We announce the liberating presence of Jesus Christ and the new world born in his resurrection. We will hear and make heard the clamour of the voiceless, which is a cry to God who brings down the mighty from their thrones and exalts the lowly (cf. Lk 1: 52). (Constitution 9)
Listening to the cry of the poor demands a spirituality of listening, dialogue and proclamation.
We must not forget that the cry of the earth is the cry of the poor, to whom we are to give preference (cf. C 5). During this Chap-ter, we have heard voices proposing to take up again the centrality of the poor—especially the indigenous, migrant, young, and urban—in our missionary discernment.
In each Oblate Unit, depending on their circumstances, we should constantly discern the presence of each of the faces of the poor, to carry out our missionary work based on the spirituality of listening, dialogue and proclamation. (Acts of 2022 General Chapter n. 11.2)
Can you imagine that if every member of the Oblate Charismatic Family would take this to heart and put it into action, what a loud and powerful announcement this would be of the liberating presence of Jesus Christ and the new world born in his resurrection!
My own experience of having been welcomed into this family has been gentle, loving and accepting with invitations to walk with and recognize the goodness as well as the humanness within each other.
Sometimes it is difficult to recognize that which we hide from ourselves, our own poverty, our own humanness. Earlier this past week I received a letter from my doctor stating that she was leaving her current practice on December 31st, 2025. She thanked all of her patients who allowed her to care for them. My first cry was to God asking why. I told God (and mostly myself) that I did not deserve this, that I deserved better as my thoughts and anxieties spiraled towards chaos.
Getting real I called to make an appointment for a small problem that seemed to be growing. I was told that I could only see my doctor on December 8th 2025, but that I could see a nurse-practitioner immediately. It was a good experience. Returning home I met a group of seniors in my building that I am close to. I shared my experience with the nurse-practitioner; adding that they had openings for new patients who had no doctors.
Today my thoughts concern how I responded to some of my neighbours losing their doctors. I was suitably sad for then, but inside I ignored their pain and anxiety as I thanked God for taking care of me – it was the thanks of a person who secretly thought herself to be more worthy than the other. Not totally loving of them or myself.
This morning’s sharing’s from the members of the 37th General Chapter and Frank have been a gentle reminder of how Eugene worked and recognized the poor of his time and how he dared to serve them no matter what the norms of his time dictated.