Together we can walk Without Fear!
What consoling words the Lord has for us in today’s Gospel. And what fitting words as all of us—the parish community here at San Pedro, our community of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, and me—as we begin a new chapter in our life of faith and service to the Lord and one another.
A few weeks ago, we heard in the Gospel that the disciples, seeing Jesus in prayer, asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” And he responded, “when you pray, say Father.”
The Lord’s Prayer, so simple and familiar, unites all Christians throughout the world and throughout the ages. And every time we pray it, our voices and hearts are joined with the heart and voice of Jesus in praise of God our Father.
At the same time, Jesus gives to our hearts a share in his own love for the Father, his complete trust and dependence on the Father’s love, and his zeal to carry out his Father’s holy will.
The photo above is of our OMV seminarians, men who have experienced the Father’s love, and are eager to share in Jesus’ mission of sharing that love with others.
I had the privilege of walking with these men as rector of our seminary before being assigned to serve in the Diocese of Venice last year. Despite my human limitations, the Lord gave me the grace to serve as a spiritual father to these men as they discerned his call in their lives.
Now, as I begin a new ministry as pastor here at San Pedro, I am delighted to do so along with my brother Oblates of the Virgin Mary.
On August 13, Deacon Leland Thorpe, OMV (on the left) and Deacon Nate Marzonie, OMV, (third from the left) will be ordained priests, and shortly thereafter Fr. Nate will join our Oblate community here at San Pedro.
As a family of faith, we continue to walk forward confidently and without fear, firmly rooted in the love of God the Father. The concerns of the world, and our human weaknesses, are real. But they fade in the light of the Father’s surpassing love, made known to us in Christ Jesus.
-Fr. Tom
The Oblates of the Virgin Mary
What is an “Oblate”?
The word “Oblate” comes from the Latin word “to offer”. Many different Catholic religious congregations and lay organizations have the word “Oblate” in their name, but they are not parts of a common organization or institution. They simply share a desire to offer their lives to God in prayer and service, but each has a distinctive history and spirituality
Who are the Oblates of the Virgin Mary?
The Oblates of the Virgin Mary were founded by Venerable Bruno Lanteri in northern Italy in 1826. Venerable Lanteri sought to set peoples hearts on fire with love for God by helping them encounter Jesus through prayer and the Sacraments.
“Nunc Coepi”—Begin Again
Lanteri shared the mercy of God, planting seeds of hope in peoples hearts. Being convinced of God’s mercy and love for us, we become bold and courageous apostles, on fire with love for God and our neighbor, unafraid even our own frailty, always ready to make a new start.
“If I should fall a thousand times a day, a thousand times a day I will begin again, with new awareness of my weakness, promising God, with a peaceful heart, to amend my life. I will never think of God as if he were of our condition and grows weary of our wavering, weakness, and negligence. Rather, I will think of what is truly characteristic of him and what he prizes most highly, that is, his goodness and mercy, knowing that he is a loving Father who understands our weakness, is patient with us, and forgives us.”
-Venerable Bruno Lanteri, OMV omvusa.org/Bruno-Lanteri
