If you’ve visited St. Francis Chapel in the Prudential Center or St. Clement’s Eucharistic Shrine in the Fenway area, you may recognize the name “Oblates of the Virgin Mary.” If you are like me, perhaps you have wondered more than once, what this name means. The Oblates of the Virgin Mary (OMV) is a small but growing order with a presence in Rome, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, the Philippines, France, Nigeria, and the United States. They were established in 1816 in Italy by Venerable Pio Bruno Lanteri. Fr. Lanteri (1759-1830) lived in a time of turmoil in the Church and in Italian politics. In response to the secular culture growing and drawing many away from the faith, he founded the Oblates of the Virgin Mary to promote faithful teaching and to bring a message of mercy to the world through the hands of Mary Most Holy.
A student at a Jesuit school perusing a description of OMV spirituality should notice something familiar. The reason for this becomes clear upon mention of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Ven. Fr. Lanteri established Discernment as one of the central principles of the order and called the Exercises a “very powerful instrument of divine grace for worldwide reform, and in particular, a sure method for everyone to become a saint, a great saint, and quickly.” The Oblates practice discernment of spirits in their own lives and guide laity to discernment via spiritual direction, parish missions, and retreats.
The other four central principles of the charism are Fidelity, Zeal for Souls, Mary, and Mercy. The circumstances surrounding the foundation of the Oblates help us understand the order’s purpose: to promote true and faithful teaching in a time when secular culture was permeating the Church and leading the faithful astray. Does this sound familiar? Today, the Oblates of the Virgin Mary perform this function by evangelizing the culture through use of books and media and through good formation of priests and laity. Ven. Fr. Lanteri said, “Without the inward spirit we will never do anything. There must be Fire! Fire! Fire! An intense love for God!”
This zeal for souls is embodied in the missions of the Oblates. Today, their mission in Cebu and Antipolo, Philippines is growing steadily. In Boston, their mission in the busy-ness of city life in the Prudential Center draws many to the stillness and peace of St. Francis Chapel.
Ven. Fr. Lanteri wrote, “The Congregation of the Oblates is not my work, but the work of Mary Most Holy… She is its foundress, its mother, and its teacher.” Ven. Fr. Lanteri’s own devotion to Mary began when he lost his mother at age four, and his love for the Blessed Mother has lived on in the Congregation he founded.
When I asked Fr. Peter Grover, O.M.V., of St. Clement’s Eucharistic Shrine what role the Virgin Mary had played in his life as an Oblate, he pointed me to observe how the Child Jesus found in the Temple departs to live with and learn from his Mother Mary.
“Where did Jesus learn to take off His outer garment, put a towel around His waist and wash the feet of His disciples? … It was at the school of Mary that He learned the forgiveness, the compassion, and the forgiveness of God the Father… This is what Mary is to me.”
The final central principle of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, and perhaps the most well-known, is Mercy. Ven. Fr. Lanteri had a great love of mercy and the phrase “Nunc Cœpi” or “Now I Begin” can be found on his prayer cards. He unpacks the meaning of this simple phrase: “Even if I should fall a thousand times a day, a thousand times I will get up again and say Nunc Cœpi—Now I begin.” Ven. Fr. Lanteri was passionate about bringing this endless mercy to the faithful in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the Oblates of the Virgin Mary carry on that practice today. The face of mercy is available to us in the Eucharist, perpetually adored in St. Clement’s Eucharistic Shrine, and the message of mercy is spread through the lively and faithful preaching that many students specifically seek out there. In addition, St. Francis Chapel offers several hours of confession each day.
When asked what “Nunc Cœpi” means to him, Fr. Grover proceeded to tell, as only he can, a story of a time that the Oblates decided to hand out free hot dogs to Red Sox fans on opening day.
“I thought to myself, don’t these people remember that last September, the team suffered the greatest collapse in baseball history? Don’t these fans remember that last year the Red Sox were in the last place? Why are they happy? Because it is opening day. It is a new start. Nunc Coepi means, begin again.”
This confidence in God’s mercy is a bright source of hope in the darkness of a broken world, and a source that does not run dry. Surely this hope which does not fail is the sustenance of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, and is sustenance to all who would dare to daily say, “Nunc Cœpi—Now I begin.”
Featured image courtesy of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary via Facebook
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