Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

“They will always regard her as mother” Eugene had written when we officially became Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate after our papal approbation in 1826. He asked us to have a “tender and filial devotion.” Throughout his whole life he was accompanied by Mary – because of this Rule that he quotes in his retreat notes:

Devotion to Mary must also characterize us: At least once a day they will pay a visit to the Blessed Sacrament and a visit to the Blessed Virgin, towards whom all the missionaries will cultivate a special devotion, and to whom they will always look up as to their Mother
They will recite the rosary every day, and will leave nothing undone to make the faithful most fervently and trustfully devout to this Immaculate Virgin and the most holy Mother of God. 

Retreat notes, October 1831, EO XV n. 163

Eugene died during the praying of the Salve Regina, at these words: “Turn then, most gracious Advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus, O merciful, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!”

Father Fabre describes the scene:

We recited the entire Salve Regina, which our well-loved Father understood and followed fully. At the words: Nobis post hoc exilium ostende, he opened his eyes slightly; at each invocations: O clémens, o Pia, he made a slight movement; at the third: O Dulcis Virgo Maria, he breathed his last. His beautiful soul was in the presence of God. (Circular Letter to the Congregation 26 May 1861)

REFLECTION

Because of his life-long closeness to Mary, she did indeed accompany him to the fruit of her womb: Jesus. May we learn to look on her as mother and as our faithful faith-companion on our Christian journey to be shown the fruit of her womb at its fulfilment in our own death.

Writing from Rome, where he was to participate in the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Eugene wrote to the Oblates in Marseilles.

On the feast day itself, we must expose the Blessed Sacrament at eleven o’clock of the morning, which will be the hour during which the Pope will proclaim the announced dogmatic definition and, after the prayer “pro gratiarum actione,” we shall sing with a holy enthusiasm the “Tota pulchra es,” etc. This is the least we can do to express our joy and gratitude on the occasion of this great event over which no one ought to rejoice more than we, who are children of Mary Immaculate, we, the members of a Congregation which does battle under this beautiful name, a truly personal prerogative through the intervention of the very Head of the Church, the great Pope Leo XII.

In advance I approve everything that you will do to make the feast of the Immaculate more solemn than ever. Let the holy mountain [ed. of Notre Dame de la Garde] be lit up twice as much as what is done for the feast in August. Fires of rejoicing are to be organized, not to forget that there be one at Montolivet, we have to light up all the windows of our house at La Garde, the facade of Le Calvaire. In a word, do all that you can to express the enthusiastic joy that all true sons of Mary are experiencing.

Letter to Fr Casimir Aubert in Marseilles, 28 November 1854, EO XI n 1255

REFLECTION

“The Immaculate Virgin however invites us not to fix our eyes on her but to pass beyond, and as much as possible, to enter into the mystery in which she was conceived: the mystery of God who is One and Three, full of grace and fidelity. As the moon shines with the light of the sun, so the immaculate splendour of Mary is totally relative to that of the Redeemer. The Mother leads us to her Son; passing through her, we reach Christ. For this reason, Dante Allighieri notes fittingly: “that her radiance alone can dispose you to see Christ”. (Pope St John Paul 2)

In February 1849, Pope Pius IX had consulted all the bishops of the world asking their opinion on possibly proclaiming the dogma of the Immaculate Conception

What do you have to say about the beautiful decision to be taken concerning the Immaculate Conception of the Most Holy Virgin? We are happy to have been called upon to concur with our vote in this great event. I wrote to the Pope that never a decree of the Holy See could have been more magnificent in resting on the judgement of the whole Church dispersed in all parts of the world. It is more than a General Council. I have responded to the interpellation of the Head of the Church like the Fathers of the Councils, “judicans subscripsi.” That is what the Pope demands.

Letter to Bishop Bourget in Montreal. 10 May 1849, EO I, n 117

REFLECTION

“Today we contemplate the humble girl of Nazareth who, by an extraordinary and ineffable privilege, was preserved from the contagion of original sin and from every fault, so that she could be a worthy dwelling-place for the Incarnate Word. In Mary, the New Eve, Mother of the New Adam, the Father’s original, wondrous plan of love was re-established in an even more wondrous way.

