“We will keep alive the memory of our deceased and not fail to pray for them” (C43). According to Polish tradition, on All Saints Day, together with the faithful, we gather at our cemeteries to remember those who have already departed to eternity and pray for them. As an Oblate community, once again this year we gathered at the graves of our confreres in various parts of Canada.

“The Congregation celebrates with the universal Church the feast of all the Saints, but Oblates recall also the day in 1818 when the Missionaries of Provance first pronounced the vows of religion. The connection between these two commemorations was drawn by the Founder when he spoke of the commitment to striving for personal holiness for the sake of the mission: ‘Half-measure virtues are not sufficient to respond to all that their holy vocation demands… They must know that their ministry continues the ministry of the Apostles… Hence they must hasten to become saints’“ (Oblate Prayer Book). That is why also today, on the 205th anniversary of the first religious vows in the Congregation, many of us join with the entire Mazenodian family in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, giving thanks not only for the Oblate charism but also praying for an ever greater holiness in our Oblate life.

TJ OMI / review and correction Fr Daniel Janulewicz OMI