Br Michael shares his story

My Response to God's Call

Michael MooreMy name is Michael Moore and I am an Oblate Brother. Presently I am working in the Pastoral Area / Mission Centre of Bluebell, Mary Immaculate and St. Michael’s. These are three parishes that we have brought together in an attempt to work as one clus- ter of parishes, sharing our skills, gift and talents as we try to develop a new model of ministry and a new way of being Church. With the other members of the parishes, I am part of the Pastoral Area Team. My work and ministry is varied; I work in the local schools, working with and supporting teachers, I am involved with young people and adults as we prepare the liturgy for our Family Mass. I work with a group of adults in parishes breaking open scripture and the documents of Vatican II. During Advent, I was with a group of women for a day of prayer and reflection as we listened to the voices of Mary, Elizabeth and Anna, it was an uplifting experience. I also went to another of our parishes during Advent and broke open the scriptures with a small group of women. Occasionally I work in our retreat house in Crewe, again working with groups and leading retreats with the team there. This ministry is rightly called Adult Faith Formation; it allows people to read, reflect and share their own ideas and insights. It is a joy to be in their company as they share their wisdom and offer their questions as they engage with each other and the scriptures. As I try to lead and encourage groups to make the scriptures their own, I am reminded of what our Founder Eugene wrote in 1818; “To aim at elegance of style rather than to solidity of doctrine would go directly counter to the spirit of our Rule... our one and only aim should be to instruct people... not only to break the bread of the Word for them, but to chew it for them as well... they should go back home edified, touched, instructed, able to repeat in their own family what they have learned from our mouth.” Often I feel that I bring very little to these groups; all they need is a little encouragement and then they take the scriptures and break them open for themselves and each other and then I simply become one of the group with them and take part in the conversation.

How did I become an Oblate? I grew up in a parish that was served by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Inchicore. As I child I had no idea what an Oblate was; there were always Oblates in Inchicore and my dad was very involved with the parish and the Oblates. Oblates came into our school as we prepared to celebrate our Holy Communion and Confirmation.

As a normal working class family we went Mass together each Sunday. Eventually I left primary school and journeyed through secondary school. By the time I was eighteen my parents let me decide for myself whether or not to continue going to Mass. Looking back, I was not very religious. Like most teenagers I gave into peer pressure and often missed Mass for long periods. But from time to time I did make the effort and go to Mass in my local church. One evening as I came out from Mass, a young Oblate priest, Mossie, who had just arrived in the parish ap- proached and asked me if I was interested in being part of a youth group. I said, “Yes”, and the following week a group of us met with the priest. Over time, as we got to know each other, we began to pray together, work together in the parish and socialise with each other. Eventually we began to work with younger people in the area and in other parishes. All this grew and evolved very slowly and normally.

Looking back now on this part of my life, I see it as the beginning of my sense of serving others and shar- ing with them the good news that I was experiencing through my involvement with the group I was involved in. I began to develop skills and talents I never knew I had. I had no sense or feeling of wanting to be an Oblate, at that time, it simply never occurred to me. However that changed when I was asked by Mossie, “Michael, have you ever thought of being an Oblate?” I remember saying, “No!”, but the question stayed with me until I answered properly. When I spoke to my friend, he told me that it was a question that I could not ignore and had to answer either way. He encouraged and helped me to reflect and discern whether or not being an Oblate was the life for me. I told my parents and family that I was considering becoming an Oblate. They were very encouraging, saying that whatever decision I made they would support.

I felt like Jeremiah in the Old Testament. He was called by God, but tried to refuse the invitation twice by saying that he was too young and that he didn’t know how to speak God’s word. God spoke those words that are repeated throughout the scriptures; “Do not be afraid, I will be with you.” Eventually I made the decision and joined the Oblates. Nine other young men joined with me and so my journey with the Oblates began. I feel my decision to join the Oblates was very ordinary and uneventful. It grew out of my time with the youth group and the activities we were engaged in. There was no pressure on me to join. I was helped to listen to the voice of God speak- ing to me personally just as the same God spoke to and called young Jeremiah. During my novitiate, my first year of formation, we were helped to continue to pay attention to that listening and discerning. We prayed as a community, went to college each day, we worked together inside and outside the house. From time to time one of the group left having felt that this was not the life for them. I never got used to that. It always challenged me to reflect on my own calling and journey. While I asked why they left, an older Oblate told me that a better question to ask was why I stayed. I enjoyed my time in college. It was a mixture of lectures, exams and pastoral placements. I spent time working in a hospital learning the skills of being with those who were sick and dying. In class with young people I discovered I had the talent for teaching. When college finished for the summer each year, I went to Britain and spent time in our parishes, learning from older Oblates about prayer, community and the joys and challenges of ministry.

This was another part of my formation. It was about engaging and being with people wherever they were. This varied from prayer groups, youth clubs, funerals and bereavement, planning liturgy and socialising with families and friends in the parishes.

After five years of college, exams and many varied pastoral experiences, I was asked to consider taking my final vows as an Oblate. Each year we renewed our vows just for one year. Final vows were a huge step. It was a commitment for life as an Oblate. Again Jeremiah came back to me, “Why me? Will I be able for this life? Has God called the right person?” With the help and support from those responsible for my formation, I took my final vows. I received my Oblate cross; it belonged to my mother’s uncle, who had been an Oblate. She placed it around my neck during the Mass and so I inherited a sacred tradition and story through that cross. It had been all over the world with my mother’s uncle and now it was being entrusted to me. I was now being asked to continue to proclaim the Good News to the poor just as he had through his life as an Oblate.

This year, 2010, I will be twenty five years with the Oblates. I am the only one of the initial group who de- cided to continue life as an Oblate. They left to follow their own vocation and calling, I stayed to follow mine. My decision to be an Oblate was not decided and sealed on the day I celebrated and embraced my final vows. It is a decision that is worked out and lived in the bits and pieces of every day as I work in school with young people and teachers, as I live in community and work with other Oblates, as I work with many dif- ferent groups and individuals, as I try to be a witness to the Good News in the ordinary events of my life and as I learn and am enriched by those I work with.

Jeremiah is never far from me. Like him, I often feel very reluctant and inadequate. But then I hear the words that he heard; “Do not say that you are too young. Go to those to whom I send you and tell them all that I told you. Do not be afraid, I am with you to protect you.”

I heard an Oblate use this phrase to describe his ministry, “I am simply keeping the rumour of God alive!” As my Oblate journey continues to unfold each day, I would like to think that this is what I am doing through my daily life and ministry.