We are members of the prophetic Church. While recognizing our own need for conversion, we bear witness to God’s holiness and justice.
CC&RR, Constitution 9
For what seems to feel like an eternity of months we have been inflicted with a presidential campaign that seems to have as its only objective that of digging up as much dirt as possible on the opponent and use it to destroy the reputation of that person. Each day we are bombarded with the question: “what new scandal or personal weakness has been revealed?” Sadly in democracy, election campaigns in many countries of the world have become defiled in this way. Father Ron Rolheiser reflects: “What we see in all the negative things that make up so much of the evening news each day is not evil energy but rather the misuse of sacred energy.”
As members of the Mazenodian family, we share in the prophetic function of the Church: to search for and point out the sacred energy in the midst of evil energy, and to journey with people on that journey of transformation.
BUT there is one condition! We need to be constantly on a journey of personal conversion that gives witness to the sacred energy that we seek to embrace daily. Unless we do this, and are energized by the Savior, we risk becoming like so many politicians and using the same methods. It is this danger that Euegene warned against in his vision statement that we now know as the Preface. Initially aimed at Oblate priests, its scope and vocabulary can be adjusted to accommodate the whole Mazenodian Family today.
They are convinced that if priests could be formed, afire with zeal for men’s salvation, priests not given to their own interests, solidly grounded in virtue – in a word, apostolic men deeply conscious of the need to reform themselves, who would labour with all the resources at their command to convert others – then there would be ample reason to believe that in a short while people who had gone astray might be brought back to their long-unrecognized responsibilities. “Take great care about what you do and what you teach,” was Paul’s charge to Timothy, “Always do this, and thus you will save both yourself and those who listen to you” (1 Tim 4: 16).
Preface
Unless we constantly seek conversion we will not be abe to withstand the criticism that any prophetic ministry invites.
“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.” Bishop Hélder Câmara