We are missionaries. We began 188 years ago, on January 25, 1816, when Father Eugene de Mazenod and four companions came together to preach missions in Provencal, in the rural countryside of southern France. And currently, how many are we? Where are we? What do we do?
We are 4,440 Oblates in all - young men, old men, Oblates in formation, priests, Brothers! Of this total, almost 600 are in formation, having already made their first commitment. For the highest number in formation, the prize goes to Africa, with 165 young men in training. We are in the five continents. The branch planted in Aix-en-Provence thrived well: more than 700 in Africa, 1450 in Europe, 630 in Asia, 360 in Latin America, 750 in Canada, 480 in the United States.
And all these people, what do they do? We do everything. We are not specialized, except in facing urgent needs.... It was enough for bishops to come to our Founder and say to him: "I do not have anybody..." for him to act, re-examine his manpower, cut personnel here and there, and release 2 or 3 men for these new needs. And that continues today still. You see, it is a question of passion, of missionary concern....
Recent foundations? The last one is Guinea Bissau: a station close to one of our missions in Senegal. But there are also the working districts of Marseilles, Strasbourg or Cadiz; there is also Cuba, Turkmenistan, Byelorussia and Ukraine.... And then, the Missions of other times have now grown up and in their turn are taking on responsibilities: Haiti went to found in Colombia, among the afro-Amerindian; and Sri Lanka for many years expanded into India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
We are Oblate Missionaries, and we are not made for ordinary pastoral work! It is true that in the course of history we took parishes which we wanted to make missionary, but the original project was "... to bring the Good News to the people who have not yet received it...
Our world today is a place where the globalisation of poverty and the concentration of wealth have made precarious the life of so many of our contemporaries, especially to the south, but also in the north. Misery is a theological question. God, in man His image, is condemned to live in sub-human conditions! How can it be tolerated? How can we not help? How can we not commit ourselves to changing the "structures of sin" which are the cause? Another vast field is inter-religious dialogue. The encounter with Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam raise new questions in the West. If the politicians are discovering the problem only now, long ago, our brothers in the field were working to create bridges to avoid as much as possible mistrust and confrontation.
We are thus confronted with new situations and new questions, both internal and external. While the future may unknown to us we are filled with courage and hope because we are, as we have always been, co-operators with the Saviour!
(adapted from omiworld.org)
