A committed married lay associate responded to my last reflection “The Oblation of our Lay People” by pointing out that all members of the Mazenodian Family, no matter what level of attachment they have to St Eugene, have as a fundamental foundation their membership of the Church through baptism.
He underlines the reality of “being Church” in the Mazenodian family as the reason for its existence. Certainly, the point he makes is fundamental because this is only one of many ways of expressing our baptism, as laity or as religious or as priests. If we lose that focus, then we become an insipid group of do-gooders. Because we belong to Jesus Christ though our baptism, we are called to become one with every aspect of his life.
Christ thus invites us to follow him and to share in his mission through word and work.
CC&RR, Constitution 1
For the Mazenodian Family, what gives us identity is that:
Our principal service in the Church is to proclaim Christ and his Kingdom to the most abandoned.
CC&RR, Constitution 5
The Vatican document on the “Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World” explains this understanding:
Through evangelization the Church is built up into a community of faith: more precisely, into a community that confesses the faith in full adherence to the Word of God which is celebrated in the Sacraments, and lived in charity, the principle of Christian moral existence. In fact, the “good news” is directed to stirring a person to a conversion of heart and life and a clinging to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour; to disposing a person to receive Baptism and the Eucharist and to strengthen a person in the prospect and realization of new life according to the Spirit.
Certainly the command of Jesus: “Go and preach the Gospel” always maintains its vital value and its ever-pressing obligation. Nevertheless, the present situation, not only of the world but also of many parts of the Church, absolutely demands that the word of Christ receive a more ready and generous obedience. Every disciple is personally called by name; no disciple can withhold making a response: “Woe to me, if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor 9:16). (Christifideles laici n. 33)
Our lay associate writes:
In my view, what distinguishes the lay Oblate of Mary Immaculate, is the inner drive, the “compulsion”, to cooperate, to join with St. Eugene’s invitation to Tempier and his companions, in order to break the Word. It means to communicate Christ the Savior and the Good News, as understandably as possible, also devising new ways of preaching in the Provençal dialect. The lay OMI feels the need to do so even without the presence of religious OMI. An individual apostolate is not enough for him or her to cooperate with the OMI, but he or she feels the need to look for and suggest new approaches. In other words, the lay associate “has” the charism, not only as a recipient but also as a living source of the charism.” (Enzo Teodori https://www.eugenedemazenod.net/?p=3084#comment-335055)
My heart sings because this reinforces to me that we are all part of a whole and that none of us exist on our own, for our own purposes. God is always a part of it, and for those of us who are blessed so, the Church is also a deeply integrated part of this. We all are one in God, in the Church, with each other.
My heart sings as it recognizes and finds itself in a way of ‘being’; in the Constitutions and Rules; in the words of Enzo as he writes about his experience of being a Lay Oblate. As I think of my own experience in meeting St. Eugene de Mazenod for the first time – it was when I was being read the letter from Eugene to Henri Tempier and felt that Eugene was speaking directly to me. I was touched so deeply; drawn; called.
“In my view, what distinguishes the lay Oblate of Mary Immaculate, is the inner drive, the “compulsion”, to cooperate, to join with St. Eugene’s invitation to Tempier and his companions, in order to break the Word. […] In other words, the lay associate “has” the charism, not only as a recipient but also as a living source of the charism.” Enzo Teodori
Thank you Enzo, for what you have shared expresses so beautifully what has been and is mirrored in my own experience – of God, of Eugene and of being an Oblate Associate/Lay Oblate. The charism as lived and shared by Eugene is not just something that we look at, but rather something that we taste and savour, something that we chew up and swallow – it becomes a part of who we are. Not just something that we receive but rather that which becomes something we then live and share. It does not depend solely on having an Oblate(s) around us in order for us be who God has called us to be (although that does draw us together in love and support). That call which comes from our Baptism is not a one-time event for it continues throughout our lives; grace received and lived over and over.
I remember being able to attend the 2010 OMI Lacombe Convocation and watching as the Oblates arrived – the joy in seeing each other and for some – meeting for the first time or after many, many years. JOY. And I remember going to the Czech Republic and meeting some Lay Oblates there, recognizing within them that same call, that charism as given and shared by Eugene. Immense joy. And I have felt great joy this morning reading a part of what Enzo wrote and shared, recognizing that charism, that spirit with words that speak so beautifully to how I live and be.
My heart sings this morning and I am filled with joy and immense gratitude. It is Monday morning and I begin a new day, a new week – filled with a renewed spirit.
Dear Frank: Thank you for sharing with us the reflection. The call is one with the baptismal call into the pascal mystery. I do hope that as we continue to reflect upon the charism of St. Eugene we will be able to freely share our journey and traditions with others who hear that call. I hope this also will be on the agenda for the Chapter and revelation in ongoing.