Saint Peter Julian
Eymard
Missionary
(1804 – 1868
France)
«Like the woman
who anointed Jesus in Bethany, the Church has feared no 'extravagance',
devoting the best of her resources to expressing her wonder and adoration
before the unsurpassable gift of the Eucharist. No less than the
first disciples charged with preparing the 'large upper room,' she has felt the
need, down the centuries and in her encounters with different cultures, to
celebrate the Eucharist in a setting worthy of so great a mystery» (John Paul
II, Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, EE, April 17, 2003, no.
48). Saint Peter Julian Eymard, founder of the Congregation of the Blessed
Sacrament, wrote in the same vein: «I am not at all worried about our daily
bread. It is the King's duty to feed His soldiers. Our task is to accommodate
Him properly, to give Him a tabernacle, an altar, vestments... We will
consecrate to Him everything we have—the Eucharistic King truly deserves it.»
Who, then, is this Saint?
His head against
the tabernacle
One day in 1804, a knife grinder
arrived in the little town of La Mure, in the diocese of Grenoble, France. His
name was Julian Eymard. Death had wreaked havoc in his family, in which only
two children, Antoine and Marie-Anne, had survived. Marie-Anne was 12 when
Peter Julian was born on February 4, 1811. Mr. Eymard had the newborn baptized
the next day. Peter Julian's mother didn't let a day go by without going to
kneel a few moments in the church—she took little Peter Julian there in her
apron, and offered him to Jesus. As soon as the child could walk, he
accompanied his mother to the church, and soon went there all by himself
several times a day. Marie-Anne once discovered him there behind the altar, on
a stool, his head leaning against the tabernacle. «It's because I listen, and I
hear Him better up here,» explained Peter Julian. An extraordinary passion for
the Blessed Sacrament took root in his heart. However, he was not without his
faults—stubborn, quick-tempered, nosey. But his loyal nature could not live a
lie. A studious boy, he also had a liking for manual labor. Since walnut trees
were plentiful in the region, Julian Eymard built an oil press, hoping that his
son would become a walnut-oil maker.
The much-anticipated day of First
Holy Communion arrived when Peter Julian was already 12 years old. «What graces
the Lord gave me that day!» he would tearfully write, 30 years later. It was at
that time he heard the call to the priesthood. The young man spoke to his
father of his wish to enter the seminary, but his father did not understand the
honor God was giving him in calling his son. No! His son would follow him in
his business. The child was even taken out of school—he knew enough from school
to produce and sell oil. His mother kept quiet, prayed, and remained hopeful.
In the Marian sanctuary of Our
Lady of Laus, Peter Julian met Father Touche, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate who,
seeing the beauty of the young man's soul, advised him to direct his life
towards the priesthood by studying Latin and receiving Communion more often.
Filled with joy and hope, Peter Julian returned to the mill and studied Latin
grammar in secret. Providence put him in contact with Father Desmoulins, who
obtained Mr. Eymard's permission to take Peter Julian with him to Grenoble to
study there for free, in return for some duties. There, the child suddenly
learned that his mother had died, and threw himself in tears at the feet of the
statue of the Blessed Virgin. «Oh! From this day on, be my only Mother,» he
exclaimed. «But more than anything else, this grace: that I might be a priest
someday!» The day of the burial, his father, himself overcome, begged him to
stay with him. He acquiesced. All hope seemed lost, when an Oblate Father of
Mary, passing through, having heard him, said to him, «Would you come to our
house in Marseilles?»—«Will my father be willing?»—«Yes, yes, he will.» The
father gave a start, got flustered, objected, began to cry, then... agreed. In
Marseilles, Peter Julian began to study with such determination that he fell
seriously ill. He was taken back to his father's house, where he got well, but
his recovery took a long time.
On March 3, 1828, after having
asked his son's forgiveness for his opposition to his vocation, Mr. Eymard
rendered his soul to God. Peter Julian then entered the major seminary in
Grenoble. He was required to present his parish priest's written
recommendation, which the priest gave to him sealed. Suspecting something,
Marie-Anne, unaware of the imprudence of her action, opened the envelope. The
letter described the candidate as «mindless and incapable.» By common consent,
they burned the unfair testimony. Confident in the grace of God, Peter Julian
left for Grenoble, where, providentially, he met Bishop de Mazenod, the holy
founder of the Oblates of Mary. Peter Julian told him everything. «So,» said
the bishop, «I'm the one who will present you to the superior of the seminary.»
