News & Views Assumption Province

Transcription

1 News & Views Assumption Province Page 12 Message of the 36 th General Chapter Dear brother Missionary Oblates, Dear brothers and sisters of the Mazenodian family, 1. In this jubilee year of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, we give thanks to the Lord. We look to the past with gratitude, beginning with St. Eugene de Mazenod and to all of our predecessors including our living elder brothers whom we greet most especially. 2. In these times of great global changes, we respond to the call of the Spirit, as did St. Eugene de Mazenod in his Preface to the Oblate Rule, by giving a new impetus to the mission that is our raison d e tre: being close to the new faces of the poor, the most abandoned, and sharing the Good News to which we are witnesses. 3. In this world that God loves, with all its richness and beauty, and looking upon it as Saint Eugene did through the eyes of Christ crucified: Contents Message of General Chapter Pope s Address to Oblates New Oblate Parish New Oblates in AP Oratorio Because of My Name Camino de Santiago Come and See Advent Retreat We observe new forms of poverty, especially among young people: fundamentalism, individualism, materialism, consumerism, addiction to the digital world... But, we also see the suffering of families, youth, the lonely, and the elderly. "Your destiny is to be apostles, and so tend within your hearts the sacred fire that the Holy Spirit lights there..." - St. Eugene de Mazenod -

2 We recognize urgent issues which strongly speak to us such as: the situation of refugees, the homeless, and migrants who are forced to leave their countries, as well as the devastation of the environment. We perceive victims of injustice and violence, especially the indigenous peoples and minorities, the victims of human trafficking, of abuse and exploitation, who cry out loudly for support and a response from us. 4. Faced with these situations, the Church strongly calls us out of our comfort zone to go to the "peripheries" and work for the fulfillment of the Kingdom. We are invited to write a new page of the Gospel with Mazenodian creativity and audacity. We recognize that the poor evangelize and teach us, and we welcome their contribution to the authenticity of our charism. We are committed to live in missionary communities founded on a fraternal spirit and mutual sharing, as we strive to break down the barriers that separate and divide people. We will promote interculturality at all levels in which cultures, religions, and diverse communities can dialogue and enrich one another. We will give witness to the deep bonds that unite all human persons, both in our daily life and personal encounters of all kinds, as well as in the collective bodies where decisions are made. Drawing upon the charism of Saint Eugene, we will contribute to the defense of family values, of refugees and migrants, as well as of all people who are victims of injustice, violence and abuse. We will participate in efforts to care for the integrity of creation in the face of environmental devastation. We will continue to strengthen our commitment to Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (J.P.I.C.). We are committed to the defense of minors and the most vulnerable as we have been sensitized by the recent scandals in the Church and in society. 5. Conscious of our infidelities, of our poverty, and of our own need for conversion: We commit ourselves to strengthen our family spirit and the quality of our community life, following the example of Jesus Christ with his disciples, as did St. Eugene de Mazenod and his first companions. We, Oblate brothers and priests, hear the call to holiness, and we value the missionary religious life and accept being interdependent and responsible to each other. We choose to strengthen the ways we live interculturality in international communities and in society, as we are present in close to 65 countries around the world. We have decided to increase the sharing of personnel and the other resources of the Congregation, in order to foster greater fairness and generosity among our Oblate units. We will take steps to prepare ourselves, throughout life, in the areas of anthropology and missiology, as well as in studies of economics and media, so as to better respond to the demands of today's world. We renew our support for the preparation and empowerment of the laity to whom we are sent and with whom we share a common mission. 6. Missionary disciples of Christ, who gave himself for us, we choose to give witness wherever we live to the joy that flows from the Gospel. Our vocation is to become missionaries of mercy and hope, ambassadors of the tenderness of the paternal and maternal face of God like the Virgin Mary, our Immaculate Mother, pondering all things in her heart. Thus, we will bear witness to God's family, a family without borders, in dialogue with the cultures and religions of our time. Through the intercession of Saint Eugene de Mazenod and all the Oblate saints and martyrs, we are responding to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: "He has sent us to evangelize the poor. The poor have the Gospel preached to them. How vast the field that lies before us!" Rome, October 10, 2016 The capitulars of the 36th General Chapter 2

