Letter from Brother Blanchet. He also requests of me to go to the foreign missions.
Diary of Eugene de Mazenod, 13 January 1847, EO XXI
Twenty-nine-year-old, Georges Blanchet was one of the first Oblate Brothers to be sent to the United States in 1847. Twenty five years later, at the insistence of the local Bishop, he was ordained to the priesthood in British Columbia. He died, aged 88, and a river and a lake in British Columbia were named after him.
REFLECTION
“Missionary zeal does not grow out of intellectual beliefs, nor out of theological arguments, but out of love.” (Roland Allen)
God of Heaven and Earth,
You have fed me your word
And sent me forth to love and serve.
A missionary, you have called me to be. Even in my smallness and sin
You chose me to sing the song of your love, The hymn of your mercy,
The anthem of your justice.
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/