- The meaning of mercy
- Eugene, a beneficiary of God's mercy
- Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful
- Pastoral mercy
- The Founder's merciful profile
- New perspectives
The meaning of mercy
Everyone has their own idea of mercy. Without making an exhaustive study of the term and of its history, [1] the scope of our study here focuses only on the religious and Christian sense of the word. In a general way, it means a compassionate pity, freely bestowed when in the presence of every form of wretchedness. Saint Augustine took full note of this contrast: “O, God, you are merciful; I am wretched”. [2] We are dealing with wretchedness in all its forms, but especially its most extreme form which is that of sinfulness and everything derived from it. As a result, this pity will be expressed through forgiveness of the offense. It consists of clemency and leniency. It is also the tenderness and gentleness of a heart which refuses to close in on itself and become hardened. It is giving without charge and generosity which transcends the limits of strict justice. It overflows in the form of all kinds of assistance to alleviate wretchedness.
God is mercy itself. This can even be said to be the attribute which most befits him with regard to his creatures, even his most perfect and beautiful creatures, since these creatures are far removed from all wretchedness only to the extent that this is due to a gift of his mercy. “The love of God in the form of mercy is at the basis of all of God’s works.” [3] For us sinners, this attribute shows forth most splendidly in God’s pardoning of sinners, since sin – let us say it again – is the most profound wretchedness and the cause of so much other misery, or the cause of all misery. This divine mercy is the prototype of the mercy we must show. Matthew’s “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:36) is formulated by Luke as: “Be merciful as your Father is merciful” (Luke 5:36).
One should not expect Eugene de Mazenod to come up with definitions and systematic treatises on different topics. But what we will find are lived experiences of the mercy of God in his regard. From here will come solid convictions and consistent attitudes with regard to his neighbor in general and specifically in his pastoral practice. As we shall see, he sees himself particularly in the light of a forgiving mercy, a mercy received from God and one which he shares in his missionary activity. We will concentrate almost exclusively on the Founder, both with regard to his own personal life and in his apostolic work. Here and there, we will refer to the history of the Congregation; but to treat accurately and in a sufficiently comprehensive manner the impact of mercy in the apostolate of the Oblates, we would have to become involved in studies which would far exceed the limits of this article.
Eugene, a beneficiary of God’s mercy
Not only is he incidentally aware of the mercy of God in his regard, but it is a rather characteristic feature of his spiritual life – at least in the form that we find it in what we have of his writings which can be termed “spiritual”, that is, until 1837, according to Father Yvon Beaudoin’s edition. We do, indeed, find clear indications of other virtues in his life as various studies of his spirituality have found. [4] According to classical theology, are not all the virtues integrated together as one? But in each individual person, the way they combine and the emphasis given to various individual virtues varies. Now, in the case of Eugene de Mazenod, the awareness of having been generously the subject of divine forgiveness is keen and constant.
To understand this, it is enough to read through the list of the references to the word mercy and other words associated with it as listed in the subject index of Spiritual Writings. What one will see is that not only do these words reappear with frequency, but they contain a deep and lasting meaning.
The editor of Writings gives an explanation in his introduction when he highlights two outstanding themes. The first is precisely the awareness of one’s sinfulness, something which surfaces so frequently in Eugene’s life, and as a result, the acknowledgment of the forgiveness which he owes to God’s mercy. The manner of expression is not in theological terms, but rather as an intense personal experience. There is nothing of the artificial or the superficial here; he is engaged in it with every fiber of his being. Nor do we discover there the least trace of a more or less unhealthy guilt.
After what others have written, there is no need here to tarry over what Eugene understands as his sins. As far as he was concerned, they were serious and he acknowledges that he lived for a more or less considerable length of time in this state. He recalls how and on what occasions he became more painfully aware of it and arrived at the repentant state of genuine conversion of a Good Friday before 1808. [5] Not only did he keep and in a way maintain a keen remembrance of this past experience, but his retreat notes give witness to his ongoing concern to keep before him even his most insignificant faults to which he was still subject. He lovingly maintains a state of continuous contrition. [6]
These occasions of taking stock of his spiritual condition are all bathed in an explicit and lively awareness of God’s mercy. Far from closing in on himself in his pain, this awareness always directs him to the God who forgives. We are not dealing here with shame alone, but also with the keenest sense of sorrow for his ingratitude toward a God who was so good. Eugene never ceases to turn to the mercy of God. With total trust, he takes refuge in it. He was well aware that it was grace which took the initiative with its multiple solicitations to get out of his sinful state. That only served to deepen his sorrow. He could not get over the fact that God crowned these graces by calling him to the priesthood. He relied on the same source of strength to avoid the smallest failings. He subjected himself to a rigorous self-examination. He often received the sacrament of forgiveness. He overflowed with gratitude. He felt the need to proclaim publicly the mercy God had heaped upon him. The bitterness of sorrow gave way to consolation and moments of exquisite love in response to the beauty and goodness of Jesus Christ, especially as Redeemer, to the point of calling him, “the Spouse of my soul”, “my heart’s beloved”. [7]
Many are the pages where these sentiments are expressed. They can be found at regular intervals throughout his retreat notes and other spiritual writings. They even appear in his letters from the time of his entry into the seminary in 1808 to his retreat in preparation for the taking over of his See as Bishop of Marseilles in 1837. The texts concerned are easily available now. There is no necessity, therefore, of heaping up lengthy texts. It is sufficient to go to the subject indices of the Spiritual Writings edition.
