Superior General: “The InterChapter Has Ended, and Now What?
On Saturday, August 30th, at the InterChapter, the Superior General offered his closing comments. With gratitude and vision, he encouraged us to carry forward the grace received during these days of communion and discernment. His words were both a reflection and a call to action, grounded in love, mission, and hope. We share his message here, offered as an inspiration for the journey ahead.
“Do you love me? Follow me.”
When Cardinal Lopez came to the General House, he spoke to us about his experience of the Synod and said, “The Synod is over; Synodality will remain in the Church as the normal path.” We conclude this time of discernment in which we have experienced the method of conversations in the spirit. This method helps us build a missionary and synodal Church and congregation. As we advanced in the process, we have been able to joyfully recognize our strengths and weaknesses, our openness to the Spirit of the Lord and our resistance to his calls. We have all experienced a call to die to self in order to make way for God’s newness. Some of you have shared that you would like to have this same synodal process in your communities and in your Unit Councils. Go ahead! We are all called to discern more and better through prayer and attentive listening to the Word of God and to our brothers and sisters.
These have been days in which we have experienced Oblate fraternity; perhaps this was the most important fruit of the Spirit of the InterChapter. Fraternity expressed with great generosity by the St. Eugene Province of India. Our brothers have placed themselves at our service so that everything could go well, so that our liturgies, fellowship time, computer support, facilities, etc. have succeeded. They have done everything with simplicity and service, very Oblate characteristics. We are all very grateful to them, and I ask Father Harry to convey this gratitude to all our Oblate brothers in India. Thank you.
The generosity of the translators has also been remarkable. They spent hours listening and trying to help us break down the language barrier so the process could move forward. Many of them helped as panel leaders, and they all served to facilitate our conversations, even during breaks. They certainly have a special perspective on what they saw and felt during the meeting. Perhaps a special practice should be created so they can express their impressions and give us their suggestions. Thank you very much.
The generosity of the moderators, who were able to accompany us, helping us focus on our discernment and ensuring that the program flowed smoothly. Thank you. The generosity of Father Fini, who worked tirelessly to facilitate the process and ensure we had access to all the materials that will help us continue discerning. Fr. Fini, thank you very much. I want to thank all those who have prayed for us over these days and supported us through social media, and Father Bonga, who made it possible to share our discussions online with the entire Oblate family. Thank you.
Thank you to each and every one of you, the major superiors and members of the central government. Also to those who participated virtually in our discernment because they were unable to come here. Your generosity in dedicating so much time and energy has been commendable. Each one of you has given your all to this process. I believe that many of our hearts have beat to the rhythm of the Spirit who has given us the gift of fulfilling, in some way, Saint Eugene de Mazenod’s dream: to be one heart, one spirit, one united family. This experience of ours will help our entire charismatic family to live with renewed enthusiasm the beauty of our vocation.
It is good to ask ourselves: the InterChapter has ended, and now what? The first answer we can give is that each of us is called to proclaim the “InterChapter Good News” to all our brothers and sisters in our respective units. If what we have experienced here has been a grace of the Holy Spirit, we are called to share it. To share it with our words, but above all with our attitudes and behaviour, from our way of placing ourselves before the Lord in prayer, of welcoming and serving our brothers and sisters, of listening to them as someone whom God has enlightened. Let us commit ourselves to journeying with them in hope and communion.
Synodality and missionary work are making headway in our days, encouraged by the impulse of Pope Francis and Pope Leo. This movement challenges us as Oblates, above all, to be more communitarian and better missionaries. At the dawn of the 200th anniversary of our pontifical approval, let us embrace this challenge and continue to allow the Constitutions and Rules to guide us in conforming ourselves to Christ and thus being His collaborators in the mission of proclaiming the Gospel to the poor, living in apostolic communities and all contributing to the common heritage of our family, a heritage of holiness and missionary daring. Let us not miss the occasion of the bicentenary of our pontifical approval! Let each of us embrace this challenge by committing ourselves to animating our charism from the perspective of the Constitutions and Rules.