The young man could then follow his vocation, and was ordained a priest at the
age of 23, on July 20, 1834. He was entrusted with the ministry of vicar, and
then of parish priest, in the diocese, but secretly Peter Julian wanted to be a
religious.
On August 20, 1839, with his
bishop's permission, despite his sister's tears and his parishioners' regrets,
he entered the novitiate of the Marists, a congregation founded by Father
Colin. He noted in his diary his favorite themes to meditate on: «Jesus in the
Blessed Sacrament and Heaven.» After his novitiate, he was successively named
spiritual director of the high school in Belley (Ain), then Provincial of
France and Director of the Third Order of Mary. In 1850, he became superior of
the high school in La Seyne-sur-Mer, close to Toulon. In all his work, as a
secular priest or as a Marist religious, Father Eymard always encouraged the
souls under his care to practice adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The
results were remarkable, for children and youth as well as for families.
Society as a whole was regenerated by it.
Inestimable value
«The worship of the
Eucharist outside of the Mass is of inestimable value for the life of the
Church,» affirms Pope John Paul II. «This worship is strictly linked to the
celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The presence of Christ under the
sacred species reserved after Mass – a presence which lasts as long as the
species of bread and of wine remain – derives from the celebration of the
sacrifice and is directed towards communion, both sacramental and spiritual. It
is the responsibility of Pastors to encourage, also by their personal witness, the
practice of Eucharistic adoration, and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in
particular, as well as prayer of adoration before Christ present under the
Eucharistic species» (EE, no. 25).
God inspired Peter Julian with
the idea of founding a congregation of men and women religious devoted to
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the propagation of this devotion among
the laity. It was at the feet of Our Lady of La Salette that he conceived the
plan for this foundation. This would be the great preoccupation of his life.
Pope Pius IX, with whom he succeeded in obtaining an audience, affirmed to him,
«Your work comes from God, I am sure of it. The Church needs it.» But what
obstacles to overcome! If God had not pushed Father Eymard, he would never have
dared embark on an adventure that, in human terms, had no chance of succeeding.
His Marist Superior General, after having examined the plan at length, released
him from his vows, in order to allow him complete freedom to establish his
foundation. Then he changed his mind and went to the Archbishop of Paris. The
auxiliary bishop, who was to receive Peter Julian on behalf of the archbishop,
had his already prepared response: a categorical «no.»
But Divine Providence saved
everything—Father Eymard, in the company of his first disciple, was waiting in
the vestibule of the archbishop's residence, when the Archbishop of Paris
himself, Archbishop Sibour, saw them. «Who are you?»—«Two priests from out of
town.»—«Can I help you?»—«Your Excellency, we are waiting for the Auxiliary
Bishop.»—«But,» replied Archbishop Sibour, «anything the auxiliary bishop does
here, the Archbishop can also do!» Father Eymard explained the purpose of his
visit. «You are a Marist father?»—«Yes, your Excellency.»—«The auxiliary bishop
told me about it.» Believing that he wished to found a contemplative
congregation, the archbishop added, «It's purely contemplative... I'm not in
favor of such things... No! No!»—«But, your Excellency, it's not a purely
contemplative congregation. We adore, no doubt, but we also want others to
adore. We must attend to the First Communion of adults.» With these words, the
Archbishop's face lit up. «The First Communion of adults!» he exclaimed. «Ah!
This is the work I am missing, the work I desire.» The Eucharist is, in fact,
«both the source and the summit of all evangelization, since its goal is
the communion of mankind with Christ and in Him with the Father and the Holy
Spirit» (EE, no. 22). The cause was won—the Congregation of the Blessed
Sacrament received its first approval before it even existed.
A hasty gesture
However, the adventure was far
from over. Father Eymard had nowhere to house his future community. He had no
money, and the first novices, who were suffering from hunger, were withdrawing
one after the other. Archbishop Sibour's death deprived them of valuable
protection. His successor, Archbishop Morlot, refused to hear the founder and
burned his order's constitution without reading it, convinced that it was a
«secret society.» He later repented of his hasty gesture, heard Father Eymard,
and confirmed Archbishop Sibour's approval. Peter Julian, still in the street,
entrusted his plan to Providence, which soon gave him the opportunity to buy
two buildings in the rue Faubourg-Saint-Jacques.
The Eucharistic apostolate is
carried out at the very foot of the altar. The adorer is also a stand-in—he
intends to offer reparation for the offenses committed against the Blessed
Sacrament. He adores and loves for the innumerable sinners who do not know,
adore and love. But he who loves, seeks to make others love. The religious of
the Blessed Sacrament thus work to convert sinners through a Eucharistic
apostolate.
