Day 1 of the Congress 👌

27 29 MAY 2022 The Oblate Associations Congress

NOVENA PRAYER FOR OBLATE VOCATIONS WITH MARY IMMACULATE
21 – 29 MAY 2022
“The greatness of Saint Joseph is that he was the spouse of Mary and the father of Jesus. In this way, he placed himself, in the words of Saint John Chrysostom, ‘at the service of the entire plan of salvation’.”

May 28, 2022 Hymn
On this day of our Novena for Oblate Vocations, we are deeply connected with all the members of the Oblate Family who are participating in the 2nd
Oblate Lay Associations Congress. It is
beautiful to recognize how the Oblate charism is lived and experienced according to each one’s specific vocation. Our present Congress is an opportunity to share and celebrate the diverse ways in which the Oblate charism is lived all over the world today.

Scripture reading:
From the Gospel of St. Luke 2: 45-52
“When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking
for him everywhere. It happened that, three days later, they found
him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them,
and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were
astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome
when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why
have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have
been, looking for you.’ He replied, ‘Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’
But they did not understand what he meant. He went down with
them then and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority.
His mother stored up all these things in her heart. And Jesus
increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and with
people.”

Meditation:
“After Mary, the Mother of God, no saint
is mentioned more frequently in the papal magisterium than Saint Joseph, her
spouse…. I would like to share some personal reflections on this extraordinary figure, so close to our own human experience… My desire to do so increased during these months of pandemic, when
we experienced, amid the crisis, how ‘our lives are woven together and sustained by ordinary people, people often overlooked. People who do not appear in newspaper and magazine headlines, or on the latest television show, yet in these very days are surely shaping the decisive events of our history. Doctors, nurses, storekeepers and
supermarket workers, cleaning personnel, caregivers, transport workers, men and women working to provide essential services and public safety, volunteers, priests, men and women religious, and so very many others. They understood that no one is saved alone… How many people daily exercise patience and offer hope, taking care to spread not panic, but shared responsibility. How many fathers, mothers, grandparents and teachers are showing our children, in small everyday ways, how to accept and deal with a crisis by adjusting their routines, looking ahead and encouraging the practice of prayer. How many are praying, making sacrifices and interceding for the good of all’. Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all.” (Patris Corde, Pope Francis, 2021)

Moment of silence

Spontaneous Prayers and Intentions

Concluding Prayer: Mary Immaculate, we give thanks for your smile upon St. Eugene. You confirmed his missionary project as an apostolic body in the Church that would generate abundant fruit for the mission of God and become a community of holiness. We come before you today and ask your smile to bless our vocational efforts. Help us to create apostolic communities of joy, with a fraternal spirit that will attract young people to join us. Give us an authentic spirit of prayer that witnesses to the truth that God is all for us. As we persevere in prayer for vocations, help us to have the courage to invite young people to join our way of life. We ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son, the Lord of the harvest. Amen.

Hymn to Mary