Even in view of the fact that after 1837 the texts become less numerous, we must not be led to believe that the mercy of God was less present in the heart of Bishop de Mazenod. Firsthand proof of this is the simple fact that he kept all his retreat notes with the knowledge that they would be read after his death. [8] For him, it was more than an act of humility; it was a way of publicly sharing the mercies of God in his regard. Another testimony in the same vein is his will drawn up in 1854. The expressions used in this document are more restrained, but all the more carefully pondered. We can consider them as the ultimate expression of this aspect of his spirituality. Immediately after his profession of faith, he added: “I implore God’s mercy, by the merits of our divine Saviour Jesus Christ in whom I place all my trust, to obtain pardon for my sins and the grace of my soul being received into holy paradise. With this in mind I invoke the intercession of the most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, daring to remind her in all humility, but with the consolation, too, of the filial devotion of my whole life and the desire I have always had to make her known and loved and to spread her devotion in every place by the ministry of those the Church has given me as children and who are united with me in my desires.” After calling upon the intercession of the angels, the saints and his holy patrons, Saint Joseph and the souls in purgatory of those who survive him, he continued: “I have indeed complete trust that God in his goodness, in virtue of his infinite mercy, will grant me his holy paradise. […] But it is precisely the knowledge of the imperfection of this charity in me and the countless infidelities I have to reproach myself with and which have made it grow cold in my soul, despite the graces with which I have been blessed all my life, that make me fear the length and severity of my purgatory. Acknowledging that I deserve hell, I cannot but acquiesce unreservedly in the sentence of temporal suffering that God’s justice, tempered by his mercy, will pronounce for me. […] It is this persuasion that, to shorten the desirable term, has me cry out to the friends I leave behind me, to borrow the words of the Church’s prayers: miseremini mei saltem vos amici mei.” [9]
It should be noted that Bishop de Mazenod especially invokes the intercession of Mary to obtain divine mercy. For him, this is not a more or less stock formula. His devotion to Mary is well known. It is important to note that he saw the Blessed Virgin Mary especially as being the Mother of Mercy. Father Louis Napoleon Boutin’s book on the spirituality of the Founder has accurately brought this to light. There is no need to restudy that theme here. Along with that same author, it is fitting to add one more trait associated with mercy. This trait emphasizes tenderness and gentleness. Eugene loves to describe Mary as a gentle, tender Mother. God’s mercy will always remain a mystery to us. In Mary’s maternity in our regard, she takes on some of the tenderness that makes her more human for us and brings her closer to us. Through this, she inspires a greater trust. In the Rule, the Founder was quite justified in urging the Oblates to foster trust in Mary among the faithful. On his deathbed, he himself would have the consolation and the reward of hearing as his last prayer, the Salve Regina, a greeting and invocation of the Mother of Mercy, the clement, loving and gentle Virgin Mary.
It was not only for himself, but for all of his own that the Founder saw a great gesture of God’s mercy in the fact of having been called to live and die in the Congregation as children of Mary. A few years before his death, he referred to it in an ordinary letter addressed to one of his missionaries in danger of death in Ceylon: “Yes, my dear Father, it is the Holy Spirit who has inspired you to say to me what you say, which is so true, so harmonious with the divine vocation to which you have been called by a special favor of the divine mercy. […] All who have died in her [the Congregation’s] bosom […] all of them without exception said they knew no terms to express the happiness they felt in dying as sons of Mary in the Congregation to which the mercy of God had called them.” [10]
“Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful.”
There is no question of asking whether Saint Eugene de Mazenod showed himself to be merciful towards others, both to individuals or towards groups of people whom he was evangelizing, or who were under his responsibility. He who had such a vivid grasp of the mercies of God in his regard could not do other than have a sort of instinct, both human and spiritual, to pass on this mercy to his neighbor. We can say he had an instinct, but he also had a conviction based on his understanding of the Gospel and the meaning of Church. This would become especially apparent in his priestly ministry and pastoral practice, as we shall see at length later on. One should still not neglect to consider his attitudes and his way of acting with regard to individuals, especially the “unimportant people” and his spiritual sons and Oblate confreres. Let us start by a few observations on this latter consideration.
