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Fr. Dehon’s ‘Pact of Love’

In his first letter to the Congregation the second general superior Fr. Philippe, describing the last days in the life of Fr. Dehon, tells his confreres that "among the papers containing his last will, we found a folded sheet with this heading: ‘Pact with Our Lord’". The document, according to Fr. Philippe, contained the following formula, written by Dehon’s own hand:

"My Jesus, before You and Your heavenly Father, in the presence of Mary Immaculate, my mother, and St. Joseph, my protector, I vow to consecrate myself out of pure love to Your Sacred Heart, to dedicate my life and my energies to the Oblates of Your Heart, accepting in advance all the trials and sacrifices You may be pleased to ask of me. I vow that the intention for all my actions will be pure love for Jesus and His Sacred Heart. I ask You to touch my heart and inflame it with love for You, so that I may not only have the intention and desire to love You, but also the happiness of feeling, through the effect of Your holy grace, all the affections of my heart centred on You alone."

It’s Fr. Philippe who calls this document the ‘Pact of Love’.

This formula is followed by a daily renewal: "Jesus, I renew with love the pact I have made with You. Grant me the grace to be faithful to it." On the envelope containing this precious document are the words: "Amicitiam tuam pretiosam, pauperculo tuo discipulo, reddere non dedigneris, Domine, Fiat! Fiat!" [Lord, do not disdain to return Your priceless friendship to your poor disciple].

We don’t know when Fr. Dehon wrote these documents. The opinion, that Fr. Dehon made them on the occasion of his first vows, is a beautiful one, but having no proof of this, it’s still only an hypothesis. The same observation is valid for the conviction, Fr. Dehon would have had this ‘Pact with Our Lord’ always with him. [Quotations from Fr. Philippes letter circulaire, 1, nos. 29-30]