could never agree to see you put your salvation in jeopardy through lack of reflection and courage […] Come out, then, come out of your inexcusable apathy, my very dear Brothers; listen this time to the voice of your Mother and yield finally to such great and such just reasons for conversion. Do today what you were planning to do tomorrow. […] What could you give in exchange for your souls and what good will it do you to gain the whole world if you end up losing your soul? (Luke 16:26) Return to God, therefore, my very dear Brothers. Be consistent in your own regard in what has to do with your most precious interests.” [22]

5. The Church offers the Christian a number of means to achieve this ongoing conversion and spiritual progress. Eugene de Mazenod elaborated on these various means as circumstance allowed. He did this especially in his role as Bishop of Marseilles, in his Lenten pastoral letters. No doubt, he had help in writing them – a study needs to be made on that point – but we can affirm without fear of error that, in their content, these pastorals are an accurate reflection of Eugene de Mazenod’s thinking. It is even easy to pick out certain features that are truly characteristic of the Founder of the Oblates: emphasis on the effectiveness of parish missions, preference given to the apostolate in contrast to an exclusively contemplative attitude, an openness to foreign missions. For the rest, he himself sometimes makes reference to his former experience as a preacher of parish missions and his status of Founder and person in charge of a missionary religious institute spread over several continents.

Here, then, is a brief commentary on the main means of spiritual progress recommended by the Bishop of Marseilles:

a) Religious education, listening to and meditating on the Word of God. This means is necessary to enlighten the intelligence, acquire true knowledge and receive guidance on the way of salvation. Eugene observes in particular that parish missions are a priceless help in bringing about spiritual renewal. They are “a great means of sanctification […] perhaps the only means of rousing entire populations from a kind of general lethargy and of converting them to the Lord.” [23]

b) Prayer and penance. These were recommended by Jesus himself. The Bishop of Marseilles mentions them again and again, especially as a means to prepare for the solemnity of Easter: “The Holy Spirit teaches us that the life of man is one of unceasing combat (Job 7:1) No matter what his station in life, he is commanded to always be armed and ready against the enemies of his salvation […] It is at the moment of launching into the Blessed Forty Days that it is especially fitting for us to exhort you to stand as a force to offset the godlessness of this age by fasting, prayer, alms and eagerness to listen to the Word of God.” [24]

c) Keeping Sunday holy. Receiving the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist and participating in the liturgical life of the Church. On a number of occasions, the Bishop of Marseilles evoked the need to keep Sunday holy, this “sign of the New Covenant”, this “holy rest which gives the Christian the time to spend in prayer and provides him the means of working with more care at his salvation, to listen to the Holy Word” and “to render solemn homage to God.” [25]

Furthermore, he strongly recommends frequent reception of the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. It is in them that sinners “will find the strength to triumph over sin, while at the same time, at the wellsprings of salvation, they will draw living water (Isaiah 12:3) which cleanses every stain and which should satisfy for all eternity this unquenchable thirst for happiness which seems to lie in the heart of each one of us. (John 4:13)” [26] It is his wish that Christians should receive these sacraments not only at Easter, but at the celebration of every liturgical feast. [27]

Indeed, it was his desire that every person in his diocese should make it a point to seriously participate in all of the liturgical feasts. He devoted his Lenten pastoral of February 1846 entirely to this theme: “Our Lord wanted to experience in his mortal life all the fortunes mortals are heir to, the fortunes of that mortal nature he had assumed in his mysterious Incarnation […] He espoused our cause to the extent of identifying with us. […] In this wonderful union of Jesus Christ and our souls lies the mystery of our participation in his grace, his glory. […] [The feast of Easter] is ratification of the dignity of other feasts. […] What the Church desires is that we should enter into the spirit of other feasts. They are a sort of journeying toward the great solemnity of the Resurrection; they lay before us the entire life of our Lord who was bound to be born, live and die in order to resurrect; they are distributed throughout the year like wayside stations so that we can restore our strength from time to time on our pilgrimage toward the happy destination where, in our resurrected state, we will die no more.”

d) Devotion to the angels and saints and especially devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Eugene dedicated a pastoral letter to the good and the evil angels. [28] He likewise urged the people of his diocese to pray to the saints, especially those who were more closely linked to the church of Marseilles such as Saint Serenus. [29] His main emphasis, however, was on the Blessed Virgin Mary. He frequently exhorted the people of Marseilles to have fervent recourse to her. He asked them to be generous in her regard during the reconstruction of Notre-Dame de la Garde [30] and for the erection of a monument to the Immaculate Conception. [31]

Regarding devotion to Mary, he wrote: “Second only to what has to do directly with God, nothing is more valuable for a piety enlightened by authentic knowledge than that which has to do with giving honor to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the devotion of a son for his mother – and what a mother! A mother who gave us the one who is the salvation and light of the world; a mother who brought us forth spiritually as her children at the foot of the cross in the throes of the passion and death of the Man-God; […] a mother who is aptly called the new Eve and the co-redemptrix of the human race. […] Even our existence in this life is under the protection of her maternal love.” [32]

“It is the glory of God which is associated to the glory of Mary. […] It is the Son whom we honor in the person of his Mother and that is why it is impossible for us to be excessive in the homage we render to Mary as long as we keep in mind her creaturehood with God as always the ultimate object of this homage.” [33]

e) Alms and sharing of wealth, especially with the destitute. Eugene de Mazenod was not afraid to stress this point. He asked the people of his diocese to be generous toward the Pope and the Church; [34] he asked them to help the poor of the diocese. [35] He urged them to relieve the destitution of Christians and the victims of plagues in other countries such as Ireland. [36] He reminded them of their duty to support the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. [37] He urged them to give generously for the Notre-Dame de la Garde project. [38]

f) Concern for the salvation of others and apostolic commitment. Christians are children of the Church; they must have souls in tune with the Church, open to all persons redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and intent on spreading the faith. He wrote two fine pastoral letters treating of this aspect of Christian spirituality: the February 18, 1848 letter, more pastoral in tone, which dealt with the apostolic vocation of the Christian and the February 16, 1860 letter, more doctrinal, devoted to exploring its foundations by contemplating the mystery of the Church.

