Oblates of the West

A Living Stories Project

REFLECTIONS

We started our visit with the question of what it was that made the Western Province distinct. We have some impressions, at least, of what some of the answers might be.

	This is the newest of all the province even though it contains the region where the Oblate mission to the USA began. What makes that particularly significant in our current endeavors is that this province contains the more Oblates than any other with a living memory of what it was like to begin a new province.
	It is a province that is still largely made up of Oblates from other Provinces. There are indigenous Oblates of the West but no sense in the stories heard of this place as Oblate hometown.

	In the stories we heard, there are stories of Texas, of the Eastern and Northern and Central provinces, and of Canada. The tradition sounds like a rich federation and fusion of the different provincial traditions. The men did not forget where they came from.
	There seems a clear North-South dimension to the mission here not unlike the Eastern province, and a different focus of the stories collected in each place. The Seattle stories obviously are not going to be about Hispanic missions. The concentration of men and stories are in the South. But the stories we heard up North seemed very different and important.
	There appears an emphasis on community in many of the stories. For instance, the tales of Chas Burns and Dick Hanley in how they melded the province together stand out here. There are also stories of the heroic and legendary individuals like other provinces, but the material hints at the possibility that here, the tradition might be more conscious of community as an issue.
	A oft heard boast of the Province tradition was that because of its rich and varied composition, it has always been a place that has easily welcomed new men and new ideas. I was told by many of the men that the amalgamation was fully supported here, and seen as an obvious step for more effective mission.
	The mission emphasis that once focused on schools and mission bands is now pretty much concentrated in parish ministry and an ongoing theme of outreach to the Mexican population.
	One hears of two distinct mission traditions- of being the missionary builder and developer of churches and schools in the traditional sense and the other story of being the servant/animator of the people who works to build and empower the people resources.
	I find it fascinating to catch references back to the culture of the older provinces such as the strength of loyalty to the Texas province, or the hospitality of the Canadian province, or "Le Misere" of the French. It makes me ask if the new USA province will hold on to their separate heritages as gifts and not encumbrances?
	There would appear to be some feelings from the past as to the relations with the older provinces. Some stories relate the way the province became independent, with issues around money and resources or lack thereof that were left to the new province. What are the issues that surround the formation of a new province? And what can these stories offer us as guides to avoiding the feeling some of the men of the west had back then of being left out.
	The stories around Leadership stand out. In other province collections, stories of provincials did not stand out in the way that stories of Chas Burn and Dick Hanley etc do here. Also, they saw their mission as uniting the men, bringing them together. Chas Burns strategy sounds interesting and relevant to the challenge facing the new Provincial team.
	Stories about relationships with the local church and bishops that were strained. The question is raised in some of the material around the question of whether the Oblate leadership is there to serve the men or the bishop. How can the leadership both "back the men' and "serve the hierarchical church?" That stills seems as critical an issue for us today.

My visit came to an end with a day in San Francisco, visiting the places made famous in the 60's and 70's by the "beat generation." We paid a visit to City Lights bookshop that they made famous, and thumbed through a recent book subtitled the "Hidden Life of Jack Kerouac." In the index, there were at least four references to the Oblate priest from the Northern province who had played an important role in his career, Fr. Spike Morissette.

It made me think about how many other lost Oblate stories there are out there waiting to be be told. I would never have imagined that in such a place as City Lights, still a place of pilgrimage for the 60's generation like myself, there is an Oblate story waiting to be read, a part of our Oblate traditions just begging to be reclaimed.

When I started out a month back to visit both the Northern and the Western provinces to prepare for their Living Stories program, I published the web page under the title of "On the Road with the Oblates of the..." I suspect that Kerouac's restless spirit was already hovering about me even before I knew the connection.

Thanks to Father Dick Haslam, my wonderful and witty host, and to the Oblates of the West for their time and hospitality. I look forward to meeting you all in October.

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[ Day One ] [ Day Two ] [ Day Three ] [ Day Four ] [ Day Five ] [ Day Six ] [ Day Seven ] [ Day Eight ] [ Day Nine ] [ Day Ten ] [ Summing Up ]

If you recall stories that we have missed or corrections you can offer, please share them with us by going to the Living Stories Discussion Page and posting your contributions to the unfolding story of the Oblates of the West.