541 - February 2014
January 4th, 2014 - January 28th, 2014

ASIA-OCEANIA

The Oblates of Colombo Province inaugurated the Oblate Triennium on 23 December 2013 in preparation for the 200^th anniversary of the foundation of the Congregation in 2016, with a concelebrated Eucharistic at the Provincial House, Mattakkuliya, Colombo, with Fr. Rohan SILVA, the Provincial Superior, presiding.

Introducing the theme and the meaning of the Oblate Triennium at the beginning of the celebration, Fr. Christy SILVA said that the 3-year period is a time for the Oblates to prepare also for the 36^th General Chapter in 2016, especially so as to revitalize the Oblate life and vision.

Quoting Fr. Louis LOUGEN, the Oblate Superior General, Fr. Christy underlined three main areas for the revitalization of the Oblate Congregation: a transformative response to the signs of the times; the members taking ownership of the foundational charism; and the members undergoing personal and communitarian conversion to Jesus Christ through a profound renewal of faith and prayer life.

Fr. Clement WAIDYASEKARA, the General Councillor for Asia-Oceania, in his homily, said that the main aim of the Oblate Triennium is to “fan the flame” of Oblate life and mission. It is a time to thank God for the gift of the Congregation, to renew our lives and vision and recommit ourselves to the call and vision that inspired St. Eugene de Mazenod to form the Congregation in 1816.

Fr. Clement further underlined the need to drink from the same spirit that nourished St. Eugene's missionary drive; his transforming personal encounter with Jesus Christ, the Saviour; his conviction that the poor have innate dignity as sons and daughters of God; his sensitive heart for reaching out to the forgotten by the ministers of the Church; his passion for the Word of God and the preaching of the Good News; vowed life and community living in charity as a way to holiness; his closeness and approachability to the poor, especially to the youth and to the prisoners; his collaboration with the lay faithful; his integration of contemplative life and intense missionary activity; his audacity to leave nothing undared for extending the reign of Jesus Christ and to live solely for the glory of God, with tender love for Mother of Mercy. (Fr. Emmanuel FERNANDO)

Excerpts from the annual Christmas letter of Brother Bernard WIRTH, a missionary in Thailand for more than 40 years.

Oh, during this year, nothing extraordinary… What is special without a doubt are the hundreds of thousands of people in the streets of Bangkok, today among others… That explains why I am free today, since the streets of Bangkok are paralyzed by the protesters and I am stuck at home…

And that brings me to my work at the college. Often they ask me: “Why do you teach at the university? You should go full time at the prison...” It is true that my mission is to assure a presence among the most disadvantaged... but I am convinced that a presence among the young people, who have reached a point where they are taking control of their own lives, is also worthwhile... I don’t give them long speeches about God, but I help them think, so as to come out of their little middle-class world to discover something else...

My work with prisoners has not changed: I become their friend; I listen to them; I hear their concerns and tribulations, either directly or through other volunteers, and I pass them on to the police and authorities to initiate improvements, solutions... It is at this level that the most difficulties crop up for these political refugees, locked up as criminals; the physically handicapped, rejected by all countries; or the Hmong families driven from their country and imprisoned for more than two years with no hope of release; or the mentally deranged persons without proper care; or these children locked up with adults... and I could continue the list that grows regularly, but even if our actions fail, every visit is a little ray of sunshine for an inmate...

Now it’s been over 15 years that I visit the Detention Center. I have grown old, just like at the college. This brings some advantages, some new contacts, but also some new responsibilities... In fact, everything that happens at the Detention Center is only the tip of the iceberg of the terrible situation of migrants in this country... The Burmese, Laotians and Cambodians are the most numerous -- we are talking about two million Burmese... Their living and working conditions are inhuman... Theoretically they can acquire residence permits and work, but many companies prefer them to remain illegal; they are cheap labor, pitifully exploitable...and access to care and the education of children are often denied them... They have no rights... After following a few cases, I am now more involved in these situations of people deprived of everything... And the associations, the pagodas, the temples and the churches are quickly overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problems...

That in a few lines is a look at what I am living, an outlook a little darker than what I had foreseen... In fact, it is in letting my heart speak that all these concerns I carry are brought to the surface, but I should add that I have also met some great people, people who have nothing, but who share the little they have; and then there are my brothers and sisters, my colleagues, the volunteers at the Centre, people totally dedicated; it is thanks to them and to all of you my friends that I continue my mission and I jump into a new year, in good form, despite minor aches, smiling and serene in my relationships, and finally, confident in adversity!