At this time, in the old
neighborhoods of Paris, most adolescents who were old enough to earn a few pennies
were almost entirely ignorant of the religion of their baptism. Many adults
were in the same situation, just as in our day. Father Eymard organized
catechism courses to prepare these souls to receive Holy Communion. One
evening, he received two rag-pickers into the parlor, a man and a woman who had
neither faith nor schooling, and who were living in sin. As the days went by,
he taught them the catechism, heard their confessions, allowed them to receive
their First Communion, and married them. That day, he invited them to dine in
the parlor and served them himself, speaking good words to them, which these
simple people heard with delight.
To receive Holy Communion,
certain dispositions are required. Commenting on the verse of Saint Paul: A
man should examine himself first; only then should he eat of this bread and
drink of this cup (1 Cor. 11:28), the Holy Father recalls them clearly:
«Saint John Chrysostom, with his stirring eloquence, exhorted the faithful: 'I
too raise my voice, I beseech, beg and implore that no one draw near to this
sacred table with a sullied and corrupt conscience. Such an act, in fact, can
never be called 'communion,' not even were we to touch the Lord's body a
thousand times over, but 'condemnation,' 'torment' and 'increase of punishment.'
Along these same lines, the Catechism of the Catholic Church rightly
stipulates that 'anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of
Reconciliation before coming to Communion.' I therefore desire to reaffirm that
in the Church there remains in force, now and in the future, the rule by which
the Council of Trent gave concrete expression to the Apostle Paul's stern
warning when it affirmed that, in order to receive the Eucharist in a worthy
manner, 'one must first confess one's sins, when one is aware of mortal sin' »
(EE, no. 36).
A brilliant pearl
On June 3, 1863, Father Eymard's
congregation was definitively approved by Blessed Pius IX. «From this time on,»
said Blessed John XXIII, «the religious of the Blessed Sacrament would begin to
be valorous supporters and disseminators in the Church of this movement of
souls to the Most Blessed Sacrament, one of the most brilliant pearls of
substantial Christian piety.» Father Eymard continued to receive new vocations
for his institute, thanks to his sermons, the fire and enthusiasm of which one
can hardly imagine. He himself said that the preacher is a man «who prays
loudly... but before that, he has to have prayed in a whisper.» From the
pulpit, he transmitted to his listeners his convictions, his love, his holy
fire. He was eloquence personified. His words played a great part in awakening
in souls love for the Eucharist and developing the pre-eminent devotion,
adoration.
Before preaching, Father Eymard
would prepare himself before the exposed Blessed Sacrament. The Host was the
true source of his preaching. «It is pleasant to spend time with Him,» the Holy
Father reminds us, «to lie close to His breast like the Beloved Disciple (cf.
Jn. 13:25) and to feel the infinite love present in His heart. If in our
time Christians must be distinguished above all by the 'art of prayer,' how can
we not feel a renewed need to spend time in spiritual converse, in silent
adoration, in heartfelt love before Christ present in the Most Holy Sacrament?
How often, dear brothers and sisters, have I experienced this, and drawn from
it strength, consolation and support!» (EE, no. 25).
Father Eymard affirmed: «To the
witness of the word of Jesus Christ, the Church adds that of her example, of
her practical faith. These magnificent basilicas are the expression of her
faith in the Most Blessed Sacrament. She did not want to build tombs but
temples, a heaven on earth where her Savior, her God, finds a throne worthy of
Himself. With a jealous attention, the Church has regulated worship of the
Eucharist, up to the slightest details. She does not shift onto anyone else the
care for honoring her Divine Spouse—it's because everything is of great
importance, everything is divine when it concerns Jesus Christ present. She desires
that everything most pure in nature, most precious in the world, be consecrated
to the royal service of Jesus.» And he advised, «After entering (a church),
remain at rest a moment. Silence is the greatest sign of respect, and respect
is the first disposition to bring to prayer. Most of our dryness in prayer and
our lack of devotion comes from our lack of respect for Our Lord when we walk
in, or from our behaving disrespectfully.» The Holy Father, in the same spirit,
issues a vigorous appeal «that the liturgical norms for the celebration of the
Eucharist be observed with great fidelity... Priests who faithfully celebrate
Mass according to the liturgical norms, and communities which conform to those
norms, quietly but eloquently demonstrate their love for the Church» (EE,
no. 52).
