Father Fabre’s first circular letter to the Oblates after the General Chapter which elected him to be Eugene’s successor contains the invitation:
Let us be united in spirit and in heart
and we will be strong for doing what is good;
let us be united in the memory of a Father
forever beloved”
As we prepare to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 2016, these words are as pertinent as ever for us. If we allow the presence and spirit of Eugene to be our source of strength and unity, then surely our bonds of charity and our missionary zeal will have no boundaries.
This morning’s meditation from Richard Rohr spoke of boundaries and belonging. I awoke this morning thinking of Eugene and wondering what it would look like were he to be alive and walking down the streets of Ottawa today. For sure he would have a following just as did Jesus. I ask, very cautiously, would the following include only men, religious men, or it would be open to women, to lay persons? Who would be invited to walk with him, a select few or many who felt called to walk with. Would he be open to new ways and views like using the internet and email to communicate with his many children? Who would he see as being the abandoned and voiceless whom church structures have not touched? Who would be the excluded? What might the levels of exclusion look like? This great man who gave his all to God, what would be his boundaries?
I have a dream said Martin Luther King. Eugene too had a dream and he lived it. I also have a dream, not just my own, not just for me, but with all who want to walk in this way, take part in this life. I have a dream. In that famous 1963 speech Martin Luther King responded to the question of ‘when will you be satisfied?’ with a response of “we can never be satisfied as long as…..” I hear there the spirit of St. Eugene for he seemed to me to be never satisfied with anything less than everything. “All for God”. There were boundaries to his love. Eugene didn’t just speak it or write it, he lived it. He was daring and was prophetic. When I think of the changes that he brought forth within his world, within the Church. How do I not only speak the words, how am I called to live them?
Frank writes about preparing for the upcoming 200th anniversary and says; ” If we allow the presence and spirit of Eugene to be our source of strength and unity, then surely our bonds of charity and our missionary zeal will have no boundaries.” Eugene who was always looking forward while at the same time doing what needed to be done. What could this look like? What might it look like?