Vocation Congress July 2016

From 7^th to 16^th of July 2016, about 40 oblates involved in vocation animation will gather with the Superior General in Aix-en-Provence for a Vocation Congress, as one of the events to mark the 200th anniversary of our Congregation.

Constitution 52 reminds us that:

Jesus never ceases to call people to follow him and to proclaim the Kingdom. Some are drawn to answer that call through the joy and generosity of our lives. We must lose no opportunity to let people see how urgent are the needs of the Church and the world and come to know the way in which our Congregation responds to those needs. We will also pray and have others pray that the Lord send labourers into his harvest.

The theme of the Congress:

“Come and see” (John, 1: 39):  “Focusing on the joy and generosity of our oblate life”

The goal is to fan the flame of our charism and renew ourselves in our Oblate missionary vocation, to renew our commitment to vocations ministry, to continue to invite others to join us in this beautiful vocation of preaching and being good news to the Poor as Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

“We are fired by a charism that is unique and special in the Church, one that makes us very close to the poor, the rejected, the forgotten, the people that society ignores, and the people who don’t feel accepted in church. We show a very human face of Jesus to the world, one full of compassion and solidarity. I would go so far as to say that our charism lies at the heart of the Church and indeed at the heart of the Gospel itself. We would be remiss if we did not enthusiastically and boldly continue to invite young people to live as consecrated religious missionaries, priests and Brothers, within our charism” (Father General, December 2013).