The Church is “a regenerated humanity”. Through it and in Jesus Christ, we make up “one single blessed family”; we are “the children of God, the heirs of his eternal kingdom and the co-heirs of Jesus Christ”. We are “all brothers in the most perfect way”, for “the same blood flows in our veins and that blood is the blood of a God”. [39]

In the Christian life during the season of Lent, each individual seeks to renew himself in a spirit of faith and piety: “Each person works on himself and draws down graces on himself in order to grow in perfection before God”; but, Eugene de Mazenod notes that for the majority of them, there are “some duties that are more important than the individual needs of the soul, if not all the time, at least in the overall picture of life. […] The apostle is more perfect than the monk. […] Do not be surprised if we associate you in some way to our ministry and lead you to share in the laurels of apostolic men, glorious instruments of the salvation of souls created in the image of God and redeemed by his blood. […] It is natural for faith to share of itself just as it is for charity to reach out to help others.” [40]

The Bishop of Marseilles ends his letter by asserting the obligation of apostolic duty and suggesting four ways for the Christian to carry it out: 1. Good example: ” Our Lord Jesus Christ started off by using this means”; 2. Prayer for the conversion of sinners: “It will be your private prayer, supporting in an invisible way the preaching of the sacred ministry or even the warnings of Providence, that will draw down from the heart of God the incursion of grace”; 3. The Word: “The Christian, vibrant with the truths of faith, is like Job, teeming with discourse. (Job 32: 18). […] Expose [the truth] if you can in a tactful way which will avoid wounding those to whom you wish to bring healing; avoid making the presentation boring by a too frequent repetition; people are put off by impatient requests. But in this work of mercy, even if you are obliged to treat your brethren with consideration, have no fear of the world”; 4. Help for the foreign missions: “The universe abounds with men of God who will carry the Good News to every shore. […] Guardian angels for these countless populations that await the day of the Lord ask us on their behalf for alms which, through the power of grace, will become transformed for us into fruits of life.” [41]

With regard to this issue of the spirituality of the Christian, a most interesting study could be made on the way the Founder dealt with his relatives, especially his sister, Eugenie. We already see his attitude in volume 14 of Oblate Writings. He was studying at the seminary of Saint Sulpice; he has a great love for his sister and wants to see her become a saint. She had just been married; she spoke to him about her life and he gave her copious advice. He revealed himself to be stern with regard to the world; he came out against balls and dances. He strongly recommended that his sister receive the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and asked her to pray and live united to God. [42]

THE Spirituality of the Oblate of Mary Immaculate

Eugene de Mazenod dreamed of renewing the Church and helping all to sanctify themselves; he was also a realist. He knew full well that not all human beings, not even all priests, were interested in becoming saints. In order to achieve his goal, he always relied upon groups of chosen people who would have a well defined mission within the People of God and would act as the yeast in the dough.

Already during his clerical formation at Saint Sulpice, he had been involved with these groups through participation in the Marian Congregation and the seminary’s Aa. In addition to this, upon his arrival in Aix as a young priest, we see him among the youth, much neglected from the religious point of view, organizing the Association of Christian Youth. This organization’s goal was two-fold: to curb religious decadence and ensure the sanctification of its members. I quote here the first article of the general rule: “The main end of this congregation is to form in the city of Aix a body of very pious young people who, by their example, their counsel and their prayer will make a contribution to curbing the license and general apostasy which is daily making such rapid and frightening progress, while at the same time, they will work for their own sanctification.” [43]

A few years later, when he would feel called to work to renew the faith of the poor people in the rural areas, he would react in a similar way: to set up among priests a group of fervent men who would devote themselves to this work, especially through the preaching of parish missions. In 1816, this gave birth to the Society of Missionaries of Provence which, in 1826, would become the Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Eugene de Mazenod dedicated the best of himself to this endeavor. The principles of spiritual life he later taught to the people of his diocese, he taught beforehand to his missionaries and in a more developed, even more radical form, because what he had in mind was precisely the setting up of an elite corps at the service of the Church. From these men, he could demand everything and that is what he did. [44]

It seems to me that Eugene de Mazenod’s spiritual teaching must be considered under various aspects. A first, generic and basic element is that of the Oblate as an apostolic man, whose concern is the glory of God, the service of the Church and the salvation of souls. Under this aspect, the Congregation is related to and substantially resembles the apostolic institutes of priests which had preceded it, in particular, the Jesuits, Lazarists and Redemptorists.

A second, more specific, more personal aspect gives the Oblate a more precise identity. The Oblate, an apostolic man: 1. lives and works in community; 2. binds himself to God through vows of religion; 3. devotes himself entirely to evangelizing the poor, the most abandoned souls; 4. lives and works under the patronage of Mary Immaculate. Under this second aspect, the Oblate still resembles the Redemptorist a great deal.

Finally, through all these constitutive elements of his spirituality, a specific spirit animates the Oblate: a spirit of simplicity and daring, a spirit of total devotion to the Church and to the poor, a spirit of great availability and nearness to the people, a profound family spirit.

In the following pages, we will briefly develop these various aspects after having treated more at length the fundamental element: the Oblate, an apostolic man.

1. FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT: THE OBLATE IS AN APOSTOLIC MAN

This expression appears often in the writings of Father de Mazenod and is especially found in very significant contexts. For example, in his December 13, 1815 letter to Abbé Tempier in which he described the men he wanted as companions and members of his Society: “Be as humble as you wish but know, just the same, that you are necessary for the mission work. I speak to you before God and openly from my heart. Were it a question of going to preach more or less well the Word of God, mingled with much alloy of self, of going far and wide for the purpose, if you wish, of winning souls for God without taking much trouble to be men of interior life, truly apostolic men, I think it would not be difficult to replace you. But can you believe I want merchandise of that sort?” [45]

Likewise, in the Preface of the Constitutions and Rules of 1826, we read: “The sight of these evils has so touched the hearts of certain priests, zealous for the glory of God, men with an ardent love for the Church, that they are willing to give their lives, if need be, for the salvation of souls. They are convinced that if priests could be formed, afire with zeal for men’s salvation, priests not given to their own interests, solidly grounded in virtue – in a word, apostolic men deeply conscious of the need to reform themselves, who would labour with all the resources at their command to convert others – then there would be ample reason to believe that in a short while people who had gone astray might be brought back to their long-unrecognized religious responsibilities.”

Where did he find this expression “apostolic men”? It seems that this expression was in common usage at the time. Alphonsus Liguori, whose works were becoming ever more widely distributed in France, had used this phrase as the title of one of his works, a sort of guide for confessors and spiritual directors: Homo apostolicus instructus in sua vocatione ad audiendas confessiones [The apostolic man trained in his role of confessor]. His thinking was that “the Church did not need a great number of priests, but she needed ‘good priests,’ ‘apostolic men’ who would devote themselves entirely to the salvation of souls, especially the most grievously wounded.” [46]

Even closer to the Founder’s times and in the very context of parish missions, we find the expression used in the writings of Félicité de Lamennais. In 1809, he had published a work entitled Réflexions sur l’état de l’Eglise en France pendant le dix-huitième siècle et sur sa situation actuelle. Almost immediately suppressed by the government, the work reappeared in 1814. Eugene de Mazenod had a copy. The Founder’s analysis of the situation of the Church in the Preface of the Constitutions and Rules shows great similarity to that of Lamennais. Here is a significant passage from Réflexions sur l’état de l’Eglise in which Lamennais speaks of the “apostolic man” in relation to parish missions: “As for myself, when I consider this astounding insensitivity, this profound forgetfulness of all the commandments, of all the duties of Christianity, with dread I ask myself if we have not already attained those times announced by Jesus Christ when he said: “Do you believe that when I return I will still find some little faith on earth?”

“If there was something that could rekindle in their hearts this faith, alas, so dull and listless, it would undoubtedly be parish missions. What good could they not achieve in our rural areas, and even in our cities! What a field lies there for cultivation! What a harvest to reap! One has had to have been a witness of the fruits for sanctification that a few genuinely apostolic men can achieve to know how powerful this means is and what is possible in the present circumstances. The pageantry of the mission, the zeal and virtues of the missionaries, the exhortations, prayers, hymn singing, everything, even the novelty of the display, touches hearts, moves people, draws them along, and whole parishes have been entirely renewed in a few days time. And to accomplish such marvels, what is needed? Great talent? No, a great faith rather.” [47]

What then is an “apostolic man” in the Founder’s thinking? He is a man driven by the spirit of Jesus Christ, more especially the spirit of the Apostles, a man who walks in their footsteps. After having heard Jesus’ call, he has left everything to follow him, to be his companion, to live his life and to be sent by him into the world in order to proclaim the Good News of salvation. [48]

In the apostolic man, two elements are always found inseparably linked: spiritual fervor and missionary zeal. The latter quality does not suffice; the former is needed as well. [49] Eugene’s December 13, 1815 letter to Abbé Tempier is particularly worthy of note in this regard. The Founder brought together two expressions “men of interior life” and “truly apostolic men”. And after writing: “But can you believe I want merchandise of that sort?” he added: “We must be truly saints ourselves. That word says it all”. [50] Then, he describes the requirements for this apostolic holiness: self-sacrifice, self-denial, self-renunciation, poverty, labors, etc. The Preface of the Constitutions and Rules will pick up the same idea: in order to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and to be apostolic men, Oblates “must diligently strive to be saints. […] They must wholly renounce themselves, striving solely for the glory of God, the good of the Church, and the edification and salvation of souls.” “Then”, he says, – then, the word has its importance, even if it is a case of priority of nature rather than a priority of time – “filled with unbounded confidence in God, they are ready to enter the combat, to fight even unto death, for the greater glory of his most holy and sublime Name.”

This idea of the “apostolic man” is an idea which Eugene received from the Founders of institutes who immediately preceded him, from Saint Ignatius Loyola to Saint Vincent de Paul. According to Saint Ignatius, the Jesuit, an apostolic worker, is an “instrumentum Deo conjunctum, an instrument linked and united to God”. And he established this absolute principle with regard to the welfare and the success of the Company of Jesus: “The means which unite the instrument to God and induce him to willingly allow himself to be lead by divine guidance are more efficacious than those which incline him to human means.” [51] The formula “linked instrument” or its equivalent would be taken up by the majority of French spiritual authors who influenced Eugene de Mazenod in varying degrees.

