The Path

Jul 16

There is a split path from the Novitiate house to the chapel. Every day, I would walk the path from the house to the chapel for morning meditation and Mass. If you’ve ever spent time with me, you would know I am not one to arrive early. I am not chronically late, I am just on time. To mark the beginning of morning meditation, a bell would chime. It was important to be in your chair prior to the ringing of the bell. The path gave me a choice every morning.

The path from the Novitiate house to the chapel is in the form of a heart. You can go right or left, but not straight through the middle. Every morning, I would look at the path and have to choose – Should I stay on the path and take a few more steps to the chapel, or should I cut through the grass down the middle? Like most things in the Novitiate, the path taught a lesson. Slow down, don’t rush, the journey is important, trace the heart with your feet, don’t just think about the end point… and other lessons I didn’t learn (Read my other reflections for evidence!).

We start a new Novitiate in August with a new Novice Master, Fr. Tom Helfrich OSFS. I recently heard a story about Tom being asked at a dinner: “When did you decide to become an Oblate?” Tom looked across the table and responded, “Today.” Tom’s been an Oblate for longer than I’ve been alive. He makes the choice daily.

Please hold in your prayers Fr. Tom and the next generation of Oblates who decide each day to walk the heart-shaped path, to trace the heart with their feet. St. Francis de Sales reminds us that great occasions for serving God come seldom, but little ones surround us daily. The path of the heart is slow and winding, filled with these little opportunities to serve—and remains the surest way.