The Oblate
Missionaries of Mary Immaculate

Living in the present moment is the most effective way to face this difficult time.

With the help of the present moment reality, my life during the pandemic was overflowing with gestures and feelings of welcoming the will of God that made me grow in the virtue of patience and the ability to be silent and to listen to the Lord’s voice in my heart.

Living our spirituality with calm and tranquility was a gift that was not always appreciated when I was involved in activities outside the home.

Staying at home has been more fruitful because it has helped me to be closer to many people, first with prayer and then with the use of modern means of communication.

Then live in the presence of God at all times, not always be ready to criticize the work of authorities for the inefficiencies and incompetence in the management of the pandemic, not to complain about the restrictions, but to take the opportunity to improve order in my heart and in everyday reality.

Whenever possible, I was available to be helpful in some activities and then be kind in difficult situations, believing that we have done all we can to live this reality in the best possible way and in peace.

These are the feelings that help me live in love during these difficult days.

Maria P.

Photo: jggrz de Pixabay

These days I have been deeply saddened by everything that is going on in the world. I hear the cry of oppression and distress that echoes across borders. What to do?

I do not want to remain inactive and I am so bold as to extend an invitation to you, relying on the Word of Christ which says: “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matt 18; 19-20)

May our faith be alive. Let us nurture between ourselves a feeling of mutual support and fraternal charity in action. Love urges us on and together let us pray the prayer of the believer, as Church, sending the spirit of Strength, Courage, Comfort, Hope and Peace to our brothers and sisters who are in need.

Louise F.
Volunteer of God, Drummondville


The Our Father of the Believer

Our Father,
may your name echo loudly in our world,
that we may recognize your presence in our midst.

May your kingdom of love and joy bring warmth to your Church;
may it drive away the pain, suffering and sin in the world.

May your will, made visible in Christ,
be done through our efforts in the support of justice, sharing and peace.

Give us this day our daily bread,
our share of love and strength to live and spread the Good News.

Forgive us our trespasses
as we also try to forgive those who have hurt us, who ignore us or do not know how to love us.

Lead us not into temptations of refusal, passivity and evasion.

Deliver us from evil at work in the world and in ourselves. Amen

The Our Father of the believer,
Taken from “Devant toi, Seigneur” (Before you Lord)
Paroles pour prier (Words to pray) Novalis, 1981, p.56

Photo: Gerd Altmann de Pixabay

Here is an inspiring text by an unknown author,
who challenges us to accomplish our mission amidst of the vagrancies of our daily life.
Jesus needs each of us.
Will you heed his call? Here is his invitation:

Lilianne Rodrigue

God alone can give faith ...
But you can give your testimony.
    God alone can give hope ...
    But you can pass it on to your brother.
         God alone can give love ...
          But you can teach others to love.

God alone can give peace ...
But you can sow unity.
    God alone can give strength ...
    But you can give courage to those in despair.
        God alone is the Light ...
        But you can make it shine in everyone's eyes.

God alone is the Way ...
But you can point it out to others.
    God alone is Life ...
    But you can nurture in others the desire to live.
        God alone can achieve the impossible ...
        But you can do the best you can.

God alone is self-sufficient ...
But He prefers to count on you.

The hardest part of love is still to love yourself without selfishness, noting the positive values sown in your being by nature. We should get to know and accept the value of our intelligence, our will, our heart and body, to evolve in the world, without complex and create healthy and right human relations.

Self-love is good, it means: awareness of your human values, living up to realize your being, to prepare to open up to others.

If it is a virtue to love my neighbor as a human being, it must be one and not a vice to love myself, since I am also a human being...

The major reform of the century should be for every human person to introspect, to make deep inventory of the riches of his being, the other reforms will follow naturally without violence.
"Mistakes are great when love is small" (Italian proverb) "We do not offend anybody while loving him"

Extract of the Collection Volunteers of God Louis-Marie Parent, o.m.i.

Personal Reflections
1. Am I convinced that I am different from others?
2. Does the other feel free with me?
3. Can I build healthy relationships with others?
4. Do I have the desire to know myself?

From the Volunteers of God Collection, "Can I become free?"
Group associated with the Secular Institute, the Oblate Missionaries of Mary Immaculate

Trust... but why ? 1. Welcome and accept the other as he is, unconditionally.
Trust...But why ? 2. Respect the freedom of others
Trust...But why ? 3. Trust

After an accident involving fractures, I needed to regain my fine motor skills as well as my manual dexterity.
This is a snippet of my accomplishments. Jacqueline Légaré

3. Trust.

Each one possesses in himself the source of trust. This source is supplied by all the positive qualities that a human being possesses. This source leads to life at a time when we become aware of our internal dynamics, its positive trends, its natural resources, at a time when one realizes that one has wonderful qualities and sufficiently effective to build healthy relationships with others.

