400th anniversary of Oratorian constitutions
Blogged by James Preece on 28th February 2012
From L’Osservatore Romano via CatholicCulture.org
“The holy Father Philip would direct with paternal inspiration the spirit and will of each one of his sons, in accordance with the temperament of each, considering himself satisfied to see