Louis Lallement, S.J., teacher of the Third Year of Rouen from 1628 to 1631, used it with the audience of his spiritual conferences and did so with an emphasis on contemplation and the search for one’s own perfection that was at times judged excessive. He taught: “Whoever does otherwise can be assured that, even if he wears the religious habit of the Company, he in no way embodies its spirit. Our rule and our religious profession oblige us to set more store by means of perfection which unite us to God as instruments to the principal cause from whom we must receive movement, than by all the other exercises. This is how all the rest must be managed according to that principle, an interior principle.” [52]

Pierre de Bérulle, Founder of the Oratory in France, would present a similar ideal to the members of his Institute. He wrote to a parish priest: “You must be an instrument united wih the Son of God on earth; your condition as a priest and pastor obliges you to this state. [53] According to his thinking, the Oratorian, an apostolic man, must live in a state of interior adhesion to the Son of God in his public life in order to be, along with him, a perfect instrument of salvation for others.

Jean-Jacques Olier, Founder of the Sulpicians, would go even farther in the same direction. He used the word “instrument”, but very often the terms “minister”, “house servant”, “servant”, and “slave” were used. The apostle is the instrument of God in the fullest sense of the word, like “the slave”, who has become the chattel of the Master. [54] In some way, he has to eclipse himself interiorly so that the entire glory of the endeavor will redound to God. Moreover, he must allow himself to be guided by the Spirit of Jesus and always maintain, in the very midst of activity, an attitude of adoration before God. [55]

Vincent de Paul, Founder of the Lazarists, expresses himself to the same effect. The priest of the Mission, an apostolic man, is an “instrument through which the Son of God continues to do from heaven what he did on earth”. [56] “That we should be called to be an associate and sharer in the designs of the Son of God is beyond the scope of our understanding. What! to make of us … I would not dare say it … the fact remains that the task of evangelizing the poor is such a sublime endeavor that it is par excellence the task of the Son of God; we are involved in it as instruments.” [57]

But where Peter de Bérulle speaks of the state of adhesion to the Son of God in his public life and Jean-Jacques Olier of eclipsing oneself and of looking in adoration at God during one’s activity, Vincent de Paul more simply asks that they strive to “always do the will of God”. [58]

“I ask you, gentlemen and brothers, if you know of anyone who adheres more to God and, as a result, who is more united to God […] than the one who fulfills only the will of God and never his own, who desires and wishes nothing other than what God does or does not want?” [59]

Monsieur Vincent’s attitude leads us directly to Eugene de Mazenod. For him as well, the Oblate, the apostolic man, “cooperator with the Savior, co-redeemer of the human race”, [60] would be an instrument in the hands of God and an instrument ever available to fulfill his will in everything. The term itself “instrument” is not often found in the Founder’s writings. It is found now and then, but the idea is always present. That is what explains how demanding Father de Mazenod appears to be as regard the apostolic man.

Here are excerpts from two letters where he himself uses the term. The first is a January 17, 1835 letter addressed to Father Ambrose Vincens after the outstanding success achieved by a parish mission: “My dear Father Vincens, the Lord be praised for what he has accomplished by means of your ministry and dear Father Dassy’s. Good master as he is, he wanted to give you some encouragement and he let his blessings accompany your words. Like us I’m sure you give all credit for our work’s success to his grace and his grace alone. That’s what gets through to the heart while our words merely enter the ear, and here we see precisely where the immense difference lies between our sermons and those of fashionable preachers which are infinitely superior in other respects. At the voice of the missionary miracles abound and he is so struck by the wonder of so many conversions that the poor instrument of these marvels is the first to be confounded, and while praising God and rejoicing he humbles himself in his littleness and nothingness.” [61]

The second letter, written December 2, 1854, almost twenty years later, was addressed to the superior of the scholastics, Father Anthony Mouchette: “My prayer is that the scholastics be really imbued with what the Church expects of them; a mediocre virtue will not be an adequate response to the demands of their holy vocation. Should they turn out like the common run of clerics, they would not be achieving their goal, it would fall short. They are called to quite a different perfection, they must strive towards it, and more than that, they have to be actually walking this path so as to become in God’s hands instruments of his mercy. They have to realize that their ministry is the continuation of the apostolic ministry, and that it involves nothing less than performing miracles. The news that reaches us from the foreign missions is proof of this. What encouragement for our young scholastics to read the marvels worked by their confreres in these far away countries! So let them lose no time in becoming saints, if they are not already at the height required to respond to the Sovereign Pontiff’s appeal.” [62]

Consequently, to become an effective instrument of salvation in the hands of God, the Oblate, an apostolic man, must have to be first and foremost, a man of self sacrifice. Such a man is dead to himself, interiorly free, “free from inordinate attachment to the world or to family, a man filled with zeal, ready to sacrifice his goods, talents, ease, self, even his life, for the love of Jesus Christ, the service of the Church, and the sanctification of his neighbor” (Preface). He will “consider the mortification of Christ of capital importance” and will bear it about “in a manner of speaking, continually in his own body”; he “will apply himself assiduously to repressing his passions, to renouncing his own will and, in imitation of the Apostles, he will glory in his weaknesses, in insults, persecutions and sufferings endured for Christ”. [63] However, his ascesis and his bodily mortifications with regard to sleep, food, bodily penances will be moderate; they will take into consideration the apostolic work demanded of him. “Your missionary life is far and away sufficient penance”, wrote Eugene de Mazenod to Bishop Étienne Semeria concerning the Oblates in Ceylon. [64] The same idea comes back frequently in his correspondence. It holds good for home missions as well as the foreign missions. [65]

The Oblate, an apostolic man, will be a man of prayer as well. He will seek to live “in continuous recollection of spirit”; [66] he will “apply himself assiduously to walking always in the presence of God”. [67] To enable himself to do this, he “will spend time in mental prayer with the community twice a day […] The usual subject of this oraison will be the theological virtues, the virtues of our Lord Jesus Christ that the members of our Society must reproduce in living form in their conduct”. [68] Moreover, twice a day, in the morning before the noon meal and in the evening before going to bed, he will make an examination of conscience with the community. [69]

