… continue to have them learn by heart several verses of the New Testament every day
Letter to Henri Tempier, 18 June 1821, EO VI n. 68
Familiarity with the Sacred Scriptures was an essential requirement for the Missionary. It was a process that began in the novitiate. This meant that if the novice learnt something like two verses per day, by the end of the year he would have been very familiar with some 600 New Testament verses. Reflected here is Eugene’s own passion for the Word of God which he read every day.
In the Oblate archives in Rome we have the little Bible that Eugene always carried in his pocket. In it there is a note in which he calculates how many chapters of the Old and New Testaments he had to read every day in order to have read the whole Bible each year.
His writings witness to his familiarity with the Bible and thus he was able to say in 1837 as he prepared to become Bishop of Marseille:
I give you thanks, O Lord, for having made shine forth this light from the sacred deposit of your Holy Scriptures. As you show me the way I should follow, and give me the desire to follow it, you will also give me the powerful help of your grace
Retreat preparatory to taking possession of the episcopal see of Marseilles,
May 1837, EO XV n. 185
“People cannot make Scripture conform to their lifestyle; they must make their lifestyle conform to Scripture.” Edwin Louis Cole
I never learned the Scriptures as some of my friends did and so cannot quote them by verse and chapter. I have read St. Paul’s letters though many times – I am drawn to him and to the Psalms, another of God’s wonderous gifts.
“As you show me the way I should follow, and give me the desire to follow it, you will also give me the powerful help of your grace.” I find myself just wanting to sit with this quote from Eugene’s notes and reflect solely on this one sentence, it says it all. I tried life apart from God and it simply did not work! But when I came to the realisation that life on it’s own was empty, as was I, then I was able to hear God speak to me and say my name. The beginning. To be given a glimpse of life, then to be filled with the desire for that life. And finally to be given the grace to help me try to live out and pursue that desire. How could anyone not say yes to such an invitation, how could anyone not let go of everything to follow such a path. How could I not say yes to somehow giving all of myself to God.
Today is Thanksgiving Day and I find myself going back to todays reading from Paul’s letter to the Colossians 3 – beginning with “as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved …” and finishing with “…. giving thanks to God the Father through him.” I give thanks today, to God, and to all of you, for somehow through God we are all connected and you become that grace which supports and guides my oblation.