Dear Friends,

Welcome to the Oblate Website as we commence 2010!

It is a busy time of the year as we all struggle to get back into the routine of daily life after enjoying a more relaxed time over the Christmas and New Year breaks. However, life never stops still as there is always something to do, something to plan and places to go.

This constancy was brought home to me the other weekend when I was fortunate to visit my mum and extended family members. As I was thinking that life still felt a little relaxed I was confronted by two highly excited great nephews who were only days away from commencing the next 13 years of schooling. They already had their bags packed and were telling me the things they were going to do whilst at school.

This led me to reflect on how my own year had started and I was surprised at how much of my time was taken up in doing, planning and going.

At Christmas I decided to take the opportunity, which one doesn’t get when involved in parish ministry, to go to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne for Midnight Mass. This was a tremendous experience. The music, the liturgy, the huge crowd and the prayerfulness of all involved lifted one’s spirit from the ordinariness of everyday life to a deeply spiritual level. I would recommend attending Midnight Mass in your own cathedral when you get the opportunity for a similar experience.

January saw the start of a new year and I spent some of my nights interacting with the Rosies volunteers and the street people of Melbourne during the Rosies Summer Experience. Later in the month I joined in the activities of the annual Oblate Youth Encounter. The Encounter was held in Adelaide for the first time. Again this was an inspiring experience as I witnessed our young people from all over Australia coming together in support of one another, building on their Oblate connections, and singing and praying in their common faith.

I was then off to Central Java to visit the Oblate Mission the Australian Oblate Province founded back in 1970. Again I was inspired as I reflected on the great contribution the Oblates have made as missionaries in this country.

I visited some of the many schools the Oblates have constructed through the generous donations from our Australian Oblate family members. The schools range from infant and junior primary to the Maritime Academy. So far your generosity has enabled around 60,000 young people to be educated through our schools. What a great effort!

Fr. Christian (MAMI Director) and I spent time reflecting with Fr Charlie Burrows OMI and his Oblate confreres on how to assist the ongoing education of these young people. We have some new initiatives that will be advertised in our MAMI magazine which is produced through the Oblate Mission Office.

As I have mentioned Fr Charlie Burrows OMI it would be remiss of me not to state that the main reason for my trip to Central Java was to be present for the 40^th anniversary celebrations of Fr Charlie’s ordination to the priesthood. We congratulate Fr Charlie on his great example of perseverance and his commitment to fulfill the vision of St Eugene de Mazenod to be close to the people and to care for the poor.

“We must lead people to act like human beings, first of all, and then like Christians, and, finally, we must help them to become saints.”