3 Pope Francis Private Audience with General Chapter Below is a Vatican Radio English translation of the Pope s address: Dear brothers, It is with particular joy that I welcome you, who represent a missionary religious Family dedicated to evangelization in the Church. I greet you all with affection, beginning with the newly-elected Superior General and his Council. You are here for the General Chapter, in the year in which you celebrate the bicentennial of your foundation through the work of St. Eugene de Mazenod, a young priest eager to respond to the call of the Spirit. At the beginning of its history, your Congregation labored to reignite the faith, which the French Revolution was extinguishing in the hearts of the poor in rural Provence, overwhelming also many ministers of the Church. In the space of a few decades, it expanded throughout the five continents, continuing on the path begun by the Founder, a man who loved Jesus with passion and the Church without conditions. Today you are called to renew this twofold love, remembering the two hundred year lifespan of your religious Institutes. Your jubilee, for a fortuitous and providential coincidence, occurs in the Jubilee of Mercy. Indeed, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate were born from an experience of mercy, lived by the young Eugene one Good Friday in the presence of Jesus crucified. May mercy be ever at the heart of your mission, of your efforts of evangelization in the world today. On the day of his canonization, St. John Paul II defined Father de Mazenod a man of Advent, docile to the Holy Spirit in reading the signs of the times and aiding the work of God in the story of the Church. May these characteristics be present in you, his children. May you also be men of Advent, capable of discerning the signs of the new times and guiding your brothers on the paths which God opens in the Church and in the world. Your missionary history is the history of many consecrated persons, who offered and sacrificed their lives for the mission, for the poor, to reach distant lands whose people were still without a pastor. Today, every land is a missionary land, every human dimension is a missionary land, which awaits the proclamation of the Gospel. Pope Pius XI defined you specialists in difficult missions. The scope of the mission today seems to expand every day, embracing ever new poor people men and women with the face of Christ who plead for help, consolation, and hope in the most desperate situations of life. Therefore, you are needed: your missionary daring and your availability to bring to all the Good News, which frees and consoles. 3

4 Dear Brother Oblates, New Oblate Parish: St. Therese in Courtice I would like to share with you a few pictures and information on the new parish that we took over as of September 1 st, On Sunday, September 4 th, 2016, I attended the official welcoming of our congregation to the Diocese of Peterborough and to St. Therese Parish in Courtice. Fr. Peter Seabrooke, Chancellor of Temporal Affairs, on behalf of Bishop William McGrattan, welcomed us to St. Therese Parish and read the official assignment letter from Bp. McGrattan, who at this time was visiting a parish in Bracebridge. I had the privilege to preside over the masses on Saturday and Sunday along with Fr. Tomasz Koscinski, Fr. Paul Patrick and Fr. Peter, and meet the parishioners from our new parish. The Sisters, Daughters of St. Mary of Leuca, prepared a delicious lunch for us and promised to pray for our ministry at this parish and for all Oblates who celebrate their 200 th anniversary this year. 4

5 New Oblates in Assumption Province! As of September 1 st, 2016 Assumption Province welcomed two new Oblates who will serve in our parishes. Fr. Grzegorz Nowak OMI came to us from Poland and will serve as Associate Pastor at St. Maximillian Kolbe Parish in Mississauga. Fr. Piotr Koman OMI came to us from Madagascar and will serve as Associate Pastor at St. Eugene de Mazenod Parish in Brampton. We would like to warmly welcome our new Oblates and wish them many graces as they begin their service in Assumption Province! Fr. Grzegorz Nowak OMI Fr. Piotr Koman OMI 5

