Prayer used by St. Eugene de Mazenod before Meditation

O Mary Immaculate, faithful adorer of the Father, Mother most admirable of the Son, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, inspire within me the same sentiments that were yours while pondering the revealed mysteries which you treasured in your heart. Grant that I may ever live in union with your Son, my Savior, together with all who, by meditation, give honor to the most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Oblate Text

The end of our Institute is the very same as that which the Son of God had in view when he came on this earth, namely, the glory of his heavenly Father and the salvation of souls. He was especially sent to preach the Gospel to the poor, and we have been founded precisely to work for the conversion of souls, and particularly to preach the Gospel to the poor. The means we use to achieve this end share its excellence. They are unquestionably the most perfect, since they are the very, same ones used by our divine Savior, his Apostles, and Disciples, (Retreat Notes, October 8, 1831).

From the Gospel according to Mark:

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: ‘This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’ As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Then they abandoned their nets and followed him, (1: 16-18).

Reflection:

It is often easy to reduce the charism of St. Eugene de Mazenod to simply being missionaries to the poor and most abandoned. As members of the Mazenodian family, however, we must discover the root of that mission. The first article of the Oblate Rule of Life is the starting point for understanding how St. Eugene understood his vocation to work for the conversion of souls: “The call of Jesus Christ, heard within the Church through people’s need for salvation, draws us together...Christ thus invites us to follow him and to share in his mission through word and work”, (C.1). Before we can consider the mission to the poor and most abandoned, we must hear the call of Christ and we must respond as pilgrims ready to journey with him along the paths of the Kingdom. Christ invites us on this sacred journey. As pilgrims with Christ, we learn “his” style of evangelization, leaving behind our personal agendas so that it is the Kingdom of God brought to fulfilment and not a kingdom too often shaped by our personal biases. Pilgrims, then, begin with a personal conversion. Like the apostles and St. Eugene, conversión requires leaving behind the nets that can hold us back from fully responding to Christ’s invitation. You are invited to meditate on the icon below, written by a member of our Mazenodian Family in the U.S. It depicts St. Eugene as one of the fishermen called by Jesus. He shows us an attitude of openness to become pilgrims with him as we hear the call of Christ and make the end of the Mazenodian family to preach the Gospel as cooperators of Christ, the Savior and evangelizer, inviting others to repent, and believe in the Gospel.

Reflection Questions:

1. What “nets” are still holding you back from fully responding to Christ’s invitation to follow him?

2. St. Eugene’s invitation to be a pilgrim with Christ happened in prayer before the crucified Christ. What was that moment for you of hearing the call of Jesus Christ to become a pilgrim proclaiming the Kingdom?

3. Meditating on the icon of the calling of St. Eugene as a fisher of men, name what elements of the icon speak to your heart about how to respond to Christ’s invitation to join him on the sacred journey of the Kingdom as a pilgrim?

Concluding Prayers