Father Ricard was chosen to be the leader of the first Oblate mission in the USA because he had all the necessary qualities and shared Eugene’s missionary vision and spirituality.
To found the mission of Oregon, a mission so remote and difficult, I needed an alter ego. He had to have virtue, good sense, love of regularity, real attachment to the Congregation and conformity of views and thoughts with the head of the family from whom he would be separated by 3000 leagues, a devout and experienced man full of the spirit of God, imbued with my spirit, who acts by himself as I myself would act. Only Father Ricard combined all these qualities.
He did suffer from poor health, however.
But although he would have asked for it in time, I had good reasons to fear that he would have repugnance in accepting this mission. Yet on receiving my letter he went down into the lower church of Notre Dame de Lumières and made the sacrifice of his life to God. After that he took leave of everyone and came to me quite disposed to fulfil his mission. The courage and joy of his companions strengthened still more his resolution.
Letter to Fr. Bruno Guigues, in Canada, 24 January 1847, EO I n 80
REFLECTION
In the final analysis, then, the true witness is the “martyr”, the one who gives his or her life for Christ, reciprocating the gift that he has made to us of himself. “The primary reason for evangelizing is the love of Jesus which we have received, the experience of salvation which urges us to ever greater love of him” (Pope Francis)
Today, may my focus be on the love of Jesus so as to allow my actions to speak louder than my words.
Fr. Frank Santucci OMI currently holds the Kusenberger Chair of Oblate Studies and is assisted by Fr. David Muñoz OMI. They are teachers at OST, and have Oblate and lay students following their online courses in many parts of the world. They are involved in promoting St. Eugene de Mazenod’s charism, spirituality and mission at many levels in the United States and throughout the countries where the Oblates and lay members f the Mazenodian Family are present. Father Frank has been producing these daily guided readings to the writings of Saint Eugene de Mazenod since 2010. They are published in English, French, Spanish and Polish, visit: http://www.eugenedemazenod.net/