December 3 – SAINT EUGENE PROCLAIMED A MAN OF ADVENT.
Eugene de Mazenod, whom the Church today proclaims a saint, was a man of Advent, a man of the Coming. He not only looked forward to that Coming, but, as a Bishop and the founder of the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, he dedicated his whole life to preparing for it. His waiting reached the intensity of heroism, that is, it was marked by a heroic degree of faith, hope and apostolic charity. Eugene de Mazenod was one of those apostles who prepared the modern age, our age. […]
Eugene de Mazenod, in fact, had a very profound awareness of the universality of the Church’s mission. He knew that Christ wanted to unite the whole human race to himself. This is why throughout his life he devoted particular attention to the evangelization of the poor, wherever they were found. […]
His influence is not limited to the age in which he lived, but continues its effect on our time. Indeed, the good accomplished by virtue of the Holy Spirit does not perish, but continues in every “hour” of history.
Saint John Paul II, homily at the canonization of Eugene de Mazenod, 3 December 1995.