Here is where we must consider Eugene’s temperament. As everyone knows, he could give vent to storms of vehement indignation, and in an equivalent space of time, he could calm himself and let mercy and tenderness take over. This comment from Bishop Jacques Jeancard has often been quoted: “I have seen, as well, the Superior General burst out in holy and virtuous indignation with an overwhelming vehemence; then, with a charity equal in warmth, focus the most merciful and consoling concentration on humility and repentance”. [11]
These few lines expose effectively a whole aspect of Eugene’s personality. In spite of his plain-spoken and explosive character, we easily detect in him a heart even more strongly inclined to mercy. His natural inclinations would contribute to this, inclinations which, on the contrary, he never wished to repress. [12] He himself highlights these traits in his self-portrait which he drew up for his spiritual director during his retreat in October 1808. [13] After describing himself as a plain-spoken individual, he went on to say: “It is hard to understand, given the portrait of myself I have just painted, how sensitive a heart I have, overly so in fact”. From his childhood, he was inclined to help the needy. He readily made up for any offense he may have offered anyone, even if the person involved was an ordinary house servant. He had an incredible affection for the house servants who were really attached to him.
A few examples. Some two years before his entry into the seminary, Eugene was appointed to be one of the directors of prisons. Far from considering this position as a sinecure, he gave it his full attention. He wrote to his father that he strove: “to ease their sufferings by every means in our power but above all with the consolation that religion brings”. [14] In the same letter, he relates how he stayed by the side of the wife of a friend of the family, through many long hours of the agony of her dying, suggesting to her all sorts of prayers suitable for a preparation for death.
Later, when he was a priest, he wrote to a longtime friend to urge him, in virtue of their long-standing friendship, to remain or to commit himself to genuine Christian living. To obtain this result, he had not ceased calling down upon him “every day” the mercy of God for ten years. [Emphasis in his original]. [15]
We can see rather well that if Eugene was so naturally inclined to help and assist fellow humans in need, it was because he was commending and leading them to the mercy of God.
These were sentiments the Founder expressed even more frequently toward his Oblate sons and brothers. His mercy flowed from that boundless sensitivity and generosity which imbued his heart. His was a heart of a father, he claimed, but it did not end there; it was a mother’s heart as well. A number of times, he repeated this. For example, towards the end of his life, he wrote: “Often I have told the good Lord that, since he has given me a mother’s heart and sons who merit my love under so many titles, he must allow me to love them immeasurably. This I do in good conscience. It seems to me, dearly beloved son, that the more I love someone like yourself, the more I love God who is the source and bond of our mutual affection. This sentiment is a permanent feature in my soul: I bear it with me wherever I may be, and when these cherished persons are not present, I pour out my feelings before Our Lord in my evening visit, during which I concern myself with them.” [16]
Since they stemmed from the Founder, we would have expected to come upon the word mercy in the Rules he wrote for his Congregation. It is not found there as such. Obviously, we must read between the lines to bring out the idea of mercy. The Founder gave a good deion of the merciful man he aspired to be in his deion of what the Superior General should be: “He will patiently tolerate the faults of each individual; he will listen to each one with kindness; he will gently correct; in a charitable manner, he will help each one at every occasion; he will lend himself zealously to addressing all their spiritual and temporal needs […]”. [17] Beyond the circle of superiors and always according to the Rule, he spoke to all when, for example, on October 9, 1841, he wrote to the missionaries departing for Canada: “Be of one mind; put up with each other. Even though something be not to your liking, take care not to grumble. Communicate the observations that you believe useful, but mildly, not contentiously or bitterly. If they are not adopted, keep your peace and do not swerve from obedience. Never make personal remarks, never be touchy, let there be candor, frankness, simplicity, mildness and especially charity […].” [18] A lot of mercy is contained in this.
