MY DEAR SON, WHOM I RECEIVED SO YOUNG INTO OUR FAMILY, WHOM I HAVE SEEN GROW IN AGE, IN KNOWLEDGE AND IN VIRTUE
The father of the Oblate family recalled with emotion his 27 years of association with the newly-orained Bishop Bruno Guigues since his admission to the novitiate in 1821.
Oh, how I would have pressed you to my heart, my dear son, whom I received so young into our family, whom I have seen grow in age, in knowledge and in virtue, whom I have chosen to be my “other ego”, in whom I have put all my confidence to govern a considerable portion of this family that I have sent so far from me to serve the Church, the glory of God and the salvation of souls. I was thus preparing, without knowing, your accession to the sublime dignity to which the will of God has called you.
Being a Bishop changed nothing of his Oblate roots and identity. Eugene encourages him to stay faithful to all that has helped him as a religious now that he is a successor of the apostles.
Fear nothing, dear friend; a missionary Bishop who wishes to be faithful to his vocation and keep the spirit thereof and even, inasmuch as possible, the life-giving practices which were so useful to him in the course of his apostolic life, this Bishop is in possession of the “bonum opus” [ed. the good work] which he has not desired but from which he will derive all the benefit that the first bishops of the Church knew how to profit from, those to whom the Apostle Paul gave his own example and counsels.
Letter to Bishop Guigues in Bytown, 25 July 1848, EO 1 n. 99
REFLECTION
“Spiritual identity means we are not what we do or what people say about us. And we are not what we have. We are the beloved daughters and sons of God. (Henri Nouwen)
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“Being a Bishop changed nothing of his Oblate roots and identity. Eugene encourages him to stay faithful to all that has helped him as a religious now that he is a successor of the apostles.”
I find myself focusing this morning on Eugene’s words to Bishop Guigues. Both men had their Oblate foundations, Eugene who was the Founder and Father of a growing family, along with Bishop Guigues, whose foundation included that of being an Oblate missionary. It would be as an Oblate Missionary that he would be ordained as a Bishop, and how he express himself and live his oblation; his heartbeat would be that of an Oblate
.
I think of the many members of our Oblate/Mazenodian Family who have started out on their journey of life walking with the Oblates – many who would grow up, marry and have children of their own who would perhaps one day choose to say yes to the call of the Spirit in much the same way that their parents said yes. Eugene’s charism would become a part of their DNA.
I still struggle with the idea that any person must leave their foundational family to serve God and the Church. It is God who calls us to a particular way of being, and many of us find that way of being, that way of sharing in community is the very gift that God gives to us so that we might continue to grow with that specific nourishment that over time will grow and be fruitful no matter the title or job we are sent to.
From my very own human point of view, it would seem to me that God gave Bruno Guigues exactly what he needed and that would help him in his service of love as a Bishop.
Bishop Bruno (Eugene) Guigues OMI had been given all the tools that he would need for this new adventure in his life.