ONE OF OUR PURPOSES IS TO PROVIDE SPECIAL MEANS OF SALVATION TO CLERGY
Father Vincens had just finished preaching the annual retreat for the diocesan priests of Marseilles.
The pastoral retreat has been given by our Fr. Vincens who worked wonders. It has been among the most edifying. The priests said that they had never had an equal to it. The week passed like a day for us. The closing sermon was magnificent. I concluded from it that Fr. Vincens could be put to use very advantageously in giving these exercises to the clergy. I will give him this mission, which he will carry out to everyone’s satisfaction.
Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 16 September 1848, EO XXI
The formation and personal renewal of priests has been an integral part of Oblate ministry since the beginning when the house of Aix en Provence, and later all Oblate houses, were available to welcome diocesan priests for retreats and times of personal renewal. Evangelization of people could only be effective when there was a competent local clergy to maintain it. Eugene and the first community had expressed this ministry in the first Rule:
See to it that you have zealous, altruistic and solidly virtuous priests and soon you will bring back to the fold the people who have wandered away from their duties.
1818 Rule, Part One, Chapter One. The ends of the Institute, §3. Nota Bene.
Missions, 78 (1951) p. 15
The period of the French Revolution and its aftermath had made Eugene aware of the damage caused by priests who were not faithful to their vocation and responsibilities. Tragically, what he wrote then is still true today and this aspect of our charism remains vital:
All are aware of the many evils that have resulted from the deplorable disaster of recent years, namely, the evils that were occasioned by the apostasy of a multitude of priests who, despite the glorious example of so many of their brothers, have fallen from the fervor of their state, and have brought ruin on themselves and many others. It is because of this situation that our Society, with equal zeal and perseverance, also makes it one of its purposes to provide special means of salvation to such priests.
Rule of 1826, Chapter One, §1, Art. 6
REFLECTION
“As priests uphold their people in prayer, so their people are to uphold them with prayer and love, for he cannot work without his people.” (Arthur Middleton)
As a Mazenodian Family let us be agents of support and renewal for our priests.
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Sometimes it can be easy to forget that priests, presidents, doctors, teachers and parents are human beings just like ourselves. They do not have all of the answers and they struggle as much as anybody else. We pray for our children, our families, our loved ones – especially when they are struggling and yet we often forget that our priests, brothers and sisters are just as human as we are and that they may often be asked to carry heavy burdens… Much is demanded of them.
Some years ago I went on a local Oblate a couple of us were asked to share on our experiences before and after Vatican II. I remember one of the priests shared that he had been used to saying daily Mass at one of the side altars in a church, used to saying Mass for himself. Following Vatican II he was very nervous about saying Mass, facing the people he was serving. In those moments I recognized his humanness and loved him even more. It is never about anyone being better than another.
Evangelizare Pauperibus Misit Me: Pauperes Evangelizantur. (Theme of the 36th General Chapter in 2016) We are sent to evangelize the poor: the poor are evangelized – not just “them” out there, but each one of us with each other.
Some of us Oblate Associates will be delegates at our upcoming OMI Lacombe Provincial Convocation. All of the members of our local Oblate/Mazenodian Families are being asked to participate actively by engaging in the preparatory work and sharing our reflections and insights with a member of the “Dare We Hope” Convocation team. Our collated responses will become part of the learnings/outcomes of Convocation 2024.