THE UNOFFICIAL BEGINNING OF THE TEXAS MISSION
Eugene’s diary was a personal document in which he noted some of the happenings of the day and often expressed his sentiments in a way that he could not in public. On this day he had received two letters, each one informing him that Father Telmon had decided, without consulting any of his superiors, to establish an Oblate mission in Texas. Texas had been annexed by the USA four years earlier, and the Bishop of Galveston had met Fr Telmon and asked him to come with a group of missionaries. The Oblates had been given permission by Eugene to work in the USA in Pittsburgh – but Telmon presumed the “USA part” to include Texas. So, he took it upon himself to bring a group of five Oblates to start the mission: Frs Alexandre Soulerin, Augustin Gaudet, the scholastic Paul Gelot and Brother Joseph Manthe.
Letters from the Bishop of Bytown, from Fr. Honorat and from Fr. Telmon. What is happening in Canada is astounding. Here is Fr. Telmon assuming responsibility for the Texas mission, justifying himself on the basis of the faculties I gave him when he was in Pittsburgh. He has set out and he has brought some men of his choice with him…
Fr. Telmon had certainly received the letter in which it was explicitly pointed out to him that he was by law under the jurisdiction of the Provincial of Canada and he has taken no account of it, apparently because he had committed himself to the Bishop of Texas who was waiting for him in Cincinnati or elsewhere. Worst of all, however, is that in writing to me he makes no effort to legitimize his movements by asking for permission after the event.
Having recovered from his upset, Eugene continues:
I shall go no further! Pages could be written on what is happening in those far away lands. Hearing about them, nevertheless, it is wrong for me to be upset. They are all doing their duty perfectly.
Diary, 10 November 1849, EO XXII
REFLECTION
“God writes straight with crooked lines” is an expression we often hear. Father Telmon, with his fiery enthusiasm and talent for preaching, certainly provided God with crooked lines to write on through his missionary adventures in France, Corsica, Canada and in Pittsburgh and Texas! As frustrated and upset as Eugene had been with him at times, he recognised and acknowledged the goodness in this missionary.
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Listening to Eugene’s response to what was happening in Texas causes a small giggle to escape from within me which in turn fills my heart with a smile that refuses to die. Eugene himself, especially in his younger years dared to break down many walls and barriers in the Church just as Jesus had done two thousand years earlier. Jesus touched and healed the lepers, and Eugene touched the hearts of the most abandoned that the Church in his time was leaving untouched.
Yvon Beaudoin, OMI wrote a beautiful biography of Fr. Telmon’s life, which included not only his endearing way of being, but also how his passionate way of being that sometimes got in the way of some of the standards and obediences of religious life.
Sitting here together this morning we are invited then to see all the different facets of all of us human beings who are not yet perfect according to some of the standards of his time; yet at the beginning of each day, we see how Fr. Telmon began each day as a new beginning in prayer and love of his community… not so different from the start of our days. We too start out in prayer with our community in person as well as our community of heart (as we gather together in this place) asking for the grace and courage to lovingly serve God, our communities and all those we meet.
As we age we are invited to look and ensure that the fire of passion is still alive within us. It might not appear to have fire and heat within it, but if we dare to look at that which we can no longer “do” we might detect that our fire burns more brightly within us, giving light to our “being”. It is then that we notice the light being shed upon us, and how we join that light in reaching out to others.