To Be An Oblate
Mr. Joe Kochendoerfer, OSFS, and his classmate Mr. Jonathan Dick, OSFS preparing for Mass.
During my postulancy, I accompanied Fr. Joe Newman, OSFS, to a Theology on Tap talk for the Diocese of Toledo. In an attempt to involve me in the presentation, Fr. Newman tossed me a softball question: “Joe, can you tell them what Oblate means?”
“Oblate means leader!” … a swing and a miss…
With two semesters of classical Latin under my belt, I can now provide a formal and correct definition to any poor soul that crosses my path! The etymological roots of “oblate” are traced back to the fourth principal part of the Latin verb: offero, offerre, obtuli, oblatus. Often translated as “offering,” alternative translations may be: “the one offered up,” “the offered one,” or “the one, having been offered.”
Let’s just say… I’d rather be a leader…
Our blessed founder, Fr. Louis Brisson, OSFS, detailed the crux of Oblate and Salesian Spirituality:
“Does it mean there is no sacrifice when you give up your own will? That costs more than begging for bread or fasting until two o’clock in the afternoon. There is no sacrifice or self-abnegation that compares with the unbroken offering of one’s own will. It is one difficult thing - a martyrdom suffered for God - to deny oneself and to renounce oneself at every moment.”
As a young man studying for the priesthood as an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales, I wonder what I have gotten myself into! Our offering is that of our own will. Not only is this the antithesis of a strong-willed person like myself, but I’m just not that good at sacrifice. And not to mention it be “unbroken” and “at every moment.” This call is too great to bear! If anything at all, I am a poor, unworthy, and unacceptable offering.
Our Lord presents a way out for us in Holy Scripture. If we recall the story of Cain and Abel, we remember Cain brought an “offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground” and Abel brought “the fatty portion of the firstlings of his flock.” On Abel and his offering, the Lord looked with favor; on Cain and his, the Lord did not. Scholars of Holy Scripture suggest the difference between the offerings was a matter of quality, and thus, a measure of their faith. Whereas Cain did not seem to offer to the Lord the first fruits of his harvest, his brother had offered better with the firstlings of his flock.
As a poor, unworthy, and unacceptable offering, I feel a lot like Cain.
“Here I am – imperfect and weak.”
“Here I am – it’s all I can give.”
“Here I am – maybe my faith isn’t that great.”
In no way do we take Cain as our model. Neither his deeds nor the above sentiments are praiseworthy. In fact, we should see his story as a precautionary tale for reforming our own lives and growing in faith. But without a doubt, we relate to Cain.
““Here I am, Lord – I come to do Your will.” ”
Even after a lackluster offering, the Lord marks him for protection, promising that if anyone kills Cain, he would be avenged seven times. In this story, we learn that despite an imperfect offering, God never abandons us. Rather, He commands us to carry on, giving us another chance – even if it means being wanderers of the earth.
This is an important reminder not only for me as a young Oblate studying for the priesthood but for us all as we offer ourselves and our wills to the Lord – however imperfect at times. When we begin to envision everything that happens around us and to us is part of God’s permissive will, we may begin to realize how near or far our wills are from the Lord’s.
Have a cold? In a traffic jam? Caught in the grocery store by a Chatty Kathy?
I’m not sure we offer our entire selves in these moments that God has willed. I know I don’t! Are we not miserable, angry, and annoyed!? In the same words of Fr. Brisson above: “It is one difficult thing” to deny, renounce, and offer oneself at every moment – the miserable, angering, and annoying! Sure, we will fail to offer ourselves and our wills at times, but we must try again knowing that the Lord will not abandon us.
Embracing God’s permissive will in our lives, may we begin to offer ourselves more fully at every moment and in every encounter, as we pray: “Here I am, Lord – I come to do Your will.”
I am an Oblate, but I’d rather be a leader…
Mr. Joseph Kochendoerfer, OSFS
Oblate Seminarian