His whole life is to be imbued, transformed by Christ, so that gradually he will live the life of Christ and be led by his Spirit. “In a word, he will strive to become another Jesus Christ, spreading everywhere the pleasing fragrance of his gracious virtues.” [70]

The Oblate’s life of prayer – like his life of asceticism – will have an apostolic bent. It will be a prayer that urges him to reach out to others, to put himself at their service in order to proclaim to them the mystery of salvation in Jesus Christ, and not one especially of experiencing and praising God in the tranquillity of contemplation. I quote only one example of this as found in a letter to Father Casimir Aubert, who was in charge of the novices’ formation. It seems Father Aubert enjoyed special favors in oraison. Here is the advice the Founder gave him: “I urge you not to be selfish in savouring all alone God’s communications. Be generous with your riches, share them with others. Draw them, impel them if need be by the power given you by the light and grace you have received. I’m not asking this just for your handful of novices but for all those around you, especially those I’ve placed expressly under your direction. I knew you would be faithful and I was counting without hesitation on an overflowing abundance in which I wanted certain of our men to share.” [71]

To maintain the fervor of this apostolic man and his constant renewal, spiritual, physical and intellectual, Eugene de Mazenod wanted to see his life divided into two parts: one would be entirely devoted to external activity and the other to prayer, study, exercises of community life within the religious community. “In imitation of these great models [Christ and the Apostles], one part of their life will be spent in prayer, interior recollection, contemplative in the privacy of the house of God where they will live together.”

“The other part will be entirely devoted to external works of the most active zeal such as missions, preaching and hearing confessions, catechism, youth work, visiting the sick and prisoners, spiritual retreats and other exercises of a similar nature.”

“But both when on mission or within their own houses, their main focus will be to make progress in the way of ecclesiastical and religious perfection. They will especially practice humility, obedience, poverty, self denial, the spirit of mortification, the spirit of faith, purity of intention and the rest. In a word, they will strive to become other Jesus Christs, spreading everywhere the pleasing fragrance of his gracious virtues.” [72]

A number of people – especially in the second half of the 20th century – have seen in this text a lack of realism, a kind of mistrust of the apostolate and even the introduction of a very real dichotomy in Oblate spirituality. They are perhaps right, especially if we are looking at an exclusively mechanical application of this rule, a rule which would become practically impossible to implement with the increase of ministries in the Congregation: the directing of seminaries, taking charge of parishes, foreign missions.

To get a good grasp of this Rule, we have to see it in the context of the time. The expression “a Carthusian in his religious house and an apostle (or Jesuit) outside” was applied to the Lazarists [73] as well as to the Redemptorists, [74] it seems. It was probably applied to the Oblates as well. The Founder responded to this in a letter to Father Louis Toussaint Dassy: “It is somewhat of a farce to call you Jesuits; you are no more Jesuits than you are Carthusians. You are priests exercising the ministry of preaching under the jurisdiction of the diocesan Bishop who gives you work according to the needs of his diocese. You have no obligation to answer as to what you do within the community. You say Mass, you recite the Office, you study, you compose sermons to preach, especially to the poor when the Bishop sends you.” [75]

The goal of this Rule was to assure the quality of the apostolic man, especially his spiritual quality, his holiness. Eugene de Mazenod well knew that, for most priests, there is usually not an excess of prayer and meditation, but too much work and external activity. That is what he wanted to avoid for Oblates. On this point, he was probably more of a realist than one might be led to believe.

We can note, as well, all the virtues he stresses in the text: humility, obedience, self denial, spirit of faith, purity of intention. These are virtues which all tend to make the apostolic man entirely responsive in God’s hands. Just as in the case of the contemplative, the apostolic man possesses a genuine spiritual passivity: the passivity of the instrument, an instrument fully free and adult which opts to become a cooperator with the Savior in the work of redeeming the world. This passivity makes him flexible, responsive in God’s hands, not primarily for the purpose of plumbing more deeply the mysteries of God, but in order to speak at the right moment, and under the guidance of the Spirit, the word that needs to be spoken, or to perform that which will become for one’s neighbor an avenue of God’s grace. The apostolic man’s holiness, in union with Jesus the Savior, consists in perfect fidelity to the Father’s will. The Founder will require other virtues as well, virtues much more active in nature such as zeal, daring, the spirit of initiative, sociability … but the basis will always remain the same: to want only what God wants.

An outstanding example of this attitude is Eugene’s own conduct when he was in Rome from November 1825 to May of 1826 to obtain the approbation of his Institute. One principle, Saint Ignatius’ principle, guides him: “In affairs one must act as if success depended on our skill and put all our confidence in God as if all our efforts could produce nothing.” [76] In point of fact, he left no stone unturned to achieve his end, but we can see how he insists on remaining united to God and grounded in his holy will: “Having in my hands an affair of the utmost importance, of which the consequences must so influence the building up of the Church, the glory of God and the sanctifying of souls, an affair that… can only succeed thanks to a very special protection from God, to whom alone belongs the power to touch the hearts and guide the wills of men, I have had of necessity to convince myself that it is my duty to do all in my power to live in the most intimate state of union possible with God, and consequently be resolved to be faithful to his grace and not to give cause for grief to his spirit. As things stand at present, the least voluntary infidelity would seem to me a crime, not only because it would be displeasing to God, which doubtless would be the worst evil, but still more because of the consequences it could bring about.” [77]

Christ and the Church, especially the abandoned Church, “the beloved spouse of God’s only-begotten Son … [who] mourns the shameful defection of the children she herself bore”, (Preface) are at the heart of Oblate spirituality. In the mind of Eugene de Mazenod, Christ and the Church were one. He wrote: “These two loves blend into each other; to love the Church is to love Jesus Christ and vice versa”. [78]

