We recently experienced the death of one of our confreres. He wanted to die in community in the midst of his Oblate brothers. His siblings, their spouses, and their families also joined us during this time. It was a deeply moving experience for all of us to be part of the intersection of two families and these outpourings of love in very concrete ways: stopping into his room to pray with our confrere, celebrating the Sacrament of the Sick with him surrounded by loved ones, telling stories about what he meant in people’s lives that brought laughter, tears, and joy in the midst of the letting go. These were certainly very holy days.
St. Francis de Sales said of the Holy Spirit: “As long as we are in the world we can only love by doing good — since our love must be active — we have need of counsel in order to discern what we must practice and do for this love which urges us…the Holy Spirit gives us His gift of counsel” (A letter of Madame de Chantal at Pentecost 1620).
What the community, his family, and I experienced during that time was loving by doing good through the counsel or direction of the Holy Spirit. We only knew that we wanted to accompany our brother. How we would do that could only become clear as each day evolved. Each day gave us clues that helped us to know what to do or how to be with our brother.
As Oblates, we are asked to begin each morning with the Preparation of the Day. The highlights of this Preparation are:
Invoke the help of God.
Ask God to make us worthy to spend the day with Him, without offending Him.
Preview all that could happen during the course of the day and anticipate occasions that could take us by surprise.
Carefully note any people or things that could be a challenge for us.
Make a firm resolution to obey God’s will today by doing good and avoiding evil.
Entrust ourselves and all our concerns into the hands of God’s eternal goodness.
Whether a day is filled with events that are big or small, with affirmations or challenges, making the Preparation of the Day a part of our daily practice can make a big difference. Why? Because then we can trust that the Holy Spirit will give us counsel and help us to love by doing good. Even when we encounter someone who, as my Aunt Sophie would say, “done me dirty,” we can love and do good, or at least, not do evil. We have the guidance we need to live through anything that comes our way, including those realities that we least expect, even death.
On this Thursday between our celebrations of Pentecost and the most holy trinity, let the Preparation of the Day seek the counsel of the Holy Spirit to live Jesus in ways that give praise and thanks to God.
May God be praised!
Father Paul Colloton, OSFS, D.Min.
Superior
DeSales Centre Oblate Residence, Childs, MD
