Eugene’s father had become seriously ill in December 1815 in Palermo. The event shocked him into reexamining the quality and direction of his life and of experiencing an ongoing conversion. His son, who was no stranger to conversion himself, responded:
One must not be afraid of showing what one has become by God’s grace. No more compromises with the world’s maxims that are almost always opposed to those of J.C. Complacency in this matter often causes us to commit very great faults.
Letter to his father, C.A. de Mazenod, 7 July 1816, O.W. XV n. 137
On 27 February 1816, President de Mazenod had described his conversion:
I won’t finish off without speaking with you about the most essential topic, that of conscience. Can you believe that in spite of my age and all the favours I have received from heaven in the whole course of my life, I am still wallowing like a filthy pig in the mud-bath of sin! No one has been more imbued than I with the truths of our holy religion, and never has anyone put them so badly into practice. God has finally had pity on me and given me the grace of drawing me out of the devil’s empire, and I hope that he will keep me in my good resolutions and I beg you, each day at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to ask him for me real compunction, a sincere sorrow for having offended him and final perseverance…
Reproduced by Yvon Beaudoin in O.W. XV n.137
Frank: This is a remarkable letter from Eugene’s father, about his life before and after conversion. His candor with his son is remarkable. It will be interesting to read his last letters to Eugene to witness if God’s grace remained with him with his human efforts alongside!