One particular detail very much in harmony with the theology of that period is worthy of note. In the writings of Eugene de Mazenod, the expression “apostolic man”, just like the term “missionary”, its synonym, is applied exclusively to the priest. The lay person, the religious who is not a priest is a cooperator of the apostolic man [79] or of the missionary. [80]

This “sacerdotal” aspect played a major role in the life of Eugene de Mazenod. He would become “a priest” in spite of his family’s lack of enthusiasm, not only on the part of his mother, but on the part of his uncles as well. As Father Joseph Morabito wrote: “His uncles did nothing to foster this vocation. They remained oblivious to the birth of this vocation. His [great-] uncle, [André], feigning to know nothing about it, asked Eugene if he was really thinking of becoming a priest and thereby bring about the extinction of the family line.” [81]

At Venice, under the guidance of Don Bartolo, Eugene had given the matter some serious consideration. In his Diary, he wrote: “My vocation to the ecclesiastical state, and perhaps to a more perfect state as well, dates from that time”. [82] The “ecclesiastical state” was the priesthood; the “perfect state” was probably that of the apostolic man, the priest who gives his all, who is a man of prayer and who commits himself totally with Christ to the work of mankind’s Redemption.

Eugene de Mazenod insisted on being a priest. He felt “called” by God. [83] “So do not grudge, dear mama, do not grudge this poor Church, so terribly abandoned, scorned, trampled under foot but which even so was the one who gave birth to us all in Jesus Christ, the homage that two or three individuals out of the whole of France (a small number I count myself happy to be one of) wish to pay her of their liberty and life. And what reason could you possibly have for wanting me to delay any longer from committing myself, and devoting myself to the Spouse of Jesus Christ […]” [84]

He felt himself called all the more because he was from a noble family. In the same letter, he wrote: “Religion finds here some small consolation for the sheer panic, or to speak more plainly, the utter dismay with which our self-styled good society fled its sanctuary; she sees ranging themselves beneath her banners a few individuals who, over and above the priestly character of Jesus Christ’s ministers, naturally command respect in view of their education and birth.” [85] In addition to this, he wanted to be a priest educated in the ecclesiastical sciences. Once again, to his mother he wrote: “Ecclesiastical science covers so many things that you must not imagine it can be acquired with a few words here and there as you go along, so to speak. […] Don’t you attach any value to the profound experience of those who are directing me here? […] A knowledge that would perhaps suffice for most, would not suffice for me. That is obvious, for you know yourself there isn’t anyone who, seeing who I am, my position, the rank I hold in the world, would not have every right to demand and would not in fact demand that I have an education above the ordinary. Who is going to put to rest all the doubts, the difficulties that are always cropping up, if not a priest who by reason of his birth enjoys a greater prominence than others and to whom other priests will perhaps one day be going for counsel? This extra period of formation is therefore necessary and indispensable if I am to exercise fruitfully the ministry to which I am called. Honour due the ministry is another valid reason for it.” [86]

Having chosen to be a priest in reparation for his own sins, Eugene would be a priest especially to associate himself more intimately with the redemptive work of Christ, the Savior. “He is above all a priest because of all the vocations which he experienced in his heart: the apostolic vocation to the point of shedding his blood, love of the poor, love of souls and of the most abandoned souls, love of the Church to the point of sacrificing himself for her; the entire spectrum of loves he felt in his heart as so many divine calls were summed up and realized in his call to the priesthood. By being a priest, he was all of these things: priest of the poor, priest for souls and for the most abandoned souls, priest for the Church and for all its most urgent needs.” [87]

2. COMPLEMENTARY ELEMENTS

The idea of the Oblate as “apostolic man” is, therefore, basic for Eugene de Mazenod. The other elements, no matter how important they might be, remain complementary. I will say only a few words on each one of these. Beforehand, I will take the liberty of quoting a text written for the use of major superiors and educators in which the Founder himself describes what kind of candidate he wanted to see for the Congregation. He pointed out their human as well as their spiritual aptitudes.

“It is important for the good of the Church and to obtain for our Society the means it needs to achieve its goal, to welcome into our ranks only those who are able, with the help of God’s grace to be of service to her and to build her up. Consequently, we cannot take too many precautions to assure ourselves of the vocation of those who ask to join us and to gain a thorough knowledge of their virtues, their talents and their good qualities. […]”

“Let the Superior General and his council consider attentively before God that to be worthy of being admitted into the Society, one must be called by God and have the qualities specific to a good missionary and capable of forming a holy priest. The individual must possess a great desire for his own perfection, a great love for Jesus Christ and his Church, a great zeal for the salvation of souls; he must have a heart free from all disordered attachments to things of this earth, a great detachment from his family and the place of his birth, a detachment which goes to the point of despising riches; he must have a will to serve God and the Church, either in parish missions or in the other ministries that the Society embraces, and he must want to persevere unto death in the faithful observance and obedience to the holy Rules of the institute.”

“It is desirable that those who plan to enter the Society should be naturally gifted in the area of learning, if they have not already acquired that knowledge. Let them be endowed with common sense, intelligence, a sound judgment, good memory and good will that can stand any test. Let them be courteous, honest, well-bred, healthy, without any bodily deformity that might undermine the dignity of the ministry which will be entrusted to them some day and which would expose them to being vilified.” [88]

From this text, we can immediately see what qualities the Founder demanded of candidates for his Society of missionaries. On the human level, he wanted men who were already mature, men of good sense and sound judgment, men of adequate intelligence with a natural aptitude for study and learning, men who were socially accomplished: courteous, honest, well-bred, with a solid good health, no physical deformities, especially men of strong will power whose good will was proof against any test. On the spiritual level, he wanted men with a genuine vocation, men with an ardent love for Jesus Christ and his Church, men imbued with a great desire for their own perfection and a great zeal for the salvation of souls, men interiorly free from all disordered attachment to earthly things with a great detachment from their family and place of birth, finally, men who were totally dedicated, capable of obedience and of persevering unto death.

