In the formal letter sending out his Missionary Oblates, Eugene de Mazenod as Superior General mandated their mission.<\/p>\n
GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, who has chosen and predestined us for the praise of the glory of his grace, has established us so that we may go and gather fruit and our fruit may remain.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Eugene was emphatic that the existence of the Oblates was brought about by God’s intervention and not by human effort. He recalled the foundation and its fruitful evangelization in Provence:<\/p>\n
You know that from the moment the Father sent us, his little flock, at the last hour to work in his vineyard, we returned from our modest labours with abundant fruit; that on beginning to proclaim his Word, God accomplished great things through us though unworthy and that many were the wayward brought back to the right path as we went through the regions about us to seek sheep in peril.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Just as God had blessed their humble beginnings, God would continue to bless the Oblates in the vast new field that was opening up in Canada.<\/p>\n
But here is a road that leads afar and an immense field that unfolds. A gateway is wide open to us. We are now sent not only to those who are close and who are brothers in the faith but to others who are far afield and outside the faith, we who, being so few, were unequal to the task of gathering the abundant harvest lying before us.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Letter of Obedience to the first Oblate missionaries to Canada, 29 September 1841, EO I n 8<\/em><\/p>\n
Today, the same spirit impels the Mazenodian Family to be missionaries in every situation in which we find ourselves. \u00a0“A\u00a0gateway is wide open to us” in our daily lives to see those around us and the world through the eyes of our Crucified Savior and to witness to his love in whatever way possible. Mission begins in our immediate environment.<\/p>\n
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In the formal letter sending out his Missionary Oblates, Eugene de Mazenod as Superior General mandated their mission. GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, who has chosen and predestined us for the praise of the glory of his … Continue reading