We have now come to the stage of treating the manner in which he dealt with Oblates guilty of some transgression. Without considering all the cases, we see the paradoxical character of the Superior General showing from behind the condemnations or exhortations involved. Since he was a no-nonsense individual himself, he found it difficult to understand or tolerate the failings or mediocrity of others; and yet, he never failed to incline toward leniency and clemency. When the occasion arose of expelling a member, it seemed to him that the Congregation was “being sifted by the devil”. He continued to the effect that justice should have been meted out before this, if it had not been for the duplicity of the culprit in question; yet he could not refrain from justifying his actions in the following way: “But, Lord, shall I ever be cured of leaning always towards mercy, when I hope for the repentance of the culprit!” [19]
Concerning another “deserter” whom he has just delivered over to Satan by a decree of expulsion, he wrote: “I used the approach of superabundant mercy, but he obliged me by his extravagant and culpable obstinacy to use the severity he incessantly provoked”. [20] One more and this one a very touching example: to one of his priests in Canada, the Superior General ends off a stern letter by this invitation of most admirable tenderness to come to meet him in Marseilles: “Face to face with me, leaning on my paternal heart, you will be able to tell me whether I am not for you what I should be, that is to say, the most loving, affectionate, and let me say the most merciful, of fathers, for I certainly have things to forgive you for.” [21]
Faced with faults that were manifest and grave, the Superior General could prove merciless. So it was that he ordered the immediate expulsion of a scholastic brother convicted of having been engaged in a particular friendship, understood in the worse sense of the term. In addition, he demanded of that entire community a series of reparative prayers. [22] On the other hand, the previous year, he was ready to admit to the sub-diaconate a scholastic of good will, but who was not lacking in negative signs. He boldly wrote that his course of action was to “rely on God’s mercy who will, so we hope, bless our decision which is more charitable than it is prudent”. [23]
Did the aging bishop put too much trust in God’s mercy? In any case, in this school of God as well as in the school of human experience, he had learned to take into account human weakness and the torpor of the human heart. This is quite apparent in the advice which he wrote to Father Tempier in 1837. Father Tempier had sent to his superior a stern note with regard to a certain penitent. The Founder’s response was: “[..] the note inserted in … [your letter] meant for the penitent concerned was neither friendly nor charitable. People do not expect such hard expressions. If one knows the human heart, one should not expect to heal wounds with such a remedy. Knowing the individual’s sensitivity, I can assure you that he would have been extremely upset by it. That is why I have burnt this little piece of paper which did not at all fit the need.” [24]
Pastoral mercy
The different passages we have quoted and the actions recorded there already belong to his apostolic activity. They pave the way for an understanding of a much broader expression of mercy in the ministry of parish missions. That is where his mercy would take on a more powerful and vibrant form.
We are getting down to the matter at issue, but before we do, we will comment on what could be broadly termed, Eugene de Mazenod’s corporal works of mercy. Jean Leflon provides a deion of it. [25] It might be good to note here that his works of assistance to individuals and social assistance did not have the full scope that the promotion of justice and human dignity have achieved since that time. However, this perspective was not foreign to him since the Founder listed in the Preface of the Constitutions and Rules the stages of the apostolate to which he was summoning the Oblates to “lead men to act like human beings, first of all, and then like Christians, and, finally, we must help them to become saints”. The 1982 Constitutions and Rules are solidly set in this context. We will come back to this toward the end of this study.
When we think of mercy in Saint Eugene de Mazenod’s life, the idea that always comes to mind is the attitude he adopted and practiced and that he bade his fellow Oblates to practice in their pastoral work as missionaries. He made the deliberate choice of making mercy prevail over the contemporary rigorism. In order to understand what was remarkable about the position he took, we have to see it in its historical context.
We do not have to treat of this topic at length. Jansenism, especially in questions of morality was far from absent in the France of the first half of the 19th century. The after-effects from previous centuries still had their influence, especially with regard to the sacrament of penance. [26]
It is difficult for us, in our day, to picture the impact Jansenism had in France right up to the beginning of the 19th century. As Philip Rouillard O.S.B. wrote: “Two spiritualities and two sacramental practices confronted each other in 17th century France. While the Jesuits presupposed trust in human nature, the Jansenists were convinced that the human person was corrupt and that healing could come only through stern discipline. Anthony Arnaud in his work, De la fréquente communion (1643) and Nicholas Pavillon, Bishop of Alet in his Rituel latin-français (1667) recommend moral and sacramental rigorism and this had an enduring influence. But were the ethics they were defending still Gospel ethics?” [27]
There still remained very stubborn vestiges of this attitude in Eugene de Mazenod’s day. In the meantime, however, Alphonsus Liguori’s moral theology was spreading more and more. Without tending to any laxity, it showed much more understanding and compassion, in a word, more mercy. This is the theology and its pastoral application that Father de Mazenod adopted with full knowledge of the surrounding circumstances. Ultramontanism was gaining ground. It was his ultramontanism which inclined him to this, especially since the Holy See looked favorably on Saint Alphonsus’ theology. It was also in harmony with Father de Mazenod’s preferential option for the poor, not simply poor sinners in general, but those groups of more or less abandoned people because it was the poor and abandoned that felt most severely the impact of rigorism, which favored a certain elitism. As Andrew Haquin pointed out in the article referred to above, “the Christian people and especially the poorest felt abandoned and left to their banal existence”. [28] Father de Mazenod felt an authentic call to reach out to the poor to lift them out of their second rate religious existence. He would carry it out by winning them over through the merciful goodness of the Redeemer. At this point, it is appropriate to read once again his first instruction for Lent in 1813: “The poor, a precious portion of the Christian family, cannot be abandoned to their ignorance. Our divine Saviour attached such importance to this that he took on himself the responsibility of instructing them […].” [29]
