Missionaries in a New World

Never before has the world had to change so quickly – so drastically. With the COVID-19 Pandemic it is a new world of seeming contradictions: to communicate we must distance ourselves and to be community we cannot come together except in our prayers and thoughts often using a virtual world to meet. Our new normal demands that we practice our small daily routines and rhythms in new ways.

I myself am a touchy-feely kind of person – I love to give and receive hugs or even a small tap on the arm or shoulder; social distancing is a new path on my journey and at times seem challenging to navigate.

Wednesday morning began as usual, with “Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us…” entering into reflection and conversation (silent or written) sharing my being with any others who accept Eugene’s invitation to be and listen with him. Eugene has this wonderful way of helping us focus on what our present reality is about even in the midst of a pandemic. Here we find ourselves being grounded at the start of our day as he helps us to focus on our new challenges.

Isolation seems to have been forced on us and yet with reminders and direction we can all manage to find solace in Eugene’s shared experience.

Our morning prayers were enhanced with Pope Francis asking us to join him in saying the Lord’s Prayer and then the Angelus. There was solace to be experience here as we pushed off isolation allowing our hearts to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves.

I imagine that most of us felt our new daily routines kicking in, finding to respond to emails and check in from those we love and those who love us.

I have become used to attending Mass daily down at Our Lady of the Snows in the US or with our Oblates at St. Patrick’s in Hamilton. As with others around the world we are all shut-ins and this is the only way we can come together in the celebration of the Eucharist. God bless all of those who reach out and share this with us.

Our local pastor here in Ottawa made a short video message to all of us in our parish (but I know it has traveled much further).  Fr. Jim Bleackley’s words offered us comfort as he spoke about our new reality “…to live more interiorly and apart which would help- us all to recognize and affirm our inter-connection between creation, others and God.” Sharing his experience of being on a silent retreat many years and how this helps him now “to embrace the restrictions and limitations – knowing and believing that the Divine Spirit will find new and different ways to bind us together.” His prayer for us was that as we live “these days to the best of our ability that we might experience the presence of Christ walking with us and overwhelming us unconditional love.”

I am reminded of those first Oblates who came to our continent, to our country and of the new ways they found to preach; to bring the Good News and to catechize the people they met here who were so very different from those that they had grown up with.  They too must have felt like they had entered a new world.  There were no grand churches or cathedrals and they had to make do with what they had; Fr. Albert Lacombe and his brothers finding new ways to preach in new languages, and new locations. We are reminded of Fr. Lacombe’s mobile chapel which he made and packed up to take with him on his trips – a large tent in which to pray, hear confessions, catechize and to celebrate the Eucharist. That same portable tent served as his sleeping space as well as place to listen and to speak with the tribal elders and chiefs and any others who would come to see him.

Now it is our turn as we meet each other on our computers and phones; creating and watching group videos and ‘apps’ like Zoom and SKYPE. We talk, we pray, we share our experiences of God with each other, of our struggles and our gifts in this time of upheaval that seems only to grow worse with each day. All of those who have embraced technology to communicate and be with us in new ways. Of course that not just members of our Mazenodian Family; but we are family and so we come together as much as we can. Fr. Jim in his message shared the Good News with us, reminding us how we are all precious in the eyes of our crucified Saviour.

New ways of being missionaries, of being support to each other and being sent out to share our experiences of God, of the Good News with the world.

We are all called to find new ways of entering into the heart of Jesus and then finding ourselves renewed and re-evangelized we allow ourselves to be sent out to others in ways that will open up a world that is ‘locked down’. We meet with our phones and computers and when we go out for walks we smile and say hello to all.

Constitution 4 suggests “If we bear in our body the death of Jesus, it is with the hope that the life of Jesus, too, may be seen in our body (cf. 2 Cor 4:10)” Our mission has not changed, but there are some new ways for us to live it out; to practice our ministries so that we continue to be missionaries in a new world.

This is a Lent like no other that we have experienced. It demands a radical change in how we approach each other and how we portray who we are as Eugene continues to shed his light on us and walk with us.

By Eleanor Rabnett