Where am I called today?

Constitution 8 begins “We will always be close to the people we serve..” How often have I seen those words, heard them or thought of them as I worked on something? I see them at the bottom of each email that Ken Thorson sends but often they are just part of the background, like the air we breathe or the light around us; not really something I stop and reflect on very seriously each time I see them.

Over the past few months, as we have lived with the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and all its ramifications, I have reflected more deeply on the message of Constitution 8. As I read the submissions that come in for the “We’re In this Together” segment of the website as well as the accounts that are contained in OMI World, each story caused me to stop and reflect on and marvel at the ways in which many of our members embody these words. What I have come to realize in a deeper way is that these words “We will always be close to the people we serve” is at the core of who we are as Oblates, as members of the Mazenodian family.

For Eugene de Mazenod, the people to whom he chose to be close were the poor of his time: the serving classes in Aix who existed at the very margins of society, the Austrian prisoners held in Aix far from family and friends and with no one to care for them, the youth of the city and the people of the countryside who had been largely abandoned by the institutional church for a long period of time. In Marseilles, again it was the serving classes, the dock workers, fishwives and youth of the city who got his special attention. Eugene gave them his attention, his love and his time. He was known and familiar to so many of those particular people as he walked the streets. Although he was a bishop, he did not let that stand in the way of his being close to those who were least valued by society of the day.

As I reflect on the call to live the charism, to be faithful to my call as an Oblate, I need to ask myself “Who are the people we are called to serve today?” From our history here in Canada, there are some obvious answers: First Nations peoples, immigrants, people in the inner cities of our country. They certainly call out for our attention and service. But we can’t just look to the past. We need to reflect on the needs of the people of our time. What are the issues that confront our society today? We recognize the many restrictions that have come about due to the pandemic and the hardship that has caused. Oblates and Associates have reached out and responded in new ways to the needs of those who are not able to gather as community for prayer, community, sacraments. In spite of some health concerns, others continue to serve the needs of the poor and homeless though some of our social justice initiatives.

But is there more that is needed? As we become more aware of some of the systemic injustice in our world and our own society, how do we respond to the needs of minorities whose experience of injustice, hatred, violence, discrimination and exclusion? Do I hear their cry? Am I aware of my own prejudices and sense of privilege that contributes, even if unconsciously, to their experience? Am I willing to acknowledge and confront my attitudes and make a conscious effort to get to know people who are different, who need allies, who cry out for justice, equality, freedom from fear and oppression?

St. Eugene stepped away from his privileged position in the society of his day to recognize as his sisters and brothers, as beloved children of God those whom the Spirit was calling him to serve. To be Oblate is to be aware of our own call for conversion and to be willing to step out of our comfort zone, our place of privilege and stand with those whose need is so great. We are called “to be close to the people we serve” and those include peoples whose lives call out for our service.

By Richard Beaudette, OMI