Six years after the establishment of the Oblate community in Marseille in 1821, the community at the Calvaire was a growing mission center. From this center of religious missionary life, the Oblates did pastoral work throughout the city, and went into the countryside to preach parish missions. The novices had moved from Aix the year before to be part of the wider community, and in January 1827, five scholastics, preparing for priestly ordination, had come to Marseille as well. It is about these students that Eugene writes
… I assure you they are working, but they do so willingly and with much success.
At this stage there were twelve priests, five scholastics and eleven novices in the house. Seeing how each Oblate fulfilled his specific role in the community, Eugene exclaims:
It is thus that the whole Society fulfils her task for the greater glory of God.
Letter to Jean Baptiste Honorat, 24 January 1827, EO VII n 260
This ideal of Eugene is the inspiration behind the current initiative of the USA Oblates in establishing various mission centers here:
“A Mission Center is defined as “an apostolic community of approximately 4 – 8 Oblates responsible for a particular institution (parish, Shrine, retreat center, etc.) which also, through community discernment and consensus, goes beyond the institution by serving in a variety of other ministries (for example: campus, prison, youth, homeless, immigrant groups, itinerant mission preaching, education, community organizing, JPIC, vocation , collaboration and networking with other organizations, chaplaincies, etc.).” This idea will continue to evolve and the importance of authentic community life in the actual living out of this concept cannot be emphasized enough.” (Renewing the Province Mission – USA OMI)
“Let us all remember this: one cannot proclaim the Gospel of Jesus without the tangible witness of one’s life.” Pope Francis
Talk about a timely focus – or at least that is how I see it. This past weekend at our parish we held an event and invited everyone to come and learn more about our community and the many ministries that take place, to come to get to know those who we meet each weekend at the liturgies, and to connect with each other. Many of the ministries included those mentioned by Frank above. There were visitors who wanted to know more and become ‘a part of’. I can’t help but think of all that has gone on at the Synod in Rome. And think of St. Eugene and his mission to the many not touched by the Church structures. There have been many changes in the past 200 years and yet still we seem to be struggling with the same thing. In the time of Jesus there were the lepers and the other ‘unclean’ who were untouchable and yet he met them where they were in life, During the time of Eugene there were the very poor, and he too went out and met them where they were. Today the faces have changed and we have those who have been divorced, the LGBT community and many more. Yet it appears sometimes that our Church seems to want to hold back on going out to many and greeting people where they are. Those centres of apostolic community and mission, where there is the going out and coming back are no less than what those early Oblates did in Aix and in the community at the Calvaire. It is how we try to give witness to the awesome love of God for each of us. Thankfully God never said to me “Eleanor come but first you need to let go of xyz” – I heard only the words “come” and when I was embraced it was my whole humanity that was embraced, it was the Eleanor that God had created.
I am grateful for all that I have been given, including my parish community and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. It has been the tangible witness of their lives that has been the invitation to me and how I too wish to live and love. It is such a wonderful package that does not seem to need all of the exclusions and limits that we sometimes want to wrap everything up in.