By: Fr. Andy Sensenig, OMI
Originally Published by the Southeast Alaska Catholic
Fr. Andy Sensenig, OMI
Since the evening of Easter Sunday, April 16th to Wednesday, June 21st, I have been in Aixen-Provence, France. Those two months, besides enjoying coffee at the local cafes, while listening to street musicians playing soft French Folk Music, my novitiate classmate, Fr. Tim Paulsen OMI and I were on a spiritual quest. Now mind you, it was not as dramatic as one by “Indiana Jones,” but nevertheless important.
Fr. Tim and I were rediscovering our charism as Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate by being in the same city where our community was started by our Founder, St. Eugene De Mazenod in January 25, 1816. We were accompanied by 13 other Oblate priests from around the world including Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Scotland, Sri Lanka, Natal, Namibia, Zambia and the USA.
Our program had presentations about the life of St. Eugene along with the early history of the community, and tours of early Oblate missions, along with a 15-day silent retreat in the French countryside.
We were reminded of how St. Eugene desired a community of men to help those who are “most abandoned” by the world by proclaiming the Good News. There were successes and struggles in those early days just like today.