Eugene de Mazenod’s struggle against Jansenism has been treated at great length by his biographers. We will only point out a few incidents here. Eugene had to face rigorist opinions in his own relatives. From the beginning he resolutely distanced himself from these opinions. Already from 1806 on, he vigorously withstood an uncle whose virtues he admired, but whose Jansenist opinions he categorically rejected. [30] He read and made an in-depth study of a writer with Jansenist tendencies and condemned his errors through a profession of faith written already in 1806. [31] In the seminary, he applied himself conscientiously to the study of moral theology. Even if, according to the Jean Leflon, he received a teaching still tainted with rigorism, he would not incline in that direction. [32] In fact, a few years later when he had become a priest and mission preacher, he would write that, for a long time already, he had set about studying especially Alphonsus Liguori’s moral theology. [33] For the same reasons, he would entrust to Father Domenico Albini the courses of moral theology at the scholasticate; then at the major seminary of Marseilles and later on at the major seminary of Ajaccio. [34] Again in 1830, he exhorted one of his seminarians to temper the severity of his opinions by reading Alphonsus Liguori. [35]
These few references suffice to show that Father de Mazenod’s convictions were based on his trust in the favor shown by the Magisterium for the teaching of Saint Alphonsus. These convictions were deepened by a careful study of these same teachings. They grew to maturity in the practice of parish missions. They would not be shaken by the opposition he would encounter in the clergy and even on the part of a bishop like Bishop Charles-François-Melchior de Miollis. [36] As bishop, he himself had to intervene to counter rigorist tendencies in the ministry of the sacrament of penance. [37]
Indeed, it was in this ministry that he gave vigorous expression to his leniency, gentleness and mercy. This is how, while still a young priest, he described it: “My brothers our menacing tone is only for the pulpit, in the sacred tribunal our language is quite different, perhaps then we are all too indulgent”. [38] But the preaching should already be trying to touch hearts: “After setting out the duties, make an appeal to the heart, don’t be afraid of letting go. It always worked for me, I don’t recall a single occasion of resistance when I used to exercise your holy ministry.” [39] In any case, if they had the choice, they should give priority to the ministry of confessions rather than preaching. The Founder explained his thinking on this matter in a rather long chapter in the Oblate Rule. Woe betide the fainthearted minister who would fear to carry out this ministry. No hesitation in responding to calls for it. Oblates should be neither too lenient nor too stern. Oblates should not be too lenient or too stern. Let them welcome people with an inexhaustible charity; through their kindness and mercy, let them put heart into the discouraged. [40]
It goes without saying that one should be prepared beforehand “by the practice of the most excellent virtues to become worthy ministers of the mercy of God”. [41] But also through study. We said a few things about it earlier in this article. Let us add here that Eugene the seminarian carefully compiled a study notebook dealing with the treatise on penance, desiring, as Jean Leflon wrote, “to acquire the knowledge he would need for his ministry among the humble and poor”. [42]
This ministry would be carried out even at the risk of one’s life in times of epidemics. [43] Even if, in the course of a mission, there were great numbers of people, they were to take the necessary time to carry out this ministry. “Since we follow the confessional method of […] Saint Vincent de Paul, that is, hearing confessions without intermission, we don’t go very fast.” [44] In point of fact, they “stayed there [hearing confessions] for the following 28 hours”. [45] Even during ordinary times, even though Father de Mazenod was faithful to his prayer commitments, he was ready to interrupt contemplation if “someone comes for confession, I must leave O.L., without complaint and regret so as to fulfill this duty of charity […].” [46]
At a time when the practice was to still require of the penitent that he make his confession several times with a certain amount of time in between confessions to ensure his sincerity and perseverance, he insisted that absolution should not be withheld as if one were waiting to ensure impeccability on the part of the penitent. Otherwise, one risks driving the sinner to despair. Father de Mazenod explained his thinking in a fine letter to a pastor who was unhappy with the fruit of a mission because the number of people receiving communion had diminished at Easter: “We must remember that reconciliation in the sacrament of Penance does not give impeccability any more than justification in baptism does. […] In instituting the sacrament of Penance in such a way that it may be worthily received several times by the same person, he [Jesus Christ] has reassured in advance the priest who administers it according to the rule, and at the same time has held back the poor sinner from the despair to which he might have given in without this provident mercy [..].” [47]
Bishop de Mazenod’s mercy in administering the sacrament of penance was concretized in another form which, even if it was not frequent, was not for all that less important. Acting in opposition to the prevailing custom of his time, he felt it was very important to offer the sacraments to those condemned to death. [48] “My liturgical function on Sunday was wonderful. I did not only administer Confirmation to the poor condemned man, but to sanction by my example the principles I have upheld.” He celebrated Mass at the prison and addressed a moving exhortation to the repentant guilty man before placing the Body of Christ on the tongue of this wretched Christian who “burst into tears”.