6 Oratorio, Because of My Name In the year of the 200 th anniversary of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and the Year of Mercy, our media ministry, Catholic Family Radio, undertook the initiative to organize the Canadian premier of the Oratorio Persecuted For the Faith Because Of My Name, which took place on October 23 rd, 2016 at the Living Arts Center in Mississauga. The mission of this event was to make our society aware of Christian prosecution in different parts of the world, especially in the Middle East. In the twentieth century, 45 million Christians were martyred. Worldwide thousand Christians are killed for their faith in Christ. Christians are persecuted and live in mortal danger in more than 50 countries and in 70 countries around the world faith in restricted. A portion of the proceeds from the concerts will go towards the needs of the church in Syria and Iraq. This Oratorio is the latest composition of Piotr Rubik and lyricist Zbigniew Ksiazek and was composed at a request of the Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity under the guidance of the Holy Father dedicated to Christians that were martyred in the twentieth century. Because Of My Name had premiered in Kielce, Poland on June 26 th, 2016, which followed with a performance on July 29 th, 2016 during World Youth Day in Krakow and was enthusiastically received by the youth in attendance. Lyrics and narration were inspired by homilies and speeches made by Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko in the years proceeding his murder in October of Audio of Fr. Popieluszko homilies as well as information regarding his canonization, his journal entries, his life and death, as well as a prayer corner which includes rosary, novena and litany can also be found on the blog dedicated to him All content is in Polish. 6

7 The songs performed in the Oratorio consist of deep reflections on the persecution of Christians, which left the audience in deep thought following each piece. The concert started off with a composition defining good and what it means to each of us. The program then moved through the topics of prayer, war, and peace. The second part of the concert focused on the killings of Christians and evil in the world. Ending the concert with a prayer to Mary asking her to save our world and stop these murders. Short scripts were read between sections of performances from Fr. Popieluszko s letters, journals and homilies, leaving the audience in awe. Everyone in attendance responded with great enthusiasm and at the end of the concert thanked Mr. Rubik, along with the performers, with a long-standing ovation. I had the privilege of being part of the choir consisting of 60 singers, which performed along with a choir from Wroclaw, Poland, five soloists and an orchestra. The atmosphere in the concert hall was very distinct and very vibrant. The choir members were deeply touched by the words they sang and reflected on the meaning of the words throughout the practises preparing for the concert. As the lyrics to one of the songs asks us, How many of us would give up our life for our faith? Let us remember the priests and missionaries that were murdered because of their faith. 7 Ania Olejniczak

8 Camino de Santiago the way of life My adventure with the Saint James Way began two years ago, when I went for the first time to the Apostle's tomb, walking 330 km from the beautiful city of Leon. Afterwards, I was looking forward to living through this deep experience again. There is something remarkable about what you can discover when being in these special places. Every pilgrim to Santiago can look at the Way from a different perspective because the Camino has a several dimensions. It is not only the distance counted in kilometers that you can walk through the paths, roads, forests, plains, flatlands and Spanish mountains. It is a very spiritual experience as well. The Camino happens in your heart, and that is an even bigger effort than the one you make physically, and certainly the most important. The most precious things occur on the interior Camino, which endures up to eternity on the Way of life. This year, I thought that I had to offer myself far more to Our Lady Immaculate. There was another challenge awaiting me: the missions in Canada. Therefore, I started my Way in Lourdes. I walked along the Camino d'arles, the Camino Aragones and Frances, up to the Atlantic Ocean, and to the end of earth (Fisterra). At the beginning of my journey, I bumped into two Canadians. It seemed to be a casual meeting, but I took it as a providential sign, sent from God Himself. On the Camino, you often have a strong feeling that you are not walking alone. Your closest Friend walking with you - Jesus Christ. He takes care of you, so that you can go forward safely. I must admit that I had a lot of providential happenings on my Camino, which expressed themselves through the people with whom I walked, through their support and kindness. I decided not to book spots in the hostels for pilgrims, called albergues, in advance. It was unusual that in the very busy months of July and August I was able to find a free bed any time. I would like to give thanks to God for each kilometer that I walked, the visible ones, and the invisible, as well. Today, I carry on the Camino de la Vida here in Canada. I entrust my way of life to God, through the intercessions of Saint Mary Immaculate and of Saint James, the Apostle of the Lord. Fr. Grzegorz Nowak OMI 8

