News Archives » OMI Novices
Walking Together in Formation in Guatemala January 21st, 2026
Fr. Daniel LeBlanc, OMI spent the week of January 12th to 17th in Guatemala with Oblate novices from several Provinces. The themes of the presentations were centered on Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation, Oblate partnership with VIVAT International, the role and work of Non/Governmental Organizations and the Social Doctrine of the Church. It was a wonderful experience and time.
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.
(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 January’s Ecological Conversion Field Trip with OMI Novices February 10th, 2025
We visited a most unusual building to learn about about another aspect of ecological conversion; from throwaway construction to a life-sustaining built environment. The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center in East Alton, Illinois is LEED Gold certified, so it has demonstrated commitment to sustainable practices; for example, all the materials to build it were sourced within 500 miles and recycled materials were used throughout the construction including 100% recycled material in the rubber floor tiles, in the glass countertops, insulation made from recycled newspaper and paper, and 90% of construction-related waste was recycled.
Our tour guide Erica proved to be a marvelous educator, not only teaching about the building, but also helping us to understand the research and conservation outreach mission of the Center. In the picture above, Erica explained a project she created: kits for classrooms that contain tools and activities to teach youth about our living landscape. So, we learned about yet another aspect of ecological conversion: from treating landscape as static scenery to engaging with it as it changes and supports a range of wildlife, where plants and animals interact, functioning as a thriving ecosystem.
We continued our education on the green roof which grows native plants familiar to us on the bluff top at the Novitiate. In the photo Erica is explaining the roof’s construction which is made up of many layers and is handicap accessible! With its green roof, native landscaping and limestone walls, the building complements the surrounding environment, minimizing visual intrusion on the landscape.
In Laudato Si, Pope Francis encouraged “the construction and repair of buildings aimed at reducing their energy consumption and levels of pollution.” We were impressed with this example of green building as it shows one way to a sustainable future.
Reflection on December’s Ecological Conversion Field Trip with OMI Novices January 14th, 2025
Contributed by Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, Director of Oblate Ecological Initiative
We visited Treehouse Wildlife Center mid-December to experience a community dedicated to the rehabilitation of injured wildlife. TreeHouse exemplifies the spirit of Laudato Si which calls us to shift from the exploitation of other species to treating them as beings “with intrinsic value, apart from their usefulness to us”. Anyone can bring an injured animal to this center, and it will be treated as “brother or sister” in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi.
Reflection on October’s Field Trip with OMI Novices November 8th, 2024
Contributed by Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, Director, La Vista Ecological Learning Center
Novices Alfred, Michael, Eliakim and Edwin (L to R) are pictured here in Great Rivers Park by a monument
honoring Godfrey, IL’s first mayor.
Carved into stone is a Native American quote, “The Circle of Life teaches we are all the children of the Earth. May we leave the Earth a better place than what was left for us.”
This quote reflects the mayor’s life as well as the life and service of the man we were to meet next.
This park is adjacent to the Great Rivers Land Trust, the destination for our trip, as we set out to explore ecological conversion from exploitation of land to “responsible stewardship” (Laudato Si, 116) Alley Ringhausen, who has been Executive Director of GRLT for 25 years, is a living example of a responsible steward. Under his leadership, five thousand acres along the Mississippi River bluff corridor has been preserved in perpetuity, protecting a thriving ecological habitat of oak and hickory forests and unique hill prairies. Home to migratory birds like the American bald eagle and the white pelican, those acres are an invaluable asset for wildlife. Were it not for the GRLT the hill prairies and forests might only be a memory, and several threatened and endangered species, along with many others, would have lost their habitat.
Ringhausen regaled us with stories of his cunning acquisition of land which often took many years to accomplish. Reflecting on his presentation, the novices wisely noted that patience, foresight and deep commitment are hallmarks of responsible stewardship.
Finally, we returned to the Novitiate, which is a beneficiary of Ringhausen’s efforts, as more than 150 acres of there are preserved. Once again, we are grateful to OMI for longtime efforts to care for our common home.
