The Oblate
Missionaries of Mary Immaculate

Deep down, everyone has unique ways of living their best lives, fostering human relationships, loving others, and allowing themselves to be loved. Developing listening skills is crucial.
Listening is possible when there is love and a committed heart. Without listening and mutual understanding, marriages and human relationships falter. Love that isn’t nurtured doesn’t endure.

Many people express kind words that can lighten human relationships, but everyone appreciates even more the concrete acts of thoughtfulness and attentiveness. The eagerness to be of service can be so remarkable that it astonishes.

Love is like a flower, lifting the heart and creating feelings of generosity and selflessness.

Personal reflections:
Can you identify how someone has been delicate with you recently?
What did it do for you?
What do you think of the effectiveness of a smile, a handshake, a kiss to
chase away worries and stress?
Can you remember the reaction of someone to whom you’ve been unkind?
Try today to listen to someone without interrupting them, to show them that you’re a good listener.
It’s important.

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

Read:

You know how to love! 1. Delicacy.  

You know how to love! 2. Being Considerate

You know how to love! 3. Learning to listen

Victory to the volunteers s from Haiti who, despite the very difficult circumstances in their country, managed to get together to renew their promises on December 10, 2023. Congratulations to all.

Esther Acuña has succeeded in bringing together leaders from seven Spanish-speaking countries every two months, through meetings held on ZOOM on December 16, 2023 (Cuba, USA, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Spain, Chile, Peru). Long live technology.

Here's a beautiful photo of Cuban Volunteers renewing their promises. You are true witnesses at the heart of the world. Congratulations!

As the date of the Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth celebrations has been changed from July 2 to May 31, 2024, since 1969 (a post-conciliar change), the North America East region decided to mark the founding of the Institute on this date of May 31, the current date of the celebrations of Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth.

To this end, the Oblates gathered at Notre-Dame-du-Cap Basilica to celebrate their jubilees at the same time. For the occasion, they were keen to invite the local Volunteers of God to join them in celebrating this beautiful moment of fraternity.

First of all, we'd like to thank the President of OMMI, Denise Dubé, for her presence and her speech, well suited to this celebration, on the importance of cultivating and working together on “the encounter,” in the manner of Mary and Elizabeth, who lived theirs under the breath of the Holy Spirit.

We’d also like to thank Marie Martineau (photo 4), Regional Leader of the North America East region, who had the brilliant idea of inviting the Volunteers of God to take part in these festivities.

We were really happy to meet up with other Volunteers of God at this festive event, to get to know the newcomers better, especially the new Victoriaville team.
On May 31 next year, we'd like to meet earlier in the day, as Volunteers of God, to reflect together on our spirituality and current experience. Later in the day, we'll join the Oblates for dinner and their jubilee celebrations.
It's a wonderful experience to be able to share our spirituality with the OMMIs in this way.

In the centre of photos 1 and 2, Violaine Couture OMMI, coordinator of the Volunteers of God in the French and English sectors, was surrounded by (from left to right in photo 1): Jacqueline Blais (Drummondville), Thania Muco (Victoriaville), Réjeanne Allard OMMI (North America East central liaison person), Denise Normand (Victoriaville), behind Ginette Bourgeois (St-Hyacinthe) and front right, Marie-Jeanne Ferland (Drummondville).

In photo 2 (from left to right), Chantal Gardner (Victoriaville), Jacqueline Blais (Drummondville), Yolaine Kane (Trois-Rivières), Thania Muco (Victoriaville) and Diane Pichette (Trois-Rivières).

In photo 3 (from left to right), all the people already named above, plus in the 1st row (centre) Mrs. Cécile Leblanc OMMI (Victoriaville, jubilee 65 years), Céline Boissonneault (Victoriaville), behind completely, Mrs. Louise Royer (reference person of Volunteers of God for the Montreal region) and on the far right Mrs. Élise Bélanger OMMI, team leader of the lower river.

We’d like to thank each and every one of these people for making this Volunteer/Oblate event such a great success!

Violaine Couture, oblate

“LOVE AND COMPASSION ARE NECESSITIES. WITHOUT THEM, HUMANITY CANNOT SURVIVE.” ~DALAI LAMA.

Young or old, rich, or poor, many of us will experience a longing for social contact at some point in our lives. But the unbearable loneliness of being alone doesn't have to be inevitable. Humans are an incredibly social species. We need numerous relationships to keep ourselves active and to make our lives meaningful.

Our social interactions are a huge factor in how we think, act, and see ourselves, because much of our brain is dedicated to social cognition. Basically, human well being depends on interpersonal interactions and relationships.

What is our role in this contemporary World?
As an Oblate or a member of the Volunteers of God, we must step out of our inner circle to better identify people who need a confident listener. Empathetic listening builds mutual understanding and trust. People should feel confident, empowered, peaceful, and touched with compassion through our interactions.

In the Gospel, we see the interaction of Mother Mary with her cousin, Elizabeth, when she was in need (Lk 1, 39-45). Mary's presence consoled, strengthened, and, therefore, made Elizabeth stronger. Sometimes people need our presence. Sometimes they want someone who is an empathetic listener to be able to heartily embrace their suffering. If they come to think that their life has no meaning, at the end of our listening intervention, they will be able to feel happy and see their life as worth living. It's a great thing to save a life and make that life meaningful.

Once, I met a boy in a training program who had no mother. Being the youngest in the family, he was very much attached to his mother. A few years after his mother’s death, the boy fell in love with a girl. He wanted to marry her, but the girl’s family did not approve. They wanted the girl to marry another boy. The girl didn’t want to disobey her parents. She agreed to her parent’s pre-arranged marriage. Her exboyfriend had loved her very much and, therefore, was very disappointed and discouraged with life. He remained alone and aloof thinking about the girl. He seemed to be mentally upset.

One evening I took time to speak with him. I just started a conversation. Firstly, I told him how I appreciated his presentation during the seminar. Then I asked about his family. He started to speak with me. I kept listening, empathetically, to him. He spoke about his mother and her love towards him. The death of his mother had affected him badly. I sympathized with him and tried to console him. Then he started to share his feelings about the love he felt for his girlfriend He spoke about her for more than an hour. I just listened to him. He started crying.

Finally, I told him, “Dear friend, we sometimes choose something which is not good for us. But God, The Loving Father, will choose that which is good and fitting for us. At first, it may be painful but, later, we will experience happiness and understand how God leads us towards good. So, make room for God in your life and give all your worries to Him. He will take care of you.”

After some moments of silence, he started to feel more confident and somewhat consoled. Then he started walking to the shop with me every evening and we would talk about our course and other things and then each one of us returned to his/her own apartment. He lived far away from me. Now he is married and has two kids. He had invited me to his wedding, but I couldn’t make it. I met him five years later. He came to the railway station with his family, and he talked about how my words had consoled him and had given him confidence about living life. He completely surrendered his life to God’s will.

Mercy Savariyaradimai, Oblate from India
Excerpt from an article, journal Sparks 2023-vol 18-no2

3. Learning to listen.

Listening is both a state of mind and a condition of the heart. To truly listen is to strive to hear someone, offering them your full attention, sympathy, and compassion. It is an act of friendship, often requiring patience, and involves quieting your own thoughts and memories so as not to interrupt the speaker.

Listening means entering into the other person’s heart, knowing when to remain silent, refraining from expressing your own thoughts, and seeking to understand theirs instead. It involves following their train of thought, empathizing with their emotions, and journeying alongside their experiences of suffering. To listen is to allow the other person to unravel their thoughts, to explore their pain, to share in their joy, and to accompany them through their adventures.

Listening is a divine gift, a discovery of the language of silence. Silence itself embodies peace and serenity, a state of selflessness that approaches perfection.

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

Read:

You know how to love! 1. Delicacy

You know how to love! 2. Being Considerate

Through this beautiful prayer, Father Parent lets us intimately hear the beating of his heart for the Lord who is all.
Let's make his beautiful prayer our own.

Lord, I sense you close to me.
You are my refuge, the calm within me,
You illuminate my mind with your wisdom,
You inspire me with your hopes,
You infuse my very being with your strength and energy.

Enveloped in the awareness of your presence,
I feel myself flowing into you,
held in your gentle embrace,
assured and at peace,
willing to embrace whatever you ask of me.
Your ear inclined to me,
you heed the whispers of my heart.
As I pay more and more attention
to what you make me experience,
I am prepared to follow you unconditionally.

Lord, you are my support, my rock,
my oasis, my strength, my generosity,
my ardour, even my audacity.
I’ve always relied on you,
I’ve never stopped trusting you,
You’ve always been my dominant thought.

Before acting, I always consulted you.
Your thoughts and memories have consistently guided me,
aligning my actions.
Your breath remains the secret of your works,
Thank you, Lord!
Amen

Prayer, Father Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I.
From the book: Je t'accueille, page 150

In honour of the birthday of Father Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I., we offer you some video links in which we can feel the great love of Christ that inhabited him.
He gave his all, as well as a beautiful spirituality within everyone's reach. Let's look again at the traits of a man seized by the Holy Spirit.

All the videos are in French.

1- Father Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I. talks about the spirituality of the Voluntas Dei Institute.
    For more information on the spirituality of the Voluntas Dei Institute... (1 min 20)

2-In memory of Father Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I., our founder. 2011. (7 m 52)

3- Father Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I. tells us a little about his youth and how he became a priest. 2015. (5 min 05)

4- Video of our founder Father Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I. (7 min 10)

5-Interview with Father Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I.
   Interview by abbé Roland Leclerc on Radio Canada's "En Toute Amitié..." programme (24 min)

6- The values of the Father Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I.

7- When the past becomes present with the Father Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I.
    Animator Denyse Mostert – 1093 (60 min)

8- My son, here is your mother - 1
    Interview by Marcel Garneau with Father Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I. on the Virgin Mary in his life (14 min 57)

9- My son, here is your mother - 2

2. Being Considerate

Thoughtfulness is an attitude of the heart that anticipates the desires of others. I don't live alone; I have talents and qualities that others don't have, just as they have some that I don't have. With others, I'm a complementary being. Without me, others lack something. Without them, I'm often deprived, lacking. I need them; they need me. Together, life is not only bearable... it's enjoyable.

Who can really stop me from being considerate? Surely not God, since He asks me to love others as He loves them. Certainly not others, since they are thirsty for love and attention. This is my privilege, the fruit of my efforts. I was made, even more so, to live from my heart than from my head. Love doesn't make you old...it's life itself.

I'm always on the lookout for people I meet, and I make it my duty to say hello to everyone, to ask about their health, to offer myself for a few small services.

I'll taste the joy of giving; I'll grow from sharing. I'm never alone ... along the path of my devotion.

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

Read:

You know how to love! 1. Delicacy

You know how to love! 3. Learning to listen.