Therefore the Church gratefully acclaims: “Through you, immaculate Virgin, the life we had lost was returned to us. You received a child from heaven, and brought forth to the world a Saviour” (St John Paul 2)

Reflecting on the zealous achievements of his missionary family, Eugene exclaimed:

What is remarkable is that these marvels are accomplished by our men who attribute to Mary Immaculate all these great things

Letter to Fr Hippolyte Courtès in Aix en Provence, 11 January 1847, EO X n 920

REFLECTION

“Mary Immaculate… received Christ in order to share him with the world, whose hope he is. In her, we recognize the model of the Church’s faith and of our own” (OMI Constitution 10)

Mary, teacher of faith, who by your obedience to the Word of God cooperated in a remarkable way with the work of redemption, help us to listen to the Word and to put it into practice today.

As Superior General, whenever Eugene sent Oblates to the missions outside of France, he entrusted them to Mary Immaculate’s care. Here are just two examples.

When he sent Father Semeria and the first community to Ceylon:

Now go forward, beloved Son, to the work that is entrusted to you together with those whom we have chosen to be your companions in those distant parts of Asia, for the greater glory of God, which we must further there and everywhere.

May the Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary, our loving Mother, keep you always under her protection. May the angels of God assist you. And as for Us, beloved son in Christ, we will not cease to implore for you an abundant rain of divine grace from heaven.

Act of Appointment of Fr. Etienne Semeria to Ceylon, 24 October 1847, EO IV n 1 (Ceylon)

In 1851 Eugene sent Henri Tempier on an important and delicate mission to visit the Oblates and assess their religious and missionary life in Canada. It is with this wish that he missioned him:

Go then in the name of the Lord, well-beloved son, towards that part of our family which is separated from us by so great a distance, which we have always present and intimately united to us, following it as we do with all the affection of our heart. Accomplish faithfully for its good the ministry that has been entrusted to you. May the Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary, our most loving Mother, keep you continually under her protection; may the Angel of God also be propitious to you in your going and in your coming back; during this time, we shall not cease to implore from heaven an abundant shower of graces for you.

Letter to Henri Tempier en route to Canada, 1 May 1851, EO II n 145

REFLECTION

“As sailors are guided into port by the shining of a star, so Christians are guided to heaven by Mary” (Saint Thomas Aquinas)

Eugene’s diary entry notes:

It is appropriate to recount here the privilege granted to our congregation by our Holy Father Pope Gregory XVI, in regard to the scapular or little habit of the Holy Virgin, decreed by the general chapter of 1837.

Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 20 August 1843, EO XXI

The 1837 General Chapter had asked that a cloth scapular of the Virgin Mary be given to every Oblate on the day of his perpetual oblation. This custom continues today, except that the cloth scapular has been replaced by a medal of Mary Immaculate.

I have had a copy made of the rescript which authorizes superiors to bless the scapulars of the Immaculate Conception which the Chapter of 1837 adopted… This hidden apparel, which will be your own, must be dear to all the members of the Congregation. It will serve as the uniform which distinguishes us from the simple servants of Mary and which constitutes us exteriorly as her elite troops. On the day of oblation, it will be blessed solemnly just like the cross and placed momentarily on the cassock of the new Oblate. After the ceremony, he will hide it under the soutane, taking care to let the two pendants fall one on the chest and the other on the shoulders.

Letter to Father Jean Baptiste Honorat, 18 August 1843, EO I n 24

REFLECTION

The meaning of the scapular continues to be expressed today:

We shall always look on her as our mother. In the joys and sorrows of our missionary life, we feel close to her who is the Mother of Mercy. Wherever our ministry takes us, we will strive to instil genuine devotion to the Immaculate Virgin who prefigures God’s final victory over all evil. (CC&RR Constitution 10)

We are members of the prophetic Church. While recognizing our own need for conversion, we bear witness to God’s holiness and justice. We announce the liberating presence of Jesus Christ and the new world born in his resurrection. We will hear and make heard the clamour of the voiceless, which is a cry to God who brings down the mighty from their thrones and exalts the lowly (cf. Lk 1: 52). (OMI Rule, Constitution 9)