In this text, we should take note of the clear preference Father de Mazenod gives to qualities of the heart and will, and the very high quality he wants to see in his men. The adjective great appears four times: “a great desire”, “a great love”, “a great zeal”, “a great detachment”. He wants the Oblates to be above average, to form a truly “elite corps” in the Church. In practice, to help them, he would especially ask four things of them:

1. To live in community;

2. To consecrate themselves to God by vows of religion;

3. To dedicate their lives to evangelization of the poor and the most abandoned souls;

4. To live and work under the patronage of Mary Immaculate.

a. Community life

Life in community constitutes an essential element of Oblate life. This is something Eugene de Mazenod wanted from the beginning of his endeavor. He even made it the primary condition for becoming members of his small Society. According to him, evangelization of the poor, especially through parish missions, could not be carried out in a lasting and effective fashion without community life. The apostolic men of his dreams would also need the support of a community as much for their personal sanctification as for the better accomplishment of their apostolate.

His objective was not to provide free-lancers for the service of the Church, but a genuine apostolic body, “an elite corps” made up of men capable, not only of working together and of complementing each other in carrying out the mission, but also capable of living together in the regular life of the same house, of praying together and of renewing themselves spiritually and intellectually after the exhausting work outside. To this purpose, he stressed heavily the two virtues basic for all genuine common life: fraternal charity and obedience. It is worthwhile reading here once again what the Founder wrote on community and on the unity among Oblates. [89]

He wanted to see a genuine family spirit prevail among them, the cor unum andanima una of the first disciples of Jesus. His model was the community of the Apostles gathered around Jesus. For all Oblates, whether they were missionaries in the far North, or whether they were labouring in Asia or Sri Lanka, there was a twice daily appointment: the celebration of the Eucharist and oraison at night before the Blessed Sacrament. [90]

Eugene de Mazenod attributed such importance to community life for priests engaged in the apostolate, that when he was Bishop of Marseilles he recommended that even his diocesan priests live in small communities. He considered it a necessary thing both for the service rendered the people of God and for the spiritual advantage of the priests.

In any case, it was this kind of motivation that gradually led him to propose a commitment by the vows of religion to the members of his small society.

b. Religious life

In 1815, Abbé de Mazenod had no thought of asking his first companions to take vows of religion, but rather he required life in common, the spirit of the vows with the practice of religious virtues. What he wanted for them was Gospel radicalism lived under a rule which drew its inspiration from Saint Ignatius, Saint Charles Borromeo, Saint Vincent de Paul, and Blessed Alphonsus Liguori, but without the vows. [91] For him, this requirement was inseparable from his idea of the missionary, an “apostolic man”. On December 15, 1815, he wrote to Abbé Tempier: “Now are there many priests who thus wish to be saints? Only by not knowing them could we believe that they do. I myself know the contrary. Most wish to go to heaven by a road other than that of abnegation, renunciation, forgetfulness of self, poverty, fatigue, etc. Perhaps they are not obliged to do more or differently than they do but at least they should not take offence if some, believing that more is demanded by the needs of the people, want to devote themselves to save them.” [92]

Actually, the vows would soon follow: on the evening of Holy Thursday, April 11, 1816 for Fathers de Mazenod and Tempier and November 1, 1818 for the others. On February 17, 1826, at the time of the approbation of the Institute by Leo XII, the Oblates were truly religious. They even made a fourth vow, a vow drawn from the Rule of Blessed Alphonsus Liguori, the vow of perseverance in the Institute, as a way of better resisting the temptation to return to the diocesan priesthood and the pressure of certain bishops who were pushing them in that direction. Through their religious consecration, they gave themselves totally and definitively to the work of the mission.

c. Evangelization of the poor

Among the ministries open to his zeal, Eugene made a very specific choice for himself and for his Institute, a choice which was both exciting and crucifying, the choice of evangelizing the poor and the most abandoned. He asked the Oblates to remain faithful to this choice, to leave to others the task of high profile preaching in the rich parishes of the cities and to go to “the poor people scattered over the countryside and to the inhabitants of rural villages, who have the greatest need of this spiritual assistance.” [93] Likewise in the foreign missions, he insisted that the Oblates should not linger ministering to the Christian population, but that they go to the pagans who as yet did not have the faith. Writing to Father Semeria in Jaffna he asks: “When will you begin to win the unbelievers? Are you only on your island as parish priests of old Christians? I had always thought the idea was to convert the pagans. That is what we are made for rather than anything else.” [94]

We must note that when speaking the Founder makes little or no distinction between the poor, the most destitute, the most abandoned. But in his thinking, that poverty which consisted in being deprived of religious assistance always remained the specific focus of our mission. What he had in mind first and foremost was the state of religious ignorance and often of spiritual decline in which people found themselves. Most of the time, these persons or groups also lived in precarious or wretched material conditions which made them marginal people in relation to those Christians who were more well-off. Generally, the Church’s ordinary ministry did not reach these people. To get into contact with them, special initiatives needed to be taken. A certain distance would have to be maintained with regard to the circles of the rich. One would have to accept to be uprooted, to learn another language. Sometimes, too, one would have to leave one’s own country since the poor at that time lived in remote, isolated places, difficult of access, where few priests were able or even desired to go.

