“The message of Jesus is summed up partly in the Sermon on the Mount, and partly when he begins his ministry and quotes the passage from Isaiah: ‘I have come to set free the prisoners and restore sight to the blind.’ And certainly, his mission is also to bring hope. It was to heal people, to befriend the outcast.” (Dan Wakefield)
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- Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate Associate on BECOME ONE WITH YOUR SUPERIOR, SO THAT YOU AND HE ARE OF ONE HEART, ONE MIND, ONE WILL
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- Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate Associate on WE MUST DISCOVER ALL THESE ADVANTAGES IN THE BLESSED CONGREGATION THAT HAS GIVEN BIRTH TO US
- Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate Associate on YOU MUST BE A FATHER TO YOUR NOVICES, YOU MUST BE CLOSE TO THEM IN THEIR DIFFICULTIES AND ENCOURAGE THEM
- Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate Associate on THE DREAM BEGINS WITH A TEACHER WHO BELIEVES IN YOU
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Thinking of Isaiah’s quote as mentioned by Wakefield, I cannot but help think of what many of the prisoners and blind in today’s world look like and how we walk among them.
Today we do not have to venture into a prison to find those who are bound in the chains of addiction, crime, uncaring, hatred…, many of us today have been freed from those chains and we now reach out to others in whom we recognize ourselves. And there are many who have not lost their eyesight, yet they are blind to love, and hope, the idea of community and especially communion (which is not limited to a small, consecrated wafer of bread).
Eugene himself did not allow boundaries and walls, rules and customs to limit who he served and walked with. I cannot forget his words spoken during his first Lenten Homily in the Church of the Madeleine.
I think again of the General Chapter that we have been following from our own homes; of how the entire Oblate Family is carrying, and being carried on this journey. We are all “Pilgrims of Hope in Communion”.
I look at the prayer for the 37th General Chapter and am consoled as I pray it:
God of Infinity Goodness,
We thank you for all the blessings, poured out upon our Congregation and our extended Oblate family. As we [experience now] our General Chapter, we call for a fresh outpouring of your Holy Spirit.
We are grateful to you for our charism gifted to us through our Founder, St. Eugene, and kept alive through the dedicated lives of all who live that charism with creative fidelity and apostolic zeal.
On this pilgrimage of hope, set our hearts on fire and give us new life to carry out our mission, strengthen our resolve to be in communion with you, with one another and with our broken world.
In our service to the poor and suffering, grant us a renewal of our lives and a greater commitment and dedication to our mission.
We offer this prayer, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, St. Eugene and our Blessed Oblates. Amen.