{"id":5668,"date":"2024-01-25T01:00:20","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T00:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/?p=5668"},"modified":"2024-01-24T02:36:54","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T01:36:54","slug":"to-live-in-community-they-have-given-up-the-ordinary-parish-ministry-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/?p=5668","title":{"rendered":"TO LIVE IN COMMUNITY THEY HAVE GIVEN UP THE ORDINARY PARISH MINISTRY"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prior to the arrival of the Oblates in Limoges, a contract had been made with the Bishop in which it was agreed that they would be mission preachers in the diocese and that they could be sent “temporarily and by exception into parishes to replace pastors who were ill or absent for a short time.\u201d In the first three months of their presence in Limoges, the Bishop had begun to abuse this exception and use them to minister as solitary parish priests out of community. Eugene protested by clarifying the mission of the Oblates.<\/h3>\n

I’m experiencing a sorrow that it’s impossible not to confide in you. You know that each one must live one’s own life and follow one’s own vocation. It so happens that the system followed in Limoges deprives our Oblates of what they came to the Congregation for. It is to live in community that they have renounced the ordinary ministry of parishes, and it is above all through the exercises of the missions that they bring souls back to God.<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

To prove his point, he quotes the Oblate Rule to the Bishop.<\/h3>\n

Their Rules provide that they live in community, so much so that they prescribe that they always go forth in pairs: Duo saltem ibunt ad missiones [ed a minimum of two are to go on missions]. I understand that at times it is necessary to dispense from this point of the Rule, especially when a missionary is sent to assist a parish priest. It is essential, however, that this be a temporary measure only. You understand, Your Lordship, that there are good reasons for this.<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

Moreover, there is a point in the Rule that says: Nequamquam licet paroecias regere <\/strong><\/em>[ed. it is by no means permitted to care for parishes] Their choice gives them enough to do, so that they can leave to others the care of parishes for which they are not called<\/strong><\/em>…<\/h3>\n

Letter to Bishop Buissas of Limoges, 20 February 1848, EO XIII n 119<\/em><\/h3>\n

REFLECTION<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The very first Oblate Rule was clear on two points: “it is by no means permitted to care for parishes” and that community life was an integral part of the missionary lifestyle. Pastoral necessities outside of France led to missionaries ministering on their own especially in areas of first evangelization – a practise causing much anxiety to Eugene.<\/h3>\n

In these areas of evangelizing and establishing a church community it became necessary for the Oblates to be parish priests as they were the only priests in the area. In many countries, ministering in parishes became the Oblate norm and non-parish ministry the exception. Today our Constitutions and Rules and our General Chapters impel the Oblates and all the members of the Mazenodian Family to return to our charism roots by responding to the evangelizing needs of the most abandoned within the structure of apostolic community not necessarily tied to a parish structure.<\/h3>\n

“The very charism of the Founders (Evangelii Nuntiandi 11) appears as an \u201cexperience of the Spirit,\u201d transmitted to their disciples to be lived, safeguarded, deepened and constantly developed by them, in harmony with the Body of Christ continually in the process of growth. \u201cIt is for this reason that the distinctive character of various religious institutes is preserved and fostered by the Church\u201d (The Church document Mutuae Relationes art 11)<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prior to the arrival of the Oblates in Limoges, a contract had been made with the Bishop in which it was agreed that they would be mission preachers in the diocese and that they could be sent “temporarily and by … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5668\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eugenedemazenod.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}