Ariel Martínez MORALES, OMI (President of CIAL)
The Joint Session with the Latin America and Caribe Region was held from August 21 to August 28 in Tepoztlan, Morelos, Mexico. Members of the Central Government and the leadership of the Region attended this meeting.
The Joint Session
In Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico, 51 Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate from the Latin America and Caribbean Region, along with members of the General Administration, met to share the status of implementing the mandates of the 37th General Chapter and to discern how to respond to the challenges of our world today.
Discerning the call of the Spirit
To reaffirm our belonging to the family of St. Eugene de Mazenod, we began our session by sharing our life and vocation stories. The day was guided by our Superior General, Rev. Luis Ignacio Rois Alonso, OMI, who was present among us. In our session, we looked wholeheartedly at how the mandates of the 37th General Chapter are being implemented and its opportunities and challenges. Then, we identified the transversal axes and discerned the call of the Spirit.
Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe
In the middle of the session, we had the grace of making a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. There, we celebrated the Eucharist in thanksgiving to conclude the Jubilee-vocational year of our Oblate presence in Mexico for the past 80 years. We asked Mary of Guadalupe for her intercession during our joint session and to intercede on behalf of our charismatic family.
“We consecrate to you our works and missions”
The Superior General, in his homily at the Basilica of Guadalupe, said the following: “Our Lady of Guadalupe, in your figure imprinted on the tilma that we venerate today, we want to consecrate to you our Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and all the members of our charismatic family! We consecrate to you our works and missions, the elderly and the young, the healthy and the sick, our communities, families, and also all the people we serve and, in a more particular way, the poor and most vulnerable who honor us by allowing us to be at their service. We entrust to you our missionary sufferings and joys, knowing that you will turn them into joyful proclamation of the Gospel.”
Our good Mother continues to smile at our religious family
With this consecration, we have returned to our meeting place to continue the work, knowing that our good Mother continues to smile on our religious family, as she did on St. Eugene de Mazenod, our founder. We want to be her envoys, like St. Juan Diego, to continue to proclaim the Good News and to be bearers of Hope in our world, especially with the poorest and most vulnerable. We thank all the Oblates who have participated in this joint session. Furthermore, we place ourselves under the merciful eyes of Our Lady of Guadalupe to continue to be pilgrims of hope in communion.
