If one can find in your house no more than a group of priests living under the same roof, as pastors from the surrounding neighbourhood might do, you will be guilty before me, before the Congregation and before God; and the people for whose sake you surrendered your Oblate way of life will go away but little edified and certainly deceived in their expectations.
And so I recommend you to be quite rigid on all of this, I want no political correctness or human considerations. Everyone knows who you are, so be worthy of your vocation and strive to accept its every least demand.
Letter to Bruno Guigues, 8 October 1835, EO VIII n 547
Strong words that hold true today. If a ministry conducted by Oblates and by members of the Mazenodian family does not show a distinctive approach and spirit in the light of our charism, then we have missed the point of our vocation.
I can remember being at a shared retreat with both Oblates and some Oblate Associates and the question was raised as to why we were there ‘hanging around with these Oblates?’
It was because we were drawn to them, how we felt called to live in a most particular way that the Oblates modeled for us; there was in their lives and spirituality a gift that was extended to us. It was our own invitation ‘to stand at the foot of our crucifix’ as we listened to God’s call.
I think for a moment of how Jesus spoke in parables – so that all could understand him and apply what he taught to their own lives. Here we have Eugene doing much the same thing – speaking to us in way that excludes none but which if we listen and reflect on his words find that he is speaking to all of us who are a part of this Mazenodian Family.
As an Oblate Associate who has made a commitment to live in a very distinct way, and to sharing that very Charism, that gift of the Holy Spirit – we strive to experience and live it in our own ‘state of life, …we live in ways that vary according to our milieu and culture’. It is more than just ‘belonging to a particular group’, wearing a particular cross and meeting every once in a while with others who are like us. It is not just a cloak or coat that we wear but rather it is a way of being that comes from deep within ourselves and which sheds a light on those we meet.
How do we, how do I stand in the light of our shared charism is the question? What and how do I model what and who God has called me to be?
“They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love; they will know we are Christians by our love.”