The first article of the Constitution of any group is always the one which defines the purpose and juridical nature of the group. Eugene’s first paragraph does exactly this.
The purpose of the Institute of the Missionaries of Provence
Until 1826 we were known as the Missionaries of Provence, before changing the name to Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
is first of all to form a group of priests who live together
Our vocation is always to community on the model of Jesus and the apostles.
and who strive to imitate the virtues and examples of our Savior Jesus Christ
Since Eugene’s conversion experience centered on Jesus Christ the Savior, we are brought together and our focus is on the Savior.
principally by dedicating themselves to preaching the Word of God to the poor.
We imitate that particular aspect of the mission of the Savior: to preach the Gospel to those who need it the most.
The full text, showing the three essential foundation pillars of our vocation thus reads:
The purpose of the Institute of the Missionaries of Provence is first of all to form a group of priests who live together and who strive to imitate the virtues and examples of our Savior Jesus Christ, principally by dedicating themselves to preaching the Word of God to the poor.
1818 Rule, Part One, Chapter One. The ends of the Institute,
§1 Preaching the Word of God to the people
In 1818 there were only priests, and within a few years the Congregation expanded to being brothers and priests. Today, our Rule of Life expresses the foundational pillars in this way:
The call of Jesus Christ, heard within the Church through people’s need for salvation, draws us together as Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Christ thus invites us to follow him and to share in his mission through word and work.
We are a clerical Congregation of pontifical right. We come together in apostolic communities of priests and Brothers, united to God by the vows of religion. Cooperating with the Saviour and imitating his example, we commit ourselves principally to evangelizing the poor.
CC&RR Constitution 1
With the growth of the Mazenodian family today, I dream of one day seeing our First Constitution include these elements:
The Mazenodian family is formed by men and women called by Jesus Christ the Savior, each in their own way as laity or religious or priests, to be linked in apostolic community in living the charism of Eugene de Mazenod as co-operators of the Savior to evangelize those who are the most abandoned.
There is often a “little hiccup” as I read the Constitution and Rules around the wording of “We come together in apostolic communities of priests and Brothers, united to God by the vows of religion.” I am a lay woman and sometimes feel like I am fighting for my breath, but most often is “Thy will be done. Tell me what you want me to do.”
So to read of your dream of someday being able to see something like the following in the Constitution – it becomes a shared dream for sure. “The Mazenodian family is formed by men and women called by Jesus Christ the Savior, each in their own way as laity or religious or priests, to be linked in apostolic community in living the charism of Eugene de Mazenod as co-operators of the Savior to evangelize those who are the most abandoned.” To be linked in apostolic community in living the charism – what a beautiful way of putting it.
This was my birthday present this morning when I read it! Thank you. I can even feel Eugene smiling at this one.
I feel as if I am being “weaned” off of something. The feelings perhaps. My God but there is much comfort in being wrapped in feelings, in confining God and myself to those feelings.
In being here this morning, a year later, there is none of the giddy joy of last year upon reading this. But rather there is something deeper, more tempered. It is not the good and the bad, it’s not a question of good or bad for it is what it is. I find myself more aware somehow of all that I am a part of but that awareness flows not quite there for the most part. The more I receive, the more I experience, also the more I struggle. Even the word community, my experience of community is changing. It can be but is not always just a group of people “living together” under the same roof, or getting together for a meal or a meeting. There is something much deeper and more real that brings us together, that holds us together, that brings us into communion. The word “Spirit” keeps coming to mind.
That lovely image of Jesus in the centre, heart aflame reaching out – those tiny lines of fire, to the apostles, to each of us and we to and with each other. It is as if it has gone deeper, or become hidden – it is there but not quite visible, touchable. I am not feeling it, but there is somehow an ‘awareness’ of much more. In small tiny flashes I begin to know deeply and trust that all is there, deeper, stronger and truer [more real than ever]. There is an inclination, a wanting – to try and reach out for the old, the feeling, find something to grab onto, there was with that somehow a measure of control, a measure of myself. I want to call out to God and to have him come and pick me up, comfort me. There is in all of this an invitation, but not one that I can run after, not one that I can grab onto. I feel I am being invited to stand where I am, let go of whatever I am holding onto. To stand before God, naked, small, without anything to hide behind or depend on – but God. And to be able to do this only in being a part of something [am thinking family, community]. There is not even the ‘satisfaction or comfort’ of being able to write what I feel and experience for the words fail me.