To seek out new ways for the Word of God to reach their hearts often calls for daring; to present Gospel demands in all clarity should never intimidate us. (Constitution 8)
The Church recognizes this quality in our Oblate Charismatic Family:
You have chosen to be pilgrims, to rediscover and live your condition as wayfarers in this world, beside the men and women, the poor and the least of the earth, to whom the Lord sends you to announce his Kingdom.
Your founder too was a wayfarer, at the origins of your religious family, when he would go walking with his first companions in the villages of his native Provence, preaching the popular missions and restoring to the faith the poor who had turned away from it, and that even the ministers of the Church had abandoned…
Pilgrims and wayfarers, always ready to set out, like Jesus with his disciples in the Gospel.… towards the peripheries of the world beloved by God, and living a charism that leads you towards the furthest, the poorest, those whom no one reaches. Walking this road with love and fidelity, you, dear brothers, render a great service to the Church.
Pope Francis to the OMI General Chapter 2022
My reflections this morning are like shadows moving in the fog of life. I say shadows because I do not always recognize their fullness. I find myself focusing on the poor who are a part of all of life.
This past weekend I was busy before Mass with preparations to sell Kenyan Tea to raise money to send to our Oblate Associates in Kenya. Before Mass I was approached by a young woman who wanted a cup of coffee and no matter what I said to her anxiety (perhaps born out of pain) increased into anger. Her voice rose several decibels and her words did not seem to make sense. She left the church shouting that she would buy everyone a cup of coffee but not for me. I was sad as she went out and sat on the steps of the church, but in truth I was secretly relieved..
I could see her struggles and pain and said to the others gathered around my table that she was mentally ill – this was not her first time in Church. She was like one of those shadows in life where I could see the outer layers but not her bleeding heart. There must have been another way that I could have treated her with more dignity rather than how I subjected her to judgement. I did not accord her dignity…
“Awareness of our own shortcomings humbles us, yet God’s power makes us confident as we strive to bring all people – especially the poor – to full consciousness of their dignity as human beings and as sons and daughters of God.” (Constitution 8)