The decisive
sacrifice
In 1864, setbacks and trials
further united Father Eymard to the redeeming Cross, the sole means of
salvation of souls. He drew his strength ever more from the Eucharist, which
was instituted «in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout
the centuries» (Vatican II, Sacrosanctum concilium, no. 47). «This
sacrifice is so decisive for the salvation of the human race,» writes Pope John
Paul II, «that Jesus Christ offered it and returned to the Father only after He
had left us a means of sharing in it as if we had been present there.
Each member of the faithful can thus take part in it and inexhaustibly gain its
fruits... I wish once more to recall this truth and to join you, my dear
brothers and sisters, in adoration before this mystery: a great mystery, a
mystery of mercy. What more could Jesus have done for us? Truly, in the
Eucharist, He shows us a love which goes to the end (cf. Jn. 13:1), a
love which knows no measure. This aspect of the universal charity of the
Eucharistic Sacrifice is based on the words of the Savior himself. In
instituting it, He did not merely say: This is my body, this is my blood,
but went on to add: which is given for you, which is poured out for
you (Lk. 22:19-20). Jesus did not simply state that what He was giving them
to eat and drink was His Body and His Blood; He also expressed its sacrificial
meaning» (EE, nos. 11-12).
In union with Christ's sacrifice,
Father Eymard accepted his election for life as Superior General of the Fathers
of the Blessed Sacrament, even though he was hoping to become a simple
religious again. At the same time, he saw the demolition of his house in Paris,
which had to make way for the opening of a new boulevard. What is more, on June
11, 1867, Father de Cuers, his oldest and truest friend, asked Rome to release
him from his vows, in order that he might establish an institute of Eucharistic
hermits. Father Eymard was appalled. Nevertheless, he learned through a
revelation that this Father would return to his Congregation, but he would not
see this return during his lifetime. In his sufferings, gentleness remained his
favorite virtue. It was, however, not a virtue he had been born with. A brother
in his Congregation offered this testimony: «He was a very energetic man, of an
angelic gentleness with a restless nature.» Father Eymard himself would admit
that he knew he was very impatient.
To his heart
On the night of July 21, 1868,
Father Eymard, exhausted, very thin, incapable of taking in any food at all,
arrived at La Mure to rest, on his doctor's orders. He celebrated the last Mass
of his life in Grenoble, in the chapel devoted to perpetual adoration. Without
a word, he got into bed with difficulty. His sister quickly came down to look
for the doctor, who diagnosed a cerebral hemorrhage coupled with general
exhaustion. Father made his confession through signs. On Saturday, August 1, he
received Extreme Unction at one o'clock in the morning. At daybreak, a Father
from his Congregation celebrated Mass in his room and gave him Holy Communion.
He was presented with the image of Our Lady of La Salette, which he pressed to
his heart. At the beginning of the afternoon, his last breath could scarcely be
heard. His soul had entered Heaven, into the infinite Goodness of God, forever.
He died at age 57 in the house in which he had been born.
Peter Julian Eymard's
canonization benefited from a solemnity unusual in the history of the Church.
The day after the closing of the first session of the Second Vatican Council,
December 9, 1962, John XXIII, in the presence of 1,500 council Fathers, entered
him into the catalogue of Saints. In his homily, the Pope said, «This little
child of five who was found on the altar, his forehead pressed to the
tabernacle door, is the same person who, in his time, would found the
Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, as well as the Servants of the Blessed
Sacrament, and would cause to radiate, through innumerable armies of
Priest-Adorers, his love and tenderness for Christ living in the Eucharist...
Saint Peter Julian Eymard proposes the Most Blessed Virgin Mary as a model for
adorers, invoking Her by the name of 'Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament'...
Yes, dear sons and daughters, honor and celebrate with us him who was so perfect
an adorer of the Blessed Sacrament; after his example, always place at the
center of your thoughts, of your affections, the undertakings of your zeal this
incomparable source of all grace: the Mysterium fidei, which hides under veils
the Author Himself of grace, Jesus the Incarnate Word.»
Today, there are about one
thousand religious of the Blessed Sacrament, spread out across 140 houses in 18
nations. The Servants of the Blessed Sacrament (close to 300 women religious)
have houses in France, Belgium, and the United States.
Saint Peter Julian Eymard, teach
us to make frequent visits to our Lord present in the Tabernacle, and obtain
for us to cross the storms of this life in peace and see our beloved Jesus
face-to-face in Heaven.
Dom Antoine Marie osb.
http://www.clairval.com/lettres/en/2004/06/06/2090604.htm