Perhaps the best portrayal of Eugene de Mazenod’s humane and evangelical heart is to be found in a letter he wrote to Eugene Bruno Guigues following a rather prosaic incident; it seems that some young people had sought some diversion in disrupting one of the ceremonies during a mission. But the superior’s response was by no means insignificant – all the more so in that this was not a carefully pondered official response but rather a spontaneous reaction on the spur of the moment springing from an insight which had been mulled over for a long time and then lived. It seems to me it is worth the trouble of quoting it at length, even if it is lengthy. “I have just received your letter of the 15th and I am leaving aside everything to reply to it. May God save you, my dear friend, from refusing Communion to those, who, being guilty of the mischief which you mention to me, have been repentant. You yourself admit that they were only carried along by their exuberance and not at all by hostile intention. Oh! you are sent by God to forgive greater sins than theirs and even greater scandals than the one they may have given by their thoughtlessness. Once they had been reconciled, it was your duty to admit them to the Holy Table to make them fulfill, at the same time, their Paschal duty and the obligation they had undoubtedly been feeling to receive Communion which they had neglected. I am afraid that the anxiety in which I find you has not permitted you to accord a fairly kind welcome to these young people. The opposite gesture would have won their hearts and would have urged them to draw towards you those who were more guilty than they. And if these latter end up by surrendering themselves, no doubt you must make them also receive Communion at the end of the mission. Remember that you are sent to sinners, and even to hardened sinners. You must expect resistance from the devil; he will not easily let go of his prey. This resistance manifests itself now in one way, and now in another. Jesus Christ is always the victor, “Christus vincit”. He demands sacrifices, “Christus imperat”. He establishes his reign in souls, “Christus regnat”. This is all that we desire, this is the result of and compensation for our labours. We are the ministers of his mercy, and so let us always have the tenderness of a father towards all; let us easily forget the insults that are sometimes committed against us in the exercise of our ministry as the good Lord wishes to forget the offenses continually being committed against him. The father of the prodigal son was not content with putting the best robe on him and having a ring put on his finger, he had the fatted calf killed as well. In the same way, we must not only reconcile sinners, but in view of all the graces granted to them during the mission, of the guarantees their fidelity gives to respond thereto and of the efforts they have had to make for all this, we admit them to the sacred banquet, we give them the bread of life so that they can advance in this new path which they are to follow, and may, at the same time, fulfill an imperative duty that urges them.” [49]
We know that the saint cherished a great devotion to the Sacred Heart. Another article will deal with this subject. I offer just a few lines here to highlight the link between this devotion and mercy in the spirituality of the Founder and a few of his sons. One could very well expect that the Heart of Jesus would reveal to Eugene the deep roots of his merciful love and would be for him a vigorous incentive to give back love for love. [50] What sharing of love took place between him and Jesus remains a secret between them. To me, what seems to especially stand out is the aspect of reparation. The mercy he received made him all the more sensitive to insults directed at the Heart of Jesus and he felt the need to make reparation for them. The public ceremonies he organized or which he led were designed to be acts of reparation in view of asking God’s forgiveness and other blessings. In this matter he was following the trend of this devotion as it was practiced in his time after the apparitions to Saint Margaret Mary and as fostered by the Church.
It also seems that the Oblates were working along the same lines when they built the basilica in Montmartre and promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart through ministry from the basilica. The inion on the pediment of the basilica captures this well: Sacratissimo Cordi Jesu Christi Gallia paenitens et devota (To the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a repentant and devoted France). Having established these shades of meaning, the fact remains that reparation consists in asking for forgiveness and by having recourse to the mercy of God.
One would have to retrace the whole history of devotion to the Sacred Heart among the Oblates and as promoted by them. I limit myself here to what went on in France as associated with names like Alfred Yenveux, John Baptist Lemius and Felix Anizan, the latter particularly through his books and his review Regnabit. Their influence was considerable, to give only one example among many other possible examples, in the life of an Oblate originally from France but who worked in Canada, Father Victor Lelièvre. A recent book authored by Father Mary Louis Parent bearing the title Victor Lelièvre, a Man Electrified by the Sacred Heart, gives us the picture of an apostle for whom devotion to the Sacred Heart bore marvelous fruit in the form of mercy. Many Oblates have experienced a profound affinity with this peerless confrere. He had learned from his formators in France this most vivid sense of divine mercy as revealed in the Heart of Jesus.
