While Eugene was waiting for the cardinals to meet to discuss the status of the Oblates, he continued to occupy himself with the concerns of the Oblate Congregation. I will comment on some of these letters and the concerns that he wrote about from Rome.
In his dealings with the Vatican authorities he became aware that they had not understood the global missionary dream of the Oblate who, despite being a tiny group, dreamt of one day bringing the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Your Eminence, the last time I had the honour of conversing with Your Eminence, I had the impression that Your Eminence believed we were requesting the specific approbation of our Congregation only for France. Such a misunderstanding would be too harmful to the good the Congregation intends to accomplish with God’s help. Hence I have the duty to assure Your Eminence, by this present letter, that one of the main reasons prompting us to seek the approbation of the Holy See was precisely our ardent desire to spread abroad in all parts of the Catholic world, the benefits of the ministries to which the members of our Society are dedicated. And this, on the invitation of the common Father of all the faithful as well as at the request of the bishops of various dioceses.
Several members of the Congregation would willingly go and preach the gospel to non-believers; when they will be more numerous it is possible that the superiors will send them to America, either to be of assistance to poor Catholics who are bereft of every spiritual benefit, or to win new members to the faith.
Letter to Cardinal Pedicini, 2 January 1826, EO XIII n 51
“If you think big, then it’s going to be big.” Emeril Lagasse
I am wondering this morning what it would look like if we were each to write our own version of Martin Luther’s speech of “I have a dream”.
Eugene had a dream, one that he gave his life to with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. It was sometimes a bumpy ride but he gave it his all and inspired others to join to him. It encompassed the whole world. Here he speaks first of the ‘Catholic’ world and then further on when mentioning America and being of “assistance to poor Catholics who are bereft of every spiritual benefit” he speaks of the possibility of his, their [Oblates] desire to win new members to the faith. That is huge. Big thinking indeed.
It sets my heart on fire. It again begs me to look further at what my dream would look like. My dream inspired by the dream of St. Eugene, fed and nurtured by God and the Church, lived out in the reality of being an Oblate Associate. My small part in the mission as I am called. Who I am. And I too have a dream.