We are members of the prophetic Church… We announce the liberating presence of Jesus Christ and the new world born in his resurrection. (Constitution 9)
A prophetic Church hears, lives and communicates the heart and mind of God. Its prophetic lifestyle and message communicates God’s guidance and insight into current circumstances. During this jubilee year, the Church invites us to focus on being pilgrims of hope and our Oblate Charismatic Family is concentrating on being pilgrims of hope:
Hope is our way of being in the Church. It is foundational in all that we believe. It carries us forward in mission. As we await the second coming of Jesus, we evangelize as persons of hope to bring the Good News to the poor and to care for the earth, our common home. This hope that we bear, in turn, brings hope into our own religious life and commitment. (Acts of 2022 General Chapter n.3)
As I read the title of today’s reflection I found my eyes filling with joyous tears: “Hope is our way of being in the Church.”
As members of the Oblate Charismatic Family we all bear witness to God’s holiness and justice – to God’s love that has no beginning or ending. We carry the hope we have been given so as to share it; not just amongst ourselves but with all who we meet. It is dynamic, it is alive, it is like the blossoms on some trees, becoming fruit for all of us.
No matter our state or role in life we are a part of Church and Church is a part of us.
Yesterday I took part in the Discernment Process of a man asking to make a Commitment and become a Lay Oblate Associate. The beautiful light of hope shining from a man who has spent his life as one who has been sent by God, wanting to enter into a deeper relationship with God and with all of us.
There is a true gift as we all strive to “enlarge the space of our hearts. (ref. Isaiah 54:2) and take an active part in the lives of our brothers and sisters in this Oblate Charismatic Family.
“A prophetic Church hears, lives and communicates the heart and mind of God.” What might this look like in our own small communities, being a part of the larger Community and Church?