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
This statement reminds me of the words of Fr. Rossetti on the ministerial priesthood. These words apply equally to all Missionary Oblates, brothers and priests:
“If you have been a priest for many years and you look back at decades of service and, after reviewing your ministry, cannot find one time when your preaching, ministry, or personal witness met with disapproval, you have to ask yourself if you really preached the Gospel. If our words and homilies have never been rejected by some people and if we have never been criticized for our public stance, then we have never fully preached the message of Jesus.” (The Joy of Priesthood, p.20)
The two hundred years of our Oblate history are filled with the names of a multitude of Oblate missionaries whose ministry has been prophetic. In practically every country where we serve, prophetic voices have been raised against injustice, persecution, discrimination, and any other form of betrayal of the Gospel values of God’s holiness and justice. The disapproval shown against some even led to their being put to death (Jozef Cebula, Victor Lelievre, Michael Rodrigo, Wrodarczyk, Ben de Jesus – just to name a few).
“The perpetual danger which besets religion is that it may substitute politeness and aestheticism for prophetic insight and power.” Georgia Harkness