In a report on the second day of the Inter-Chapter meeting in India we read:
“In the afternoon, Fr. Robin Seelan, SJ, addressed the Oblates with a reflection on ‘reverence’ and its role in living synodality during the InterChapter. He noted that the word itself does not appear in the Constitutions and Rules, yet it is deeply present in the Oblate vocation. It can be recognized in the ardent desire for perfection, the inflamed love for Christ and the Church, the burning zeal for the salvation of souls, and the freedom from disorderly affections. Fr. Seelan reminded the assembly that reverence is not a technique or a method. It is a movement of the heart, a disposition, a spirituality. It is something to be lived and experienced, rather than simply discussed or studied.” (https://www.omiworld.org/2025/08/19/a-day-of-listening-and-reverence/)
The speaker captured something of the spirit of our Constitutions and Rules, which we recognize in St Eugene’s words to the poor and most abandoned in the Church of the Madeleine: “My brothers, my dear brothers, my respected brothers” and how this was to be his characteristic approach to everyone as an Oblate and bishop.
This spirit of reverence is reflected in Constitution 5: “We preach the Gospel among people who have not yet received it and help them see their own values in its light.”
In Constitution 7: “We have as our goal to establish Christian communities and Churches deeply rooted in the local culture and fully responsible for their own development and growth.”
In Constitution 8: “ We will always be close to the people with whom we work, taking into account their values and aspirations.”
The reflection concluded with an invitation which also applies to every member of the Oblate Charismatic Family not present at that gathering “to embody reverence in every aspect of their lives: in personal witness, in community living, and in apostolic mission. This Inter-Chapter, he underlined, is not only an organizational meeting but a moment of dialogue and openness. It calls for purposeful listening in prayer and silence, creating the conditions for an authentic ‘conversation in the Spirit.’”
The Prayer of the Inter-Chapter participants
Before reading and reflecting upon Frank’s offering this morning I stopped to read the small piece posted on OMIWorld. “Each shared his vocation story and the gifts he brings to the Inter-Chapter.” I thought for a moment of how this was kind of like our “check-ins” but which can often be a mention of our doings rather than a mention of our “beings” which actually give birth to our doings. And I smile for moment as I realize what I have just shared with you was what Fr. Seelan when he spoke of Reverence not being a technique or method but rather a “movement of the heart and disposition, a spirituality” that is to be lived and experienced.
Reverence and Synodality not on their own but a living part of the “spirit” of the OMI Constitutions and Rules as Frank shared with Constitution 8… Each a part of a greater whole, and one never overshadows the other – the fullness of life.
Eugene’s words of “My brothers, my dear brothers, my respected brothers…” from his first Lenten Homily. Many of the those who heard him were uneducated and treated more like slaves than family. Often they were used and abused by the learned and highly appointed or ignored by the very persons sent to help them. Just as was Jesus by those who would see him crucified.
Which brings my back to St. Eugene and the words from The Preface: human, Christian, saints…
The word “respect” has come to my mind often this morning and then pushed aside as inadequate and does not draw me to go deeper. Reverence is much fuller, much more a part of a greater whole…