9 Come and See From October 7-9, 2016 our pre-novitiate formation house in Buffalo, The Bishop Fallon Residence organized Come and See vocation program. Three of our youth interested in the vocation discernment took part in this event. Father Paul Patrick one of our vocation directors accompanied them during this program. They had a chance not only to visit the community but also speak with Fr. Alex Roque (director of pre-novitiate program) and also with Thomas Machnicki pre-novice from our province. They would like to share with us a short testimony on their experience. Jonasz Lalik I was fortunate to attend the Come and See in Buffalo, NY for the second time. During my time spent with the Oblate community in Buffalo I felt a great joy and rest in my soul. There was a lot of time for reflection and prayer along with time to talk to the pre novices. I was fortunate enough with the other Canadian guys from our province to stay in the pre novitiate during the nights. We got to talk with Tomek Machnicki and were showed around D Youville university as well as the city of Buffalo. I found the community in Buffalo a very happy place where we were laughing non-stop. This year I got to know the pre novices a lot better and saw what classes they had to take at the university. In all, the weekend was spent in a deep sense of seeing how the community in Buffalo lives day to day. It was a weekend full of prayer and great discernment and I feel that my vocation has been more concretely solidified. I know that I want to answer God s call and live out a life for God in the Oblate community. I am very grateful that God and the vocations directors, Fr. Marcin Serwin and Fr. Paul Patrick made it possible for me to attend this year s Come and See. Mateusz Brzezinski First of all I would like to thank you once again for giving me and the other guys the opportunity to distinguish whether the call for priesthood is for us or not. With the overall retreat I really enjoyed my time. Everyone was very welcoming and it gave the weekend a very positive atmosphere. I really like D'Youville, it had a nice "home away from home" feeling. But, with the vocation of priesthood still being very new to me, I have to say I learnt a lot. Really getting to know the Oblates and possibly soon-to-be Oblates and how they started with the vocation is really nice. Being able to grow a bond and allow productive conversation makes it feel like I've grown from the experience. I really liked just having a weekend to sit and reflect on where God wants me. Jakub Rudnicki This past weekend I had the privilege to attend the come and see weekend in Buffalo New York. We started the weekend by getting to know the Oblates better in American province but also the history about the pre-novitiate residence and their parishes that they have there in Buffalo. This weekend was exciting for me because I had this chance to live like an Oblate and get to know their spirituality more closely, but also what steps needed to be proceeded to enter the pre-novitiate in Buffalo, New York. What I liked about this weekend was that I had a chance to experience Oblate community and learn about their ministry and parish history that they have there. This weekend has given me a chance to spend time in silence of prayer where it gave me a fruitful decision upon my calling within the Oblate community. 9

10 Advent Retreat To mark the 200 th anniversary of the establishment of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, this year s Advent Retreat will be led by two of our own Oblates from Assumption Province. Fr. Adam Filas OMI will preach in Eastern Canada and Fr. Janusz Jajesniak OMI will preach in Western Canada. Below is the schedule of our 2016 Advent Retreat. Fr. Adam Filas OMI Fr. Janusz Jajesniak OMI 2016 Advent Retreat Schedule in Eastern Canada November 27 November Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, St. Catharines December Sts. Peter & Paul Parish, Welland December St. Casimir s Parish, Toronto December St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, Toronto December St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, Mississauga December St. Hyacinth Parish, Ottawa December St. Eugene de Mazenod Parish, Brampton 2016 Advent Retreat Schedule in Western Canada November 26 November Holy Ghost Parish, Winnipeg December Queen of Poland Parish, Edmonton December Holy Rosary Parish, Edmonton December St. Casimir s Parish, Vancouver New Secretary in the Provincial Office We would like to warmly welcome Ania Olejniczak, who will fulfill the duties of the Provincial Secretary for the near future. We wish her many of God s blessings and the guidance of Mary Immaculate as she fulfills this important role. Please feel free to contact Ania at secretary@omiap.org. 10