I REGARD THIS ESTABLISHMENT AS VERY IMPORTANT IN THE PERSPECTIVE WHICH IT PRESENTS OF THE GOOD TO BE ACCOMPLISHED.
Having come into existence with the particular charism of evangelizing the most-abandoned, the Oblates in Canada soon identified two groups in need of evangelization: those working in the isolated lumber camps and the tribes of indigenous people. They were accessible from Bytown, which was the name for the city we know today as Ottawa.
Ah yes, I willingly consent that our Congregation take on the ministry of the lumber camps and the conversion of the Indigenous! So the establishment at Bytown suits my ideas perfectly.
I am in complete agreement with the views of your holy bishop who shows himself so generous…
If, other than the general approbation to evangelize in his whole diocese, he gives you a special jurisdiction in the town of Bytown and this mission can be considered as a sort of pastorship, you would need an express permission on my part which I grant you, should the occasion arise. From what you tell me, I regard this establishment as very important in the perspective which it presents of the good to be accomplished.
To understand this request for “an express permission”, we need to remember that the Oblates were not founded to be parish priests. This was the special vocation of the diocesan clergy. Eugene saw us as cooperating with these pastors in order to reach out to those in their parish who were not being touched by the pastoral ministry. These are the most-abandoned for Eugene. It was only when there were no diocesan clergy available that Eugene permitted the Missionaries to become pastors of parishes.
During the time you have been in Canada, it seems to me you will have all been able to learn enough English to bring you into communication with those who speak only this language.
Again we remember that the Oblates were founded in order to preach to the people of Provence in their own language – thus learning the language of the most-abandoned is an essential aspect of evangelization. “Language” refers to more than vocabulary – it includes all aspects of the life and expression of people.
I recommend to all great love of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, great devotion to our holy Mother and St Joseph, and devotedness for the Church.
Letter to Father Jean Baptiste Honorat, in Canada, 4 January 1844, EO I n 29
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One size does not always fit all!
I think of how the first disciples were sent out, first to the Jews and then to the others throughout the world. I think of Paul’s letters to the Romans and to the Ephesians and others – the message was written and directed to particular groups of people. The message itself did not change, but the language of those messages took into account diverse ways of thinking and living, different cultures and norms, and none was better than the other.
Although Oblates are now in parishes throughout the world they still preach and touched those who are the voiceless, the abandoned, the poorest of the poor… For many it is physical poverty, while for others it may be hidden. There is the immense poverty of those who do not know what it is to hear God speak their name. They wait in hope of it somehow happening to them.
I think of those who have heard God call their name and who have responded to the invitation to walk with St. Eugene de Mazenod and with members of the Mazenodian Family. They know what it is to be poor, to have felt abandoned in some way, they recognize and know what it is to be without a voice, but most importantly they know the gift that God has given to them, and they simply want to share their experience of God, just as others have done with them.
The world has changed since Eugene’s time, and yet there are aspects which remain present today. The Oblates and the member of the Mazenodian Family find ways to reach out to the poor with their many faces. To reach out, not just with money or things, but with their hearts open to sharing and leading others. “We must lead men [and women] to act like human beings, first of all, and then like Christians, and, finally, we must help them to become saints.”
I think of Jesus; how he came and did not abandon or throw out the old law. He showed us a way to live those laws more fully; with a new focus and different practices that incorporated and incarnated the old. It is Jesus who is our model, no matter what seems to be written in stone. It is Jesus who is our model of love. And is this not how we are called to live our oblation of discipleship with one another, be it in a mission or a parish or wherever we are planted?