Renewal of Vows
When St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal formed the Order of the Visitation of Mary in 1610, they decided that the Sisters would renew their vows on the Feast of the Presentation of Mary. This feast, celebrated on November 21, commemorates Mary’s total commitment and dedication to the Lord.
Bl. Louis Brisson, OSFS, founder of the Oblates, was chaplain to the Visitandines. He recognized the Salesian connection between the Oblates and the Sisters. As a way to demonstrate this, Brisson told us, 125 years ago on November 21, “Let us renew our vows with the desire to belong entirely to God, to live with Him, to spend every Day of this exile in His company, to do nothing without Him.”
And so, all around the world, each year, on November 21, the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and Visitation Sisters renew our vows. Below you will find the vows the Oblates have made throughout our lives. We ask that you pray for us today as we commit to God, the Church, and our Oblate family.
Vows of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales
For the love of God, and moved by a firm resolve to consecrate
myself more fully to Him and to follow Christ more closely in my
whole life, here and now, with you my brothers as witnesses, I,
[name] renew my perpetual vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience
according to the Constitutions of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. I
give myself with my whole heart to this religious family, so that, by the
grace of the Holy Spirit and the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I may
seek perfect charity in the service of God and the Church.
On the Feast of the Presentation of Mary, in 1896, when Fr. Cochereau received the habit and the Oblates renewed their vows, Bl. Brisson reflected:
“My friends, we Oblates are going to renew our vows today. How good it is to belong to the Lord; how good it is to serve Him alone; to go where He wishes us to go, and there only. We do not have to carry out the will of a man, or obey the whim of some individual who, more or less, has power over us. It is to God alone that we have given ourselves. And the greatest privilege of the religious life is to speak intimately — heart to heart with God; we have this entirely in the doctrine of St. Francis de Sales and in our vocation. With the Directory we are in constant contact and conversation with heaven. A man is happy to be so united with God…just as each day we recite lovingly in the breviary that very consoling psalm: “Blessed are those who are pure in the way, who walk by the law of the LORD. Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with all their heart (Ps 119:1-2).” There we have the program we are to follow: Beati immaculate in via; happy are those who are pure in the way!”
The Way! The Good Mother often spoke of the “Way.” What is it? It is the road traced in the footprints of the Savior and followed step-by-step. It is the luminous furrow which rests on these tracks. It is the fragrant atmosphere which the path of divine virtues has left pure, it is the fragrant atmosphere that scented the garments of Jacob and which attracted the old Issac and his blessing. It is the route by which the Savior draws the faith soul to Himself while attracting him by all their delights of his grace. “Blessed are those who are pure in the way!” You are in the Way my friends; all that you do, stems from the Way. To carry out your Directory is the Way: Blessed are those whose seek him with all their heart.”
In this spirit, therefore, we Oblates are going to renew our vows, so that God may grant us this triple grace: the grace of purity and innocence; the grace of carefully reading into the depths of souls; the grace of a heart burning with love, in order that after the labors of this life we may not be left alone like mercenaries or faithless servants, but that we may partake of the glory and the facility of the souls whom we shall have helped to save.
(Allentown VII:162-163).
