The year 1601 marked the birth of John Eudes in Normandy, France. Much against the hopes and desires of his parents, who wanted him to run their farmland, the young John joined the Religious Community of the Oratorians and was ordained priest in 1625. The plagues of 1627 and 1631 brought out the best in him. During the day, the young priest went about the streets of Normandy nursing the sick and the dying while at night he prayed and slept in a field so that his fellow religious may not be contaminated. John’s next major achievement was preaching parish missions in villages and towns. The technique he adopted was to proclaim the Word of God to large crowds in the Church or in the open air followed by sacramental confessions. As he was a gifted preacher and a patient confessor, his parish missions were very effective. In the course of his ministry, John realized that many penitent women wanted to give up their wayward life. Initially, he placed them under the care of a few Visitation Nuns. This was the seed from which sprang up the Congregation known as Our Lady of Charity of Refuge. In the meanwhile, John observed that the ineffectiveness of the local clergy could be traced to their inadequate training. Therefore, he founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (Eudites) to form and transform the clergy in Diocesan Seminaries. John was an ardent devotee of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the immaculate Heart of Mary. His end came in 1680 and was officially counted among the saints in 1925.
Reflection: Though faith is a personal experience, it must manifest itself in the local set up and respond adequately to local demands. One day Madeleine Lamy, a local woman, asked John why he could not find a decent house for the penitent wayward girls instead of going to the Church to gaze at the sacred images. This challenged his faith and the result was a new Congregation, Our Lady of Charity of Refuge.
Preachers beat the bushes. Confessors catch the birds. (St. John Eudes)
