WHAT IS ST. EUGENE SAYING TO US AS WE EXPLORE THE OBLATE RULE OF LIFE? (C1-6)
We remember Eugene’s words that the Constitution and Rules
are not a trivial unimportant thing, they are no longer simple regulations, merely pious directions; they are Rules approved by the Church after most minute examination. They have been judged holy and eminently suited to lead those who have embraced them to their goal.
Letter to Henri Tempier and all the Oblates, 18 February 1826, EO VII n 226
As we explore our Rule of Life, step-by-step, it is through the eyes of St Eugene that we look at it. What does he say to us through it? How does he communicate his spirit and vision to us? What is he calling us to be and do as he accompanies us, the members of his beloved Charismatic Family? For what is he interceding for us in the presence of God and the saints?
For the last few months, we have been exploring our Rule of Life with St Eugene. To recap briefly now. Each of us has been called by Jesus Christ
· to share in his mission as his cooperators (C1)
· to know him more deeply, to identify with him, to let him live in us (C2)
· to follow the example of the apostles by living in his presence and sharing this experience with others (C3)
· to see the world through the eyes of his Cross which leads those in need to the power of the resurrection (C4)
· to proclaim him and his Kingdom to the poor and most abandoned (C5)
· to recognize and love him in his body, the Church, and participate in its mission (C6).
We will now continue with Constitutions 7, 8 and 9 which illustrate how we put all this into practice as we share with others “who Christ is” is for us and how his love transforms our lives.
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No matter where we are in our lives, how we are called or invited to be, regardless of the status or God-given role in life – we know and experience that we are loved. Indeed we are cherished by God. When I heard God say my name, God did not continue on with measurements or conditions: “Eleanor I love you. I have called you by name and you are mine.”
No limitations.
Lavished with love and life, I eventually heard Eugene’s invitation to stand at the foot of my crucifix and all I could do was to cry. And along the way I was introduced to the Oblate Constitutions and Rules as a lay person, a daughter of St. Eugene. My restless heart found a place to be and thrive.
I think of Albert Lacombe OMI whose heart also found a home in the Oblate Charismatic Family and who became for me a model of missionary discipleship as I began to try walking in the footsteps of St. Eugene de Mazenod.
It is this charismatic family with whom I walk and live. It continues to be through the eyes of our crucified Saviour that I learn who I am in the eyes of God. It is through the hands of the Master Potter that I am shaped, formed and reformed. It is within the OMI Constitutions and Rules that I continue to love and allow myself grow more deeply in love with God every time I sit and “be” while allowing my heart to grow in Love.
The Oblate Charismatic Family is no cookie-cutter way of being but rather reflects our uniqueness as members of the Body of Christ, in the Church and with all whom we meet…
This is how we learn to be cooperators of our crucified Saviour.