MISSIONARY OBLATES OF MARY IMMACULATE
OBLATE ASSOCIATES
Dear Brother/Sister,
Greetings from the now established office of Oblate Associates. The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate have been in Southern Africa for a very long time, and can even claim to be the founders of the Church in Southern Africa. The work done by the Oblates is a continuation of the vision of the Founder St. Eugene de Maz
enod. “Wherever we work, our mission is especially to the poor with their many faces that cry out for the hope that only Jesus Christ can fully bring.”
Who are Oblate Associates? This form of Oblate ministry began in the last decade in response to the growing awareness that through baptism we are ALL Church and called to serve. Oblate Associates are lay, religious, and ordained, who witness to God’s love in their daily lives. They may have technical, professional or pastoral vocations which reach the poor or they may have only an hour or two a week to volunteer in a shelter or a soup kitchen. What distinguishes Oblate Associates from others who do similar work? Oblate Associates infuse their mission with the special calling or charism of St. They work not only to improve the condition of the poor on this earth, but also to make them aware of the Good News that they are Children of God. Eugene de Mazenod in his Ash Wednesday homily of 1813 said:
“Come now and learn from us what you are in the eyes of faith…all you whom misery oppresses, listen to me. You are God’s children…heirs to his eternal kingdom, chosen portion of his inheritance…there is within you an immortal soul made in the image of God…a soul ransomed at the price of the blood of Jesus Christ, more precious in the eyes of God than all earth’s riches, than all the kingdoms of the earth…know then your dignity.”
What Commitment has to be made? As an Oblate Associate I commit myself to:
• Study of the charism of Saint Eugene de Mazenod and Oblate Spirituality: learn more about the Oblates and the charism of St. Eugene.
• Apostolic work with the poor: Perform a regular service that allows me to share God’s love with the poor and abandoned.
• Prayer and Meditation: Establish a practice of prayer and meditation that leads me to encounter God more deeply each day.
• Community and faith sharing: Create a regular time, place and routine for gatherings that will help us build community.
• An Annual Retreat: Make an annual retreat or day of reflection. Oblate Cross and Associate pin
After a year of formation, Associates have the option to wear a symbol of their commitment:
• An Oblate Cross (smaller in size that vowed oblates wear). Or
• The Associate pin (the Associate pin is round, symbolizing the world. It is made up of the three letters, “OMI”, clearly making the Oblate identity central to design). Interested in living a life that matters as an Oblate Associate? Thabang Nkadimeng OMI
Email: [email protected] OR [email protected]
Telephone: 011-021-1098
Who are we? We are missionaries. We began 200 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. Currently, how many are we? We are nearly 4,000 Oblates in all - young men, old men, Oblates in formation, priests, Brothers! Of this total, more than 600 are in formation, having already made their first commitment. For the highest number in formation, the prize goes to Africa, with 259 young men in training. We are on six continents. The branch planted in Aix-en-Provence thrived well: Oblates serve the poor in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin America, and North America. What do we do? 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....
• "Whoever wishes to become one of us must have an ardent desire for his own perfection, and be inflamed with the love for Our Lord Jesus Christ and his Church and a burning zeal for the salvation of souls." (Rule of 1853)
• "We are men set apart for the Gospel, men ready to leave everything to be disciples of Jesus." (Constitution 2)
• "The community of the Apostles with Jesus is the model of our life." (Const. 3)
• "Like the Apostle, to preach "Jesus Christ, and him crucified... not in loftiness of speech." That is to say, by making manifest that we have pondered in our hearts the words which we proclaim, and that we began to practice before setting out to teach." (Rule of 1826)
• "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." (Const. 5)
• "The Founder left us a legacy: 'Among yourselves practice charity, charity, charity - and, outside, zeal for the salvation of souls.' In fidelity to that testament, each member's zeal is sustained by the bonds of fraternal charity." (Const. 37)
These quotations show both the realism and the ideal of our life. Seeing the demands of our commitment sometimes frightens us. Mediocrity is always a potential danger. Daily generous fidelity, often heroic, that is the way followed by our brothers whose holiness the Church has recognized: Saint Eugene de Mazenod, the Blessed Joseph Gerard, the apostle of Lesotho, and Blessed Jozef Cebula, who was killed in Mauthausen in 1943, and so many others whose anonymous holiness is registered in the heart of God.
