THE SUBLIME PRIESTHOOD WITH ALL THE GIFTS OF GOD WHICH WILL MAKE YOUR MINISTRY FRUITFUL
Eugene’s visit to the Nancy area was to have included the ordination to the priesthood of Ferdinand Grenier, but Eugene had to cut short his visit to rush back to Marseilles because of the outbreak of cholera
You would have understood that I had always wanted to impose hands on you myself… The good Lord has deprived me of that consolation; I offer it in sacrifice…
Allow my heart to have all the regret of having travelled more than 200 leagues to have the consolation of imposing my hands and then having to leave without being able to communicate to you the sublime priesthood with all the gifts of God which will make your ministry fruitful. These are some of the painful things which occur in life. I unite myself with you at least in spirit and pray the most abundant blessings of the Lord are showered upon you. Receive the first assurances from the blessing that I give you as I embrace you with all my heart.
Letter to Fr. Ferdinand Grenier, in Nancy, 13 September 1849, EO X n 1019
REFLECTION
Eugene, who always considered himself the spiritual father of each Oblate, saw this paternity doubled in the Oblate if he was able to confer the sacrament of priestly ordination on him.
“Can I recall without emotion that the first fruit of my fecundity was the precious Father Casimir Aubert, the first on whom I imposed hands. No one could guess what transpired in my soul when in profound recollection I invoked the sovereign priest Jesus Christ with all the power with which I was invested to bring about this great miracle, and lifted up my hands over the dear head of my well-beloved son and passed on to him a share of that abundance of grace and power of which I had myself received the plenitude some months before.
… it seemed to me, I say, that my own spirit communicated itself to him, that my heart expanded in the outpouring of a charity, a supernatural love that produced in its turn something more than human. It seemed to me that I could say like our divine Master that a power had gone out from me and I knew it… This miracle is worked in every ordination I perform.” (Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 25 March 1837, EO XVIII n 18)
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Most of us will never experience what it is to ordain another to the priesthood, but this morning we are invited to look at what we are invited to recall in moments when we give birth to new life, become Godparents, to be teachers and see the fruits of those we have shared our experiences of life and joy with us… For some of us, our deepest joys are in sharing the Eucharist as Eucharistic Ministers, or accompanying another through the formation period in their lives as they make their commitments/vows as members of the Oblate Family or as members of other faith families…
The morning is not about “what we are not” but rather about how God empowers each of us with gifts to make our ministries fruitful; to love and share our experience(s) of God and to allow others to share their fruits with us. It is about relationships and community,
“We will always be close to the people with whom we work, taking into account their values and aspirations. To seek out new ways for the Word of God to reach their hearts often calls for daring; to present Gospel demands in all clarity should never intimidate us. Awareness of our own shortcomings humbles us, yet God’s power makes us confident as we strive to bring all people – especially the poor – to full consciousness of their dignity as human beings and as sons and daughters of God.” (C 8)