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In Action: OMI Come & See Program, Bangladesh June 24th, 2025

In the Spirit of the Laudato Si, Fr. Valentine Talang, OMI, Fr. Pius Pohdueng, OMI and 14 young men who have expressed an initial desire to become Oblates and are following the OMI Come & See Program 2025, planted trees on OMI property at London Punjee (village), Lokhipur, Bangladesh.
 
Fr. Valentine was appointed moderator of the week’s Come & See Program.
 
Through this program the OMI Bangladesh Delegation recruits college and university students to become Oblates.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in: News


Students from Zambia Explore “What Is Happening to Our Common Home” June 17th, 2025

(Contributed by Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, Director La Vista Ecological Learning Center)

Fr David P Chisha, OMI, a novice at Immaculate Heart of Mary Novitiate in 2018, remembered learning about the impact of plastic pollution on people and planet during that year. Now a priest at Sancta Maria Mission in Zambia, he decided to invite me to share this information with parish youth; so, on May 12th we met via Zoom to discuss what is happening to our common home around the issue of plastic pollution.
Fr Chisha chose this as our topic because in Lukulu, Zambia it is common practice to throw plastic bags and bottles on the ground since waste management is not in the picture yet. We discussed the impact of this common practice, and when I mentioned that globally an enormous amount of plastic ends up in rivers and ultimately in the ocean where it breaks down into microplastics and is eaten by fish which are then eaten by humans, the young people resonated. Lukulu is located on the Zambezi River which flows into the Indian Ocean, and fish are an important part of their diet.
 
When we considered what they could do about plastic pollution, they recalled Fr Chisha encouraging them to take a basket to market as people used to do instead of accepting a plastic bag. Raphel, one of the participants, decided it was worth looking “old-fashioned”; in addition, if someone comments, he plans on sharing the reason for his behavior! Alice, also a participant, intends to bring this issue to school to see if she can make a difference there. And Fr Chisha has already begun his efforts by creating “The Voice of the Future”, a podcast on environmental issues with parish youth as guests!
 
(Click on the link to watch their first podcast about plastic: https://www.facebook.com/sanctamaria.mission/videos/451320151375694)
 
In Laudato Si, Pope Francis asked, “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” It was heartening to be with the youth he was concerned about, and it was also encouraging to be with youth and their priest who passionately care for our common home in the spirit of Pope Francis.
 
(Image 1 L to R: Raphael, Julian, Alice, Father David Chisha, OMI via Zoom)

(Image 2 Photo by Kabwe Kabwe: Pexels)
 
 

May – Heartfelt Reflections from OMI Novices, Reflection 4 by Br. Alfred Lungu May 19th, 2025

Introduced by Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, Director, La Vista Ecological Learning Center

This Novitiate year we have been immersed in Pope Francis’ words as they come to us in his encyclical Laudato Si. As we ended our time together here at Immaculate Heart of Mary Novitiate in April, the Novices offered to share their thoughts about ecological conversion as described in Laudato Si. May their words honor the memory of Pope Francis.

A Personal Reflection by Br. Alfred Lungu

Young man standing up amidst slim cherry blossom treeFinding our purpose can be hard today. Have we taken time to wonder about our role in the world and how we relate to people, nature, and animals? Why are humans so important on this planet? We need to think about this. Because some of our brothers and sisters have left this beautiful planet without resolving these problems.

It’s not too late to change how we see things. We can build a world that helps all life. What we do affects the Earth and other creatures. Nature and its animals are part of our world too. It’s wrong to treat them like they’re just for us to use (essential commodities). In fact, Pope Francis, calls them “Our brothers and sisters.” It’s upsetting to see how we ignore other species to get rich. If money drives these actions, we need to rethink things.

We all have a job to protect the Earth. It’s not ours forever; future generations will get it. So, we must make a safe and good place for them. If we don’t care for our planet, the damage can’t be fixed.

Everything in creation matters—nature, animals, and people. We must respect all life. Money is important, but we shouldn’t treat other living things like objects to be used and trashed. We need to think about why we’re here and make sure our actions protect the Earth.

(Image by Tung Lam from Pixabay)Group of children one holding a small globe

 


May – Being in Solidarity with the Poor, OMI Novice Br. Eliakim Mbenda, Reflection 3 May 13th, 2025

Introduced by Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, Director, La Vista Ecological Learning Center

La Vista joins all those on our planet who are feeling the great loss of Pope Francis who heard the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor and acted on what he heard in a most remarkable way.

This Novitiate year we have been immersed in his words as they come to us in his encyclical Laudato Si. As we ended our time together here at Immaculate Heart of Mary Novitiate in April, the Novices offered to share their thoughts about ecological conversion as described in Laudato Si. May their words honor the memory of Pope Francis.

Being in Solidarity with the Poor by Br. Eliakim Mbenda

My novitiate period here in Godfrey, Illinois has been a wonderful experience. Siter Maxine has been of great help in giving us classes on Ecological Spirituality and helping us understand the importance of taking care of our environment (our property). She also took time to explain to us the encyclical document Laudato Si of Pope Francis, which I dearly love and respect.

(Br. Eliakim Mbenda)

What we call our common home is quite simple and natural. These are plants, animals, water, land and air. Taking care of our common home is our primary purpose of being on earth. God created us so that we may care for nature and in return nature may also care for us. It is a fact that we as human beings are sustained by the common home, which we neglect to care for and protect.

The common home is being damaged by ourselves due to lack of care and concern. And so, the same treatment is what we are transferring to  ourselves, which is lack of care for one another. When we are damaging the common home, we are causing harm to the poor, our brothers and sisters.

This is happening because we are putting profit at the center of our journey. Instead, profit should not be at the center, but stay sustainable without causing damage to the water, land, air, plants and animals. This means that we should learn how to live wisely as a society not as an individual and learn how to work jointly with others. because when we do things just to feed our ego, we make our brothers and sisters who are less privileged to suffer more and more. Giving care to the land, water, plants and air is giving care and support to the poor.

Sunny woods with sunshine and large shiny leaf

(Image Ennaej from Pixabay)

It will be of greater help if we shift our mindset for something greater or for a mission. This means that we should avoid selfishness, because selfishness leads to the evaporation of the notion of the common good. We should change our mindsets from knowing everything to the mind that is able and willing to learn from other people. There is greater knowledge in learning from others. We should shift our minds of individual interest to the minds of the common purpose. We should move from being strong to the minds that shows vulnerability, compassion and humility. This means that we should give respect to the environment where we live. When the environment and everything that surrounds it is respected, then every person, poor or rich, is respected and protected as well.


READ E News and Eco-spirituality Calendar NEWSLETTER: https://bit.ly/4iVI0m3

Visit La Vista Ecological Learning Center‘s Website: https://www.lavistaelc.org/

(Stay tuned for Reflection 4 by Br Alfred Lungu)


Reflection on March Ecological Conversion Session with OMI Novices April 8th, 2025

Contributed by Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, Director La Vista Ecological Learning Center

L to R: Edwin Silwimba, Alfred Lungu, Bro. Francois, Mike Katona, Eliakim Mbenda

 
For our final session this “year” we stayed at home so we could connect with Br. Francois Balga Goldong, a remarkable OMI brother who is from Cameroon and is currently studying in the Philippines.
 
After viewing the documentary, Fleeing Climate Change: the Real Environmental Disaster (https://bit.ly/4jmi9UO), Francois was so moved that he felt impelled to write his thoughts in an article he entitled “The Urgent Mission of Religious Congregations in Caring for the Earth” ( https://bit.ly/43E6ZpV). We viewed the video and were also moved by the way that rising sea levels in Indonesia, melting permafrost in the Arctic, extreme heat and drought in Cameroon, and desertification in the Sahel, are resulting in the mass migration of, “climate migrants”. Francois told us he is familiar with the crisis, having experienced heat and drought in Cameroon. He shared that he was now experiencing climate change effects in the Philippines in the form of flooding from rising seas levels and increased intensity of typhoons.
 
The novices were all ears when Francois spoke, since he is close to their age, has experienced climate change first hand, and had the courage to challenge the Congregation to a deeper response to the climate crisis. He said, “The documentary…presents a stark reality: entire communities are being uprooted due to ecological degradation. As I reflect on this I feel compelled to explore whether ecological justice should be considered and essential part of our missionary identity, even if it has not traditionally been emphasized within our charism”.

Even though it was the wee hours of the morning in the Philippines, Francois had the energy to share the urgency he feels about the many people around the world who are facing climate migration, saying, “The question is not whether we should act, but how we will act. If we, as religious, do not take this crisis seriously, who will? We cannot afford to delay, for the earth and its most vulnerable inhabitants are crying out for justice. By embracing this call, we as Oblates will continue to be true to our missionary identity bringing hope to the most vulnerable and witnessing to God’s love in a world in crisis.”
 
We ended our time feeling blessed by the witness of a young Oblate who is tuned in to the reality of the climate crisis and who had the courage to write his thoughts, resulting in our meeting across the miles and supporting one another. Since we met in March, Brother Francois has also written ” The Three ” H”, Integrating ” Head, Heart, and Hands”: A New Culture of Response to Ecological Conversion”. I invite you to support him by reading his inspiring article and enjoying the photo of his garden, pictured here
 
Br. Francois’ article: https://bit.ly/43E6ZpV
 
READ La Vista’s E News & Eco-spirituality Calendar: https://bit.ly/3XATuU7

 

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