While acknowledging the need of a more carefully nuanced study of this matter, I would be inclined to believe that Saint Eugene’s sense of mercy appears in a stronger light in his devotion to Mary. We have already touched on this point when speaking of the mercy he implored and received from God through Mary. The same held true for his apostolate. He never forgot to call upon his sons and through them the whole Christian people to entrust themselves to Mary. She is, not more merciful than God – that would be absurd – but rather a special revelation of God’s mercy, a revelation particularly adapted to the human heart: a gentle and tender Mother, mother of mercy. These are terms which came easily to mind for the Founder and Pastor. Almost as an official prayer, he prescribed for the Oblates the prayer Sub tuum praesidium. [51]
We could multiply the events and texts that tell of Bishop de Mazenod’s trusting recourse to the Mother of Mercy. Just one example. When a cholera epidemic was raging in Marseilles, he described to his mother how this calamity called forth “a holy explosion of devotion to the Blessed Virgin […] my heart bursts so amid this very wonderful devotion. I think the Lord cannot but allow himself to be touched nor his divine Mother fail to obtain us mercy.” [52] In a subsequent letter to another correspondent, he was able to announce cessation of the plague and he added: “It is a fine compensation for my sufferings to see God glorified in this way, so many souls converted, and our town healed by these all-powerful means employed by infinite mercy”. [53]
This is the point to conclude this section on mercy in the Founder’s pastoral practice by a brief reference to the apostolate carried out in the pilgrimage centres. As we know, he was pleased to accept on behalf of the Congregation the staffing of pilgrimage sites dedicated to Mary. He saw in this a kind of ongoing mission and did not fail to give full value to and stress how in those places the mercy of God was made available to sinners. [54] Let us note here a passage from the acts of his visitation in which he congratulated the fathers of Notre-Dame du Laus on their zeal for the ministry of confession: “Whence an ever growing gathering of the faithful who flock to our good Mother with the assurance that on the steps leading to the earthly throne of the Queen of Heaven they will find zealous servants of her divine Son invested with the special responsibility of bringing sinners to reconciliation; upon these sinners, this Mother of Mercy by her powerful protection calls down pardon and peace. This is the source of so many conversions.” [55]
It would be superfluous to elaborate on the fact that practically all over the world the Oblates have continued to carry on this ministry of mercy. To give only one example, the same experiences of mercy recur in great numbers at Notre Dame du Cap in Quebec.
A text taken from the last years of his life illustrate in concise but striking fashion how the aging bishop united into the same act of trust his recourse to the hearts of Jesus and Mary with expectation of their mercy, favors and help. This text has been taken from a speech presented at the closing session of a council held by the ecclesiastical province of Aix, on September 23, 1850: “We are especially justified in expecting these blessings [desired by the council], from the most merciful heart of Jesus while we ask for them by invoking at the same time the maternal mercy of the heart of Mary so intimately united to the heart of her Son and through which is communicated to mankind, as through a wonderful channel, the graces of God. Ah! From the depths of this valley of tears, the heart of a mother in which we perceive our hope will pour forth blessings on us all the more to the extent that her glory will been reflected in our works.” [56]
The Founder’s MERCIFUL PROFILE
Like every other human being and even more so, the person of Bishop de Mazenod is made up of contrasts. Like many others, Jean Leflon did not fail to stress them. [57] For the person who wishes to find full integration without sacrificing anything that is good, the trick is to bring these contrasts into harmony, by transcending them in a higher state of balance. So, in the case of our subject, how will severity and gentleness find resolution in Saint Eugene?
In giving us a comprehensive picture of the bishop, Leflon offers us the following assessment on the episcopacy of the Bishop of Marseilles: “His manner, during his episcopate, was influenced less by Saint Francis de Sales than by Saint Charles [Borromeo], whose character more closely mirrored his own than did that of de Sales, who was always gentle and cheerful even in his strictest demands.” [58] Let us not lose sight of the fact that we are dealing with the administration of the Diocese of Marseilles, and even there, of the bishop’s style of administration, not whether his actions were justified or not. In another place in his book, the same biographer acknowledges that “his experiences in the ministry eventually inclined him toward a certain ‘pessimism’ which may have contributed to making him less rigorous than the confessors of his day in discouraging the weaknesses of sinners”. [59]
Saint Eugene underwent a certain evolution. Leflon sees this reflected in three of his portraits, each as different as their dates. The first reveals “the determination of a young missionary, launched upon the regeneration of a society drastically changed by the Revolution. The second portrait, made when he became Bishop of Icosia, accentuates his self-assurance […] he still retains the same rigidity and the same lack of gentleness found in the first portrait. Completely different, however, is the photograph of the old man, marked by his trials: it leaves an impression of fatigue and sad weariness; the forcefulness is still there but one guesses that it lacks any illusions about human capabilities and that it is mingled with meekness and serenity; in the deep-set and half-closed eyes, what was once a flame has now become a glow.” [60]
Even if we do not find the word in Leflon’s text, can we not say that it is mercy that is the predominant feature in this gaze, its strength and its glow? In the end, these tendencies, too strongly contrasting in the beginning join into something exalted, something simpler. As well as into something more closely related to the mystery of the Father’s mercy in which we see divine perfection at work in our world. “The work of justice in God always presupposes the work of mercy and is based on it.” [61] “Be perfect, that is merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful” (Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:36).
New perspectives
This theological digression prepares us for the reading of two Oblate texts which are important to consider. In the first place, we deal with Father Leo Deschâtelets’ circular letter dated the Feast of the Assumption 1951 and bearing the title: Our Vocation and our Life of Intimate Union with Mary Immaculate. [62] Of a very different character than the writings of the Founder, through this document one of his successors places the calling shared by Mary Immaculate and the individual Oblate at the heart of the mystery of divine mercy.
