| As bishop in Marseilles, Eugene de Mazenod was at his full spiritual maturity. An untiring and zealous pastor, solidly anchored in the love of Christ and of the Church. Forgetful of self, he focused all his energies on the task of evangelization entrusted to him, both in Marseilles and beyond. During this time of intense ministry he remained a man of prayer. The Eucharist was his source of inspiration and renewal. He insisted on celebrating Mass daily, sometimes at great inconvenience, particularly while traveling. The Eucharist, his privileged place of identification with Christ was also the space for gathering together friends and members of his religious family. As he himself said, the Eucharist was in fact "their living center of communication". There he remembered his missionary sons, particularly those far away, and he asked them to do likewise. "While identifying ourselves with Jesus Christ, we shall be at one with him, and by him and in him we shall be at one among ourselves". |
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