Wherever we work, our mission is especially to those people whose condition cries out for salvation and for the hope which only Jesus Christ can fully bring. These are the poor with their many faces; we give them our preference. (Constitution 5)
Father Rois, our Superior General, reflects on his experience of the second part of our motto: pauperes evangelizantur (Matthew 11:5) – the poor are having the Gospel preached to them:
I am a witness of many poor people in vulnerable situations who have expressed their gratitude for our presence. Among the many testimonies we can recall the experience of the Nivaclé Indigenous people in Paraguay who recognize that they owe their existence to the presence of the missionaries and many others who have seen their own culture valued thanks to the presence and studies of the missionaries. I myself have heard some express their gratitude for our gratuitous presence in countries where our mere presence is a sign of hope for threatened and repressed peoples.
The reflection of Wayne Muller, a spiritual author, helps us to reflect on our attitude of response to the poor with their many faces:
“As we serve others we are working on ourselves; every act, every word, every gesture of genuine compassion naturally nourishes our own hearts as well. It is not a question of who is healed first. When we attend to ourselves with compassion and mercy, more healing is made available for others. And when we serve others with an open and generous heart, great healing comes to us.”
This morning we are invited to join in with others who dare to bear witness to the power and goodness of God’s love – from Matthew’s Gospel to Eugene’s living Rule of Life: from and with his sons and daughters, to Father Rois and the Nivaclé Indigenous Peoples of Paraguay, to Wayne Muller and the many who share in the Oblate/Mazenodian Spirit and many Charismatic Families past and present.
I am reminded of Sandy Prather, HOMI who dared to title a paper (and I am paraphrasing here) “Share With Us A Portion of Your Spirit”. And you have and do. “…share in the charism in a spirit of communion and reciprocity amongst themselves and with the Oblates.” (ref. Rule 37a)
I find myself filled with gratitude this morning – for being in this place here and meeting the likes of the Wayne Mullers of this world. The gift of God’s love to instill within me the desire to serve. It is with the Oblates sharing of their charism that the desire to serve other’s who are broken, pushed aside or seemingly abandoned: who I serve, along side of those who have not yet met the Beloved. In the light of our crucified Saviour that we realise/live out the idea that there is nothing greater than to nourish a seedling into life which then flowers and gives fruit.
We are in Holy Week, approaching the Triduum – Jesus offering himself on the cross in one the most heinous and painful ways of dying. The sheer immensity of God’s love and our witnessing that love in our lives today. This is what it is to serve God and the Church; of making an offering of love – our oblation. It is not a reenactment of something that happened once, but rather a way of being that “is” in the presence of God.