THEY ALWAYS HAVE TO PUT THEIR OWN FEELINGS AHEAD OF THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THEIR SUPERIORS
I have received a letter from Fr. … [ed. name not given in the text] with which I am not pleased. Obedience is little or badly known to our Fathers in Canada. They know not how to submit themselves without complaining and they always have to put their own feelings ahead of the instructions of their superiors. This is a sorry state of affairs, diametrically opposed to the spirit and the letter of our Constitutions and indeed to the very essence of the religious spirit.
Letter to Bp Bruno Guigues, 26 September 1848, EO I n 103
REFLECTION
Our OMI Constitutions and Rules remind us: “In the Superior, we will see a sign of our unity in Christ Jesus; through faith, we accept the authority he has been given. We will give our loyal support once a decision has been made and, in a spirit of cooperation and initiative, we will devote our talents, our activity, our very lives, to our apostolic mission in the Church.” (C 26)
It is not only vowed Oblates who have a Superior. In the Church all of us are called to listen to those who represent our unity in Christ Jesus .
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I seem to be on a tapestry bent these days, and as I reflect on the writings of dear Eugene and Franks reflection the image in my mind about Obedience for our Oblate Family is that of a magnificent tapestry hanging in the great halls of our lives. For me it is very paradoxical that it is in joyfully living the vow of Obedience result in the ultimate freedom to be, as we are each created to be no matter where we are in the universe or our position of life.
It is like some of the foundational wools used in weaving the great tapestry of life; some are bright and strong while others are more subdued yet they all seem to flow in and with throughout the tapestry. Some lead and others follow. Yet each has their own gift of beauty. And there are some that we find only on the outer edges of the weaving. For a moment I am reminded of those lepers that met up with Jesus, as they cried “unclean” (unworthy), and others that had yellow stars on every piece of clothing. And let us not forget those whose flags and pieces of clothing are like rainbows of colours that can often result in beams of fear and hatred rather than in the light of joy and love of our diversities as well as our commonalities. The title of our tapestry might well be on a small plaque at it’s lowest edge: one word – “Community”.
We must rely on the Spirit of God to help us choose the colours, the contrasts of different threads of wool as they seem to flow not just our own flow, but the flows others around us and most particularly the flows of our superiors as we offer our obedience that will allow us the freedom to weave our dreams and our being.