The thinking behind this letter is based on that which is most profound and most beautiful in the plan of redemptive mercy: it is not just that humanity benefits from it, but that it is called by an ever growing love to cooperate actively with it. Now in this order of cooperation Mary holds pride of place: herself redeemed by the most sublime redemption, she is the one most closely associated with the entire work of that same redemption in all its scope from the time of the offering made on Calvary to the consummation in holiness of all the members of Christ. That is her role as mother. Immaculate in virtue of the highest degree of redemptive mercy, Mary is, in virtue of the same design, universal Mother of Mercy. Consequently, the more a vocation summons someone to collaboration in carrying out this design, the more he must rely upon and involve himself in intimate dependence on Mary Immaculate. How intimate then is the communion that the mystery of divine mercy establishes between the Oblate missionary and the one whom the Founder loved to call Mother of Mercy!
The image of the Virgin Mary leads us to another text we should consider, that of the Constitutions and Rules of 1982. The only passage where the word mercy is used, is the one used to describe Mary as Mother of Mercy (C 10). This topic will be treated elsewhere in this dictionary. But here it is fitting to point out that the mention of Mary in this particular place in the Constitutions sets off in sharper relief the articles about which we wish to speak, namely, C 9 and C 10 and R 7-10. Even though the word is not used in these texts, mercy is the inspiration for and influence behind this aspect of the apostolic endeavors of Oblates. Here we find new perspectives.
It is still and more than ever so mercy which strains to alleviate wretchedness, but in a new way and with a deeper and broader scope. Something beyond commiseration for those who suffer, something even more than understanding and leniency for those at fault, mercy includes all these qualities but goes beyond them. It is akin to what the Scriptures call in Greek crestoths and which could be translated as generosity. That is God’s style, not only to give help from above or from afar to his wretched creature, but to draw close to it. The Most High makes himself personally present to his creature. Obtaining for us the free gifts of freedom and access to his kingdom are not the only things he does. He sends us his Son to take on our flesh and dwell among us. He is and contains all of humanity. In him, through him, with him, it is the whole of humanity which is restored and finds its way back to the Father. As a result of this closeness, each and every one is led to cooperate in his work of salvation to bring it to fulfillment. This is what shows forth divine mercy. It is more honorable for us and therefore more merciful on the part of God to enable us to be, through a member of our race, cooperators with God’s gifts.
These considerations allow us to see the significance of the articles which are of interest to us, without analyzing of them. [63] Indeed, they begin with this expression which is simple but fraught with meaning: “We will always be close to the people with whom we work […]” A few features, then, explain the consequences: constant attention to their aspirations and to the values they carry in their hearts; boldness in presenting the Gospel demands and to open new avenues to the message of salvation; humility in the face of our own shortcomings and trust in the power of God; to lead all, especially the poor, to full awareness of their dignity as human beings and of their divine sonship. Constitution 9 and the corresponding rules 9 and 10 develop it even further.
As members of the prophetic Church, bearing witness to the justice and the holiness of God; proclaiming the liberating presence of Christ and of a new world; hearing and making heard the cry of the voiceless, like a cry (allusion to the Magnificat) to God who casts down the mighty and lifts up the poor. To know how to learn from the poor new ways of practicing Gospel poverty; to allow ourselves to be enriched by their culture and their religious traditions. Finally and even more, according to the specific calls, to identify with the poor to the point of sharing their lives and their commitments or to make oneself present where decisions are made that affect their lives.
This complex of features will not fail to have an impact on the practice of the vows and on the interior life. This theme runs throughout the Constitutions and Rules. Let us point out a few of its more obvious manifestations. “[Celibacy] expresses our total gift of self to God and to others with all our affection, with all the life-giving powers of our being. Our celibacy allows us to be present where the most urgent needs are to be found, to give witness as a group to the Father’s love for us and to our enduring love for him” (C 16). The vow of poverty “compels us to enter into a closer communion with Jesus and with the poor […] When faced with the demands of our mission and the needs to be met, we may feel weak and helpless. It is then that we can learn from the poor, especially making our own their patience, hope and solidarity.” (C 20) “By obedience we become the servants of all. Challenging the spirit of domination, we stand as a sign of that new world wherein persons recognize their close interdependence” (C 25). “[…] we seek his presence in the hearts of the people and in the events of daily life as well as in the Word of God, in the sacraments and in prayer” (C 31). In exchange, “we come before him bearing with us the daily pressures of our anxiety for those to whom he sends us” (C 32).
It seems to be obvious enough that in the Constitutions and Rules the great trend for mercy is summed up in the already quoted phrase taken from Constitution 8: “close to the people with whom we work”. The concrete expressions this will take can assume infinitely renewable forms, but they will always issue forth from their main source, the merciful generosity of the Father. It manifested itself in us when we saw his Son draw close to us and became our road to reach Him. Imitating God and walking in the footsteps of Christ, we should be inspired by the same mercy (Ephesians 4:32-5:2). “Be good as the Most High is good (crestos). Be merciful as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36).
JACQUES GERVAIS