Accept others as you want to be accepted yourself. Trust, love the others simply, believe that we can help them without acting for them, leave them free, autonomous, able to handhold their own lives, to assume their own responsibility, this is what every human being expects from us. Those who love us, we really feel it, are those who trust us.

Confidence is the source of life that feeds the strong friendships, which irrigates all our being, who has the talent to bring forth strengths that we were not aware of, even if we possess them since long.

When we express emotions of happiness, self-confidence, experience of success, we feel alive.

Every day we should make a list of things that we liked, things at which we have been successful, joys that others have given us and analyze our inside to savor the peace that comes from a fully achieved being.

Extract of the Collection Volunteers of God Louis-Marie Parent, o.m.i.

Trust… but why?    part 1. Welcome and accept the other as he is, unconditionally
Trust… but why?   part 2. Respect the freedom of others.
Conclusion of the articles "Trust ... 1-2-3"

The Volunteers of God have existed in the Montreal area for a number of years. A first team was set up and it is in this group that I made my debut. I stayed with that team for 2 years till a new group was created on the West Island in Dorval. This team, composed of around 5 or 6 members, still exists and meets every month.

Due to the long distance we had to travel to attend the meetings in Dorval, my partner Jean-Claude and I proceeded to organize a new group which covers Pincourt and Vaudreuil-Dorion. Of the original 9 members in this region, 5 of us remain on the team.

We usually meet once a month to reflect on the spirituality of the 5 attitudes of life and on the theme proposed each year by our Central Team in Trois-Rivières. We also receive the “Sparks of Life” magazine which contains material for reflection.

More recently, we have not been meeting in person because of the pandemic but we continue to receive phone calls or texts from the Central Team and stay in touch with other Volunteer teams in the region. We are all committed to living our MISSION which is To live the love of Christ everywhere in the present moment.

Andree Labbé
Montreal Volunteer of God

As I age, age, I no longer engage in scheduled activities. I try to live charity in the ordinariness of everyday life. Pope Francis' encyclical "Fratelli Tutti" challenges me very strongly on the quality of my relationship with others.

Expressing oneself, listening to each other, looking at each other, getting to know each other, trying to understand each other, looking for opportunities to connect, all of this can be summed up by the verb `` to dialogue '' (FT, #198), be it with relatives, neighbors, villagers, parishioners or companions whether in writing or by telephone. When the weather permits, my sister and I walk around the village. We greet everyone; the response is always very cordial. The conversation easily takes on a very positive and even edifying tone concerning all that makes up the life of a village:

- In the morning, when I wake up, I ask my sister: "Did you sleep well?" The conversation begins with planning the unfolding of the day: appointments, walk, meals, etc. Having recently undergone surgery she needs help.

- A neighbor, whose husband suffered a serious stroke during the first lock-down, often laments: "Why us? Is he going to walk again?" I listen and I remind her of everything that doctors and various support agencies do for him every day.

- M. comes out of his garden. “Have you already planted? Oh no, it's too cold.” The dialogue begins: “Every morning and every evening I speak to God. I thank Him for life, for the good soil that I cultivate, for what I will plant and harvest,” he says, adding, "I don't know if it's a prayer but it makes me feel good". I reassure him. "Of course it's a prayer."

- F. is 90 years old. He lives alone. Every Sunday, I bring him Communion and he always tells me the same things: his illnesses, the number of grandchildren he has. I tell him about mass I just attended. Every Sunday it's the same repetition, but his thanks and his smile become a moment of grace for me.

- Today I meet with a lady who knits wool squares then sews them together to make pretty blankets. My task is to deliver these to others who channel them to charities. We have a good chat. She doesn't go out anymore. Nonetheless, she is up-to-date on all the news and she loves everyone!

The meeting itself is trivial but recognizing the Presence of God in it is a requirement for living the charity of Christ.

Jeannette M.

After an accident involving fractures, I needed to regain my fine motor skills as well as my manual dexterity.
I registered with art workshops. These, while enhancing the development of my artistic talent, also allowed me to get involved with people of my age, listening, sharing and creating friendships as I remain active with seniors.
This is a snippet of my accomplishments. Jacqueline Légaré