The InterChapter has ended; now what? In our next plenary session, we will study all the material produced by the InterChapter session to continue the discernment. We will also share what we have seen and heard. Surely there will be proposals that we can begin to implement now, given the consensus reached. Perhaps other proposals will require more time for discernment, not only within the General Administration, but also among major superiors, in the Regions, and with the entire Congregation. Finally, some will be finalized at the next General Chapter in 2028.
The InterChapter has ended, and now what? At the beginning of the InterChapter, we meditated on the third appearance of the risen Jesus to his disciples in the Gospel of John. I would like to recall how this encounter between Jesus and his disciples concludes. We will hear the passage in the closing Eucharist. The Lord asks Peter, “Do you love me?” Each time Peter answers, he says, “Feed my sheep.” He also asks us the same question: “Do you love me?” It is a decisive question because Jesus cannot entrust us with his mission if our response is not positive. We can only carry out the service of authority that the Lord entrusts to us from love for Jesus and for all that Jesus loves: for our Church and for the poor. At the end of the episode, Jesus leaves Peter with a single instruction so that he may shepherd his brothers and sisters. “Follow me!” He indicates that this following will lead him to give his life to the end out of fidelity to the Father’s will. And he will do so as Jesus did; he will follow in his footsteps. I believe our program for the next three years as major superiors of our units is simply to love and follow Jesus. Jesus asks you and me: “Do you love me?” He tells you and me: “Feed my sheep”. He tells you and me: “Follow me”.
We want to tell Jesus that we love him and follow him. Constitutions 163 states:
“The Constitutions and Rules set out a privileged means for each Oblate to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. They are inspired by the charism lived by the Founder and his first companions; also, they have received the approval of the Church. Thus, they allow each Oblate to evaluate the quality of his response to his vocation and to become a saint.”
Each of us is called to evaluate our following of Jesus and our life of holiness based on the Constitutions and Rules. We love and follow Jesus in the style of our charism by living the Constitutions and Rules that the Church has given us. May each of us be an open book for our brothers and sisters in which they can read the concrete way of enthusiastically living our missionary charism. May each of us become a living Rule so that we can help one another follow Jesus and be holy missionaries of the poor, in community.
These days I have had our Founder very much in mind. Several times I have wondered what Saint Eugene would think of these proposals, of this meeting? At the end of the General Chapter of 1837, Saint Eugene wrote in his diary:
“The Chapter Acts will bear witness to what has taken place in this memorable assembly through the good spirit which animated all its members. Everyone was very happy to be gathered together in such circumstances. Actually, the Chapter gave the image of a family, united around its head, in which all the members are making great efforts to become worthy of their mission. The most fraternal cordiality reigned throughout. The greatest zeal to attain the perfection of their vocation and attachment to my person and to the Congregation were manifested effusively. We left with the firm intention of profiting greatly from the lights that God had showered on the assembly and to work efficaciously for our own perfection and the advancement of the holy work confided to us”. Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, August 1837, EO XVIII .
I believe I can say that in this InterChapter, I have been able to see the love we have for our charism, the love we have for our Founder, the love we have for our mission. This gives me confidence that each of us will be able to continue our common pilgrimage, implementing the last General Chapter in a concrete and more prophetic way, doing everything to proclaim the Gospel.
May our Mother Mary Immaculate, Saint Eugene, and all the Blessed Oblates continue to accompany and inspire us. May we help one another to continue walking synodally in the Church and in the Congregation. May we strive to be saints and missionaries, embodying our Constitutions and Rules. May we extend our fraternal charity to all Oblates and to our entire charismatic family.
The InterChapter ends, yes. The mission and discernment continue, and we are all called to be protagonists. May God bless us on our pilgrimage so that we may bring hope to the world and the poor and build a reconciled communion in our world.
By Luis Ignacio Rois Alonso, OMI – Superior General
