THEY SHOULD WORK FOR THE SALVATION OF THE MOST ABANDONED SOULS

Posted on August 21, 2024 by franksantucci

In 1848 Eugene made an agreement with Bishop Pavy of Algiers to establish a community Oblates in Algeria. Father Tempier had gone to Algiers to meet the bishop and to negotiate the terms of the Oblate mission with him. Eugene then wrote to the Bishop of Algiers about the Oblates:

I hope the day will come when you will be able to use them for the conversion of the Arabs. I have never thought that the conversion of these poor Moslems was any more difficult than that of the Chinese. It will be up to you to give the signal when the time comes. It would be better to allow our missionaries to work at their modest ministry, in conformity with their Rule, which lays down that they should work for the salvation of the most abandoned souls, rather than give them a cathedral pulpit from which to preach a Lenten series of sermons.

Letter to Bishop Pavy of Algiers, 5 January 1849, EO IV n 3

REFLECTION

Who were the poor and most abandoned for Eugene? He repeats it clearly in this letter: those who are most in need of the Gospel of salvation. In the words of the Preface: to teach people who Jesus Christ is.

Who are the poor for the Oblate Charismatic Family today? In the words of the Oblate Rule: “Wherever we work, our mission is especially to those people whose condition cries out for salvation and for the hope which only Jesus Christ can fully bring. These are the poor with their many faces; we give them our preference.” (Constitution 5)

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1 Response to THEY SHOULD WORK FOR THE SALVATION OF THE MOST ABANDONED SOULS

  1. Eleanor Rabnett, Oblate Lay Associate says:
    August 21, 2024 at 13:38

    For a moment I stop to think of what it might be like for us to have Eugene come and preach a Lenten series of sermons.

    But, we already have that. St. Eugene speaks to us through the Oblate Congregation, to all of us who are members of the Oblate Charismatic Family, his sons and daughters.

    We “recognize that [we] are called to share in the charism according to [our] state of life, and to live it in ways that vary according to milieu and cultures. [We] share in the charism in a spirit of communion and reciprocity among [ourselves] and with the Oblates.” (R 37a, CC&RR 2000).

    I am so grateful that God put me on this pilgrimage of life with the Oblates and the many members of their family. The work has been transformed into loving service and listening. For me it is returning to walk with those who have been pushed aside by and/or remain untouched by the structures of the Church.

    They are the women who come through our doors, abandoned, discarded and silenced, and the many members of the 2SLGBTQ+ Family. This is how I have been called and sent to; this is where I find myself standing at the foot of my crucifix and in it’s shadow.

    Reply

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