I BLESS THE LORD FOR THIS WITH ALL MY SOUL AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE STILL GREATER GOOD THAT WILL ENSUE

Posted on November 14, 2024 by franksantucci

We continue to recall the beginnings of the Oblate mission in the Anglo Irish Province.

In 1845 Ambrose Phillips de Lisle invited the Oblates to take charge of the chaplaincy which he maintained in Grace Dieu, Leicestershire. Fr. Aubert assigned three Fathers to this mission and Bishop de Mazenod sent Fr. Cooke to assist them. The pastoral work at Grace Dieu was similar to that undertaken at Penzance. In 1847 the Oblates, were invited to take charge of the church at Everingham in Yorkshire, and were later asked to work in Aldenham, near Shrewsbury and at Fairfield and Failsworth in Manchester.

Meanwhile, Bishop Ullathorne offered them the tenancy of Old Oscott, renamed Maryvale by John Henry Newman who had presided over the establishment of the English Oratorians there. This served as a noviciate and scholasticate for the next three years when Maryvale had to be given up. Mr. Peter Middleton of Sicklinghall in Yorkshire in 1848, invited the Oblates to take up the care of souls in the vicinity of his mansion and offered them the possession of a house and church that he had just completed. The noviciate and scholasticate then moved to Sicklinghall. During these momentous and inspiring years the pattern of the Oblate mission apostolate in England was similar to that of other missionary societies that had come from the continent to gather in the growing harvest of souls. It was in these rural centres that the Fathers served their apprenticeship before taking up the incalculably larger apostolate in the cities. (https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/anglo-irish-province-1841-1945/)

Eugene’s reaction:

My good and very dear son, your letter was balm for me in all that it said to uplift me. Even if our temporal affairs are not brilliant in England, at least a good spirit reigns amongst our Fathers and the edification afforded by their regularity can perhaps produce as many conversions as their words. I bless the Lord for this with all my soul and look forward with consolation beyond words to the still greater good that will ensue…

To Fr. Charles Bellon in England, 15 December 1848, EO III n 22.

REFLECTION

“I cared not where or how I lived, or what hardships I went through, so that I could but gain souls to Christ.” (D. Brainerd)

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One Response to I BLESS THE LORD FOR THIS WITH ALL MY SOUL AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE STILL GREATER GOOD THAT WILL ENSUE

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Lay Oblate Associate says:
    November 14, 2024 at 13:35

    That desire and way of living so as to be agents of conversion does not necessarily end with the Sacrament of Baptism or the Eucharist and Confirmation, but rather continues with the accompaniment we offer each other in community in our various communities and families.

    It is found in our breathing in and our breathing out, as well as our very heartbeat. And soon we find it increasingly uncomfortable within us to limit ourselves to rigid boundaries of space and culture.

    I think of dear Blessed Joseph Gerard OMI, who gave his life to God and served the peoples of Lesotho. His life was not about converting anyone but was rather about how he loved them. It was in his life as well as his death that he served with all of his heart.

    Once again I find myself picking up and opening the OMI Rule of Life that I have adopted: not in order to pretend to myself that I am a religious or priest, but rather as a light and compass to guide me in the life that God has chosen and called me to. A life that Eugene himself, through his sons and daughters has invited me to live.

    We let our lives be enriched by the poor and the marginalized as we work with them, for they can make us hear in new ways the Gospel we proclaim. (R. 8a)

    Reply

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