The Oblate
Missionaries of Mary Immaculate

Conversion of Paul

Paul was a bitter enemy of the early Christians and applauded the people who started the first religious persecution in Jerusalem. He was proud to have encouraged the death of Stephen, the first martyr.

The Lord struck him down, asked him to stop persecuting Him and to convert. This conversion was a miracle.

Paul retained his personality and his dynamism, but he was animated by a different spirit. He was everywhere, converting people of all classes, gathering disciples, training teachers, encouraging the weak, at the cost of great effort and many contradictions.

Paul wants to awaken every human being so that this present life, which is short-lived, is not the ultimate goal.

Paul and his companions come as troublemakers. They encourage those who respect the law, those who know right from wrong and whose testimony could force people to ask questions.

With authority and astute psychology, Paul gets straight to the point: what you lack is love. Here's what he said to the Colossians (3:14-15): “Have love, for it is love that makes perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. You have been called to this peace so that you may form one body with Christ. Live in Thanksgiving.”

Conclusion

For many years, we've been trying to get to know ourselves better, to discover the elements of a positive relationship with others. Wouldn't it be a good idea to try to discover our personal relationship with God?

It is not by denying the existence of God, by making ourselves believe that He is an invention of men, that we satisfy our hearts and direct our aspirations. He made us by measuring Himself. He wanted to make us His instruments to spread love.
Each person is invited to find within themselves the reasons that make them likeable, autonomous, authentic, empathetic and versatile.

Paul speaks to everyone; he wants his message to transcend the centuries and make us aware of God's presence.

Let us experience the dimensions of love with Christ, realizing that He is within us, very much alive, very much at work, always loving. Let us allow ourselves to be loved by Him.

Personal reflexions

1- Who is God to you? Is He distant or close?
2- How do you experience the three dimensions of love?
3- How do you experience God's presence in your daily life?
4- What do you think about the Apostle Paul?

Excerpt from the “Collection Volontaires de Dieu, Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I.

Read:

Who is God to me? (1)

Who is God to me? (2)

May 2025 be lived in Joy, Peace and Love.
May the fire of God's Heart warm our earth.
May we seek to create unity around us
And let us speak words of charity every day, so that we may be bearers of harmony and hope.
Happy and Holy New Year


Your web team

Here is a beautiful prayer poem written by our friend Christina Tokarewicz, Volunteer of God from Montréal, for Advent.
We are especially grateful to our friend Gilles Laframboise who made this wonderful video of Christina's words.
Well done to you both! May these wishes inspire us with the grace of Christmas!

VIDEO: click on the image

The founding day of the Secular of OMMI in Vietnam can be seen as the day the OMMI was born and present in Vietnam and is specially
celebrated every 5 years.

This is an opportunity to express joy in offering words of gratitude and appreciation for the great happiness that God has loved and blessed,
created according to His eternal plan, while also remembering Father Louis-Marie Parent, an O.M.I. priest, who collaborated with God's intention
to realize a desire for the initial presence of OMMI in Canada in 1952... and subsequently in other countries.

With gratitude towards Father Parent and the pioneering oblates, we would like to record here the journeys and beloved faces along with the
generous hearts of those who contributed to the establishment of the OMMI Group in Vietnam.

FATHER LOUIS-MARIE PARENT, O.M.I - FOUNDER Returned to the house of the Father May 17, 2009	THERESA TÔN NU GIA HIEU Returned to the house of the Father.  November 11th, 1975
MARY- THERESA MAI THI KIM TUYÊN Returned to the house of the Father. January 9th, 2009	From 1975 , MARY-CECILE TRÂN THI CHUYÊN         Integrating into the life of the oblates in Canada
From 2008. JACINTA DUONG NGOC NGA Continue living as an Oblate in Virginia, USA.

 By DOAN THI NGOC DIÊP - DECEMBER 6th, 2024

A special mention for our brave Haitian Volunteers who, despite the constraints of the current a geopolitical situation to meet and make their annual promise, managed to meet to make their promise this Sunday, December 1st!

You are role model for all of us!

Violaine Couture
Coordinator of the Volunteers of God
French and English sectors

A year of thanksgiving: From an early age, we had examples of missionaries and religious sisters in our family and in our parish. These contacts helped me to develop my desire to become a missionary and a consecrated person. I'm deeply grateful to my parents, who were an example of generosity, giving and respecting others. Their presence was comforting and reassuring.

I knew the Institute because Rose, my sister, was already a member. The spirituality and charity in action attracted me and corresponded to what I wanted to live and achieve.

I was undoubtedly born with a vocation for nursing, which took shape at the age of 22, in 1963. I wanted to help others, to care for them, to make them happy. What's more, on our nurse's medal, it is written from Matthew 25:40, “Mihi Fecisti”, “You have done it to Me”. What a wonderful invitation to render service by giving of oneself, in keeping with our spirituality of being of service.

In my daily prayer, I welcome the God who builds peace within me. So, I can touch Him, see Him and serve Him in the people that life brings my way.

I have received so much from the Institute and the people I have lived with. My Canadian companions, those from Sri Lanka, India and Bolivia accepted me as I was, loved and respected me, and we grew together. I thank them.

I am not perfect. The Lord has given me a lot, and He continues to do wonderful things through my presence in the world: volunteering in the parish, visiting the sick, listening and sharing experiences.

You will remember that at the beginning of the Institute, when we made our first vows, we received a Marian title. Father Parent suggested “Mary of Serenity”. She has always been with me, and with her I dare to say: “My soul exalts the Lord”.

Réjeanne Mathieu

Jesus explained to his disciples
the three facets necessary to becoming progressively more loving:

1. Love each other as you love yourself.
Loving one’s self translates into to the beginning of loving others. When we appreciate someone we should tell them so and find qualities in them that can help them overcome negative images they may have of themselves.

2. Love one another as I have loved you.
Jesus explains that he loves as man and as God. He loves with his whole heart, not superficially. His love is total and he asks that we love as he loves. Loving someone simply for their performance or for the joy we experience from their way of being is not really love. Loving is looking for the best in others and accepting them for who they are and as they are.

3. Love one another as the Father lovesyou.
Love fosters unity. There is no weakness in love; the Father’s love for his Son is perfect. Each of the persons in the Trinity initiates us to the profound mystery of what true love really means.Jesus asks usto live these three facets of love and gives us the strength, the light and love to do so successfully.

Extracts from the collection Les Volontaires (The Volunteers) by Louis-Marie Parent, o.m.i.

Read:

Who is God to me? (1)

For me, who is God ? (3)

The capacity to love is deep within us; it is a gift received at birth. Father Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I.