The wording of this Constitution startled some when the time came for its ecclesiastical approval. Father Jetté, who was the Superior General, responded in the name of the Oblates:

“The allusion to Mary’s canticle is to be read in the biblical perspective of salvation. As Oblates of Mary Immaculate we love to live our vocation of missionaries to the poor according to the example of her who was fully attentive to the needs of the little ones and the poor among God’s People. On January 30, 1979, in his homily at the shrine of Zapopan (Mexico), Pope John Paul II did not hesitate to quote this same passage when he was speaking of the Christian commitment to serving the poorest of the poor” (Réponse aux Observations de la S.C.R.I.S., April 16, 1982)” F. Jetté, The Apostolic Man, p. 103

Mary Immaculate is patroness of our Congregation. Open to the Spirit, she consecrated herself totally as lowly handmaid to the person and work of the Saviour. She received Christ in order to share him with all the world, whose hope he is. In her, we recognize the model of the Church’s faith and of our own. (OMI Rule, Constitution 10)

Oblates of the Immaculate Mary. But this is a passport to heaven! How have we not thought of it sooner?

The entries of the past days have taken a look back at the place of Mary in the life of Eugene and in his ministry to help us to undefstand why he as able to exclaim, “How have we not thought of it sooner?”

Having made the request for a change of name in the petition he wrote to the Pope, he reflected on his lack of enthusiasm for the name “Oblates of Saint Charles”:

The Oblates of Mary! This name satisfies the heart and the ear. I must admit to you that I was quite surprised, when it was decided to take the name I had thought should be left aside, at being so unmoved, at feeling so little pleasure, I would almost say a kind of repugnance, at bearing the name of a saint who is my particular protector, for whom I have so much devotion.

And now I see the reason; we were inconsiderate 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.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 22 December 1825, EO VI n 213

REFLECTION

“When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”        Acts 1:13-14

Having decided to change the name of our Congregation, Eugene now asked the Pope to give us this name officially. When this request was eventually granted, Eugene was able to proclaim everywhere that it was “the name that the Pope has given us.”

At the same time, we ask Your Holiness that, in the Brief of Approval which the Missionaries request, you give them the name of Oblates of the Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary instead of Oblates of Saint Charles: this to avoid any confusion of names with other Congregations; 

“As Father Fernand Jetté stated, the title of a religious family usually expresses its nature, essence and function. It really seems that the choice of the title Missionary Oblates of the Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary must have been the culmination of a new and deeper insight into the mission of the Congregation on the part of Father de Mazenod. He discovered Mary as the person who was the most committed to the service of Christ, the poor and the Church and saw her as the most comprehensive model of apostolic life as required by his Congregation.”   Casimir Lubowicki, “Mary” in the Dictionary of Oblate Values, https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/mary/

and further, if you are agreeable and if you approve, to make it clear that Father de Mazenod, who was thereto named by unanimous vote of his co-workers, be and remain the superior of the Society of the Missionary (from now on called, if it pleases Your Holiness) Oblates of the Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary.

 The most humble, faithful and devoted son of Your Holiness,

Father de Mazenod, Vicar General of Marseilles

Petition for approbation to Pope Leo XII, 8 December 1825, EO XIII n.48

Mary’s encounter with the plan of God’s love for her had changed her life – just as Eugene’s encounter with God’s love had done. The Gospel of Luke narrates the response of Mary to the actions and words of her son: “His mother treasured all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51).

Similarly Eugene treasured the “virtues and examples of Jesus Christ” and pondered them in his heart and in this way his “inner vision” would be a source of meaning and of transformation for himself and for others.

During the day we will also make … a visit … to the Blessed Virgin, to whom we will all have a special devotion and great affection.

1818 Rule, Part Two, Chapter One. §5 On prayer and exercises of piety 

 Today, Mary continues to be this missionary model :

We shall always look on her as our mother. In the joys and sorrows of our missionary life, we feel close to her who is the Mother of Mercy.

CC&RR, Constitution 10

REFLECTION

 Caryll Houselander captured this spirit when she referred to Mary as the “Reed of God” through which the music of the Incarnation took flesh. She wrote:

“It is the emptiness like the hollow in the reed…which can only have one destiny; to receive the piper’s breath and to utter the song that is in his heart.”