It was to them that the Oblates must go and they do so to proclaim the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. Ordinarily, this would be the source of their deepest joy and their most painful suffering. Like Saint Paul, they strive to become everything to everyone in order to win over the greatest number to Jesus Christ. Their virtues were to be those of the apostolic man: an unshakable faith, an invincible hope, an unbounded charity, an immense daring, and much humility. They were capable of attempting anything to extend the Kingdom of God and, at the same time, the lived in an attitude of complete self-abnegation, and of total fidelity to obedience and the Spirit of God that dwelt in their hearts.

d. The patronage of Mary Immaculate

All his life, Eugene de Mazenod displayed a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin. And yet, it was only in December of 1825, ten years after the founding of the Oblates, that he thought of putting them under the official patronage of Mary Immaculate. Why? He does not say, but it really seems that at that time he achieved a new, much more lively awareness of the importance of Mary in a mission society such as his. It was through Mary that Christ, our salvation, entered into the world. It was through her, as well, that he pursued and brought his work to completion. December 22, 1825, he wrote to Father Tempier: “Let us renew ourselves especially in devotion to the most holy Virgin and render ourselves worthy to be Oblates of the Immaculate Mary. But this is a passport to heaven! How have we not thought of it sooner? Avow that it will be as glorious as it will be consoling for us to be consecrated to her in a special manner and to bear her name. The Oblates of Mary! This name satisfies the heart and the ear. I must admit that I was quite surprised, when it was decided to take the name I had thought should be left aside, at being so impervious, at feeling so little pleasure, I would almost say a kind of repugnance to bearing the name of a saint who is my particular protector, for whom I have so much devotion (Saint Charles(. And now I see the reason; we were remiss in regard to our Mother, our Queen, she who protects us and who must obtain for us all graces whereof her divine Son has made her the dispenser. Let us rejoice to bear her name and her livery.” [95]

On March 20, 1826, after Leo XII’s approbation of the Institute, Father de Mazenod added this: “Oh! yes, we must needs tell ourselves that we have received a great grace! The more closely I consider it in all its aspects, the more I see the worth of this gift. We can never properly respond to it other than by an unwavering fidelity, and by a redoubled zeal and devotedness on behalf of the glory of God, the service of the Church and the salvation of souls, especially the most abandoned, in keeping with our vocation. […] You are quite right in saying that you all seem to have become other men: this is truly so. May we understand well what we are! I hope that the Lord will give us this grace, with the assistance and by the protection of our holy Mother, the Immaculate Mary, for whom we must have a great devotion in our Congregation. Does it not seem to you that it is a sign of predestination to bear the name of Oblates of Mary, that is, consecrated to God under the patronage of Mary, a name the Congregation bears as a family name held in common with the most holy and immaculate Mother of God? It is enough to make others jealous; but it is the Church who has given us this beautiful title. We receive it with respect, love and gratitude, proud of our dignity and of the rights that it gives us to the protection of her who is All Powerful in God’s presence.” [96]

Consequently, the Oblate is called to live his personal life and to carry out his mission in close union with Mary. He remains a missionary and an evangelizer of the poor, but he proclaims the Gospel to the poor with the help and support of Mary, triumphant over all evil and mother of mercy. In his heart, he cultivates a profound devotion to Mary and strives to make her better known and loved by those outside.

CONCLUSION

What was Eugene de Mazenod’s spirituality? To this question, one must simply reply: It was that of the apostolic man of his time. The present study has demonstrated, I hope, how based on his own personal experience and his view of the religious needs of his age, the Founder of the Oblates was capable of using the many elements of the spiritual and apostolic life available to him. He drew them from a variety of sources; he tried them out and put them into practice according to the missionary goal which he had set for himself.

He never sought as such to create something new or original, but rather to respond to the apostolic challenge of his milieu and his time, in particular, that of the religious ignorance among poor people and the most abandoned. The only synthesis of the spiritual life he ever authored was the book of the Constitutions and Rules of his own Institute, a kind of handbook for missionary action and religious apostolic life.

Into elements drawn from a number of sources, he breathed new life, a special spirit. This spirit is characterized by Gospel-rootedness and by the ardor, the dynamic power that drives him.

On August 22, 1817, he wrote to Father Tempier: “Our Lord Jesus Christ has left to us the task of continuing the great work of the redemption of mankind. It is towards this unique end that all our efforts must tend; as long as we will not have spent our whole life and given all our blood to achieve this, we have nothing to say; especially when as yet we have given only a few drops of sweat and a few spells of fatigue. This spirit of being wholly devoted to the glory of God, the service of the Church and the salvation of souls, is the spirit that is proper to our Congregation, a small one, to be sure, but which will always be powerful as long as she is holy.” [97]

Thirteen years later, on July 29, 1830, he reminded Father Hippolyte Guibert what the Oblate spirit was: “The spirit of the Bernardine is not that of the Jesuit. Ours also is our own”. This spirit is entirely focused on charity, “the pivot on which our whole existence turns”: love of God who “made us renounce the world and has vowed us to his glory by all manner of sacrifice, were it even to be our lives”, charity toward our Oblate confreres, “considering our Society only as the most united family which exists on the earth”, and charity towards the rest of the human race, “in considering ourselves only as the servants of the Father of the family, commanded to succour, to aid, to bring back his children by doing the utmost, in the midst of tribulations, of persecutions of every kind, without claiming any reward other than that which the Lord has promised to faithful servants who have worthily fulfilled their mission.” [98]

Finally, the spirituality of Eugene de Mazenod is the spirituality of the “good and faithful servant” mentioned in the Gospel, the spirituality of one who wants to live to the full and to the end the commandment of charity. It is out of this very charity that he himself lived his whole life; and it is this same love he enjoined upon the members of his religious family: “Among yourselves practice charity, charity, charity – and, outside, zeal for the salvation of souls”.

FERNAND JETTÉ