Ah! The life of a missionary! It certainly isn't always what one might expect. In fact I've found that in God's providence events in my life quite regularly seem to come attached with unexpected surprises. What is the old saying, "If you want to make God laugh just tell God your plans!"
Well, when I came to Christ the King Retreat Center four years ago I had certain expectations. One of them was to be here for awhile as director. In fact, just last year at this time near the end of my first three years I met with our Oblate Personnel Director and committed to another three years as this retreat center's director. Our provincial administration and council (the governing body of our U. S. Oblate Province) were pleased with the ministry we were doing here, the numbers of people that were coming, and the excellent reputation in general that this retreat center continues to maintain. However, perhaps you've also found, much can happen in a year's time.
Our province began discussing a new ministry that we saw a real need for in this country. We call it Mission with Secularity. It consists of a conscious attempt to reach out in some way to the ever-increasing number of people in this country who don't believe in God, or who haven't heard much about God, or who don't see the need for God in their lives. Those who may be all too caught up in the passing things our culture offers, and who are unaware of the dignity that is theirs as people made in God's image and likeness.
This indeed is a very worthy ministry for us Oblates. As missionaries we seek to be available for God to send us to the poorest of the poor, the most abandoned and marginal. Sometimes that may mean not only those who are economically disadvantaged but also (and especially in this well-to-do country) those who are mired in a spiritual poverty that can breed despair, depression, and chaos in their lives.
So it was that I and another Oblate were asked by our provincial administration last September to form a task force that would look into how Mission with Secularity might be developed. We traveled to Birmingham , England to observe and consult with Oblates who were attempting a similar ministry. To make a long story a bit shorter, we put together a plan for such a ministry here in the United States and presented it to our provincial administration and council at their meeting in Washington D.C. last December. As part of that plan we suggested that a team of Oblates be named to work full time in this ministry. Perhaps by now you've guessed that I have now been notified that I'm one of the Oblates named to this new team.
I must be honest and say that the prospect of this ministry does rekindle anew the missionary fire in me. I'm looking forward to addressing what I have no doubt will be some very real challenges in this work. At the same time I find myself somewhat fearful because the how-to's of it are still very gray in my understanding. I pray, and I humbly ask your prayers as we take on this new ministry that we can be open in mind and heart to God's Spirit, who I believe will go before us leading the way.
This excitement is also tempered by the awareness that I must leave a ministry here that I have loved. My final day at Christ the King Retreat Center will be Sunday, July 29. On that day the Healing Retreat led by Fr. Matt Linn will conclude and in the afternoon from 2 to 4:00pm there will be a reception for Fr. Jack Lau and I as we prepare to leave.
Please know that I will miss all of you, and that I've considered it a privilege and a blessing to be with you over these four years. I am so very grateful for the opportunity to lead Christ the King Retreat Center . And I'm especially grateful for your warm, enthusiastic, and affirming acceptance as I shared my experience of this great God of ours with you. Thank you too for also sharing your experience with me. For each of you I hope and pray the deepest prayer that I believe one can pray: that God's will may be done in your life.
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