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

What need for tongues of fire to see, in some way, the presence of the Holy Spirit? On these occasions, his presence is perceptible to me and I am penetrated with it to the point of not being able to contain my  emotion. I need to force myself to not cry with joy, and, in spite of my  efforts, very often involuntary tears betray the feeling with which I am animated and which is overabundant in every sense of the term! (St. Eugene de Mazenod, Diary, February 18, 1844).

From the Gospel according to John:

“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning, (15: 26-27).

Reflection:

During his time at the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice, St. Eugene had the opportunity to reflect often upon a painting by Charles Lebrun of the Pentecost event. It is an image that accompanied him throughout his pilgrim journey and influenced his missionary zeal. The Holy Spirit already infused St. Eugene with the charism that led him to found our missionary family. Now it would continue to inspire a creative fidelity and missionary zeal that would extend to the rest of the world. Pentecost celebrates the birth of the Church. This is the very Church for which Christ gave his life out of love, and therefore, the Church St. Eugene loved. Pentecost is for St. Eugene a celebration of love. St. Eugene reminds us that there is no need any longer to see tongues of fire. As pilgrims living the Mazenodian charism, that fire now reveals itself through the creative missionary efforts of the many whose lives have been a witness to zealous missionary efforts. The fire of the Holy Spirit continues to manifest itself in Missionary Oblates and others in the Mazenodian Family who live the charism in creative fidelity and mission. With St. Eugene, we have been with Christ and testify to the power of his salvation and love for the Church and the world. As we receive the Advocate, we are set afire once again to testify always to the power of the Father’s love revealed to us in Christ, the Savior. The Pentecost event made pilgrims of the Church. We are pilgrims who now speak in tongues we never knew before. We are pilgrims who live out mission in ways we never thought possible. We are pilgrims following in the footsteps of St. Eugene who, open to the action of the Holy Spirit allowed the charism, the gift of the Spirit to inspire his heart to seek out the poor and most abandoned. This Pentecost is an opportunity for each of us to be renewed on our pilgrimage as missionaries in the world to testify to Christ, the Savior. As we cry out, “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love!” May it also be a proclamation of our willingness to renew ourselves in the spirit of our vocation as members of the Mazenodian family. May the charism of the Spirit that inspired St. Eugene also rekindle the fire to make us fervent missionary pilgrims as we reach out to the poor and most abandoned.

Reflection Questions:

1. What value(s) of the charism of St. Eugene do you see manifested in your life or the life of your local Mazenodian community?

2. What new challenges does Pentecost present for you as you rekindle the fire of your personal and communal pilgrimage as a member of the Mazenodian family?

3. Who are some of the models, past or present, that helped you to become a pilgrim in the charism of St. Eugene? What invisible “tongues of fire” from them inspires you to a creative missionary zeal?

Concluding Prayers