Meditations to prepare for the anniversary of the first vows of November 1, 1818
General Committee of the Oblate Brothers
Our Constitution 65: “Whether preparing for priestly ministry as scholastics or for service as Brothers, new Oblates will live out their consecration in such a way that it permeates all acts and aspects of their daily life. Helped by the formation team and their spiritual advisors, they will gradually become men of God, missionaries, rooted in Christ, who are ready to give themselves totally through perpetual Oblation. During this period, the Oblate charism and traditions are studied and lived.
First formation culminates in the first obedience, given by the Superior General.”
Thanks to the Concordat of 1801, official relations between the French State and the Papacy were reestablished and the Catholic religion regained its freedom in France. The churches were reopened, and little by little the dioceses were reopening their seminaries and minor seminaries. Henry Tempier began his studies at the minor seminary of Aix in 1803. From 1810, he took philosophy courses at the major seminary and from 1811, with the other seminarians, he followed theology courses at the theological faculty of Aix.
Successively, between 1811 and 1814, he received the Tonsure, the Sub-Diaconate and the Diaconate. Tempier’s know-how and dedication won him the confidence of Father Abel, founder of the minor seminary of Aix. Up until the years 1813-1814, Tempier occupied the Chair of Humanities. It was in the midst of these duties that he was ordained on March 26, 1814. The Vicars General who administered the diocese appointed him Vicar in the parish of Saint-Césaire d ‘Arles.
Father Fabre wrote in the obituary: “Tempier went there immediately and began to exercise the functions of the holy ministry with the fervor that God inspires and blesses in the workers he calls to his vineyard… We still keep, in Arles, the remembrance of this young priest who conducted himself with such maturity…”[1]
In 1864, as Father Tempier was preparing to celebrate his 50 years of priesthood, in a letter to Father Le Bihan, he wrote, “Remember me in your prayers … I will celebrate my fiftieth year of priesthood on this very day. I was ordained a priest on March 26 and said my first mass on the 27th… all this, however, is subject to the will of God …”[2]
After barely a year of ministry in the city of Arles, he received the call to a new vocation, but we will come back to this in the 3rd meditation.
The third call of the 2016 Chapter is: “Formation for Mission”: “As a missionary Congregation, formation is considered from the perspective of mission. The important transformations in the world of today have an impact on the Oblate mission and therefore inevitably on our formation programs. These changes require constant adaptation and updating of the way we form ourselves, so that we are more effective and always up to date with best missionary practices.”[3]
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We invite you to reread this entire third part of the document. What have we implemented since the 2016 Chapter?
[1] Notices nécrologiques II, p 84
[2] Lettre P. Tempier au P. Le Bihan, collection Ecrits oblats II,2 Rome 1987, p 176.
[3] Actes du 36ème Chapitre général (2016). Document du Chapitre N°33
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The third call of the 2016 Chapter is: “Formation for Mission”: “As a missionary Congregation, formation is considered from the perspective of mission. The important transformations in the world of today have an impact on the Oblate mission and therefore inevitably on our formation programs. These changes require constant adaptation and updating of the way we form ourselves, so that we are more effective and always up to date with best missionary practices. “N ° 33
We invite you to reread this entire third part of the document. What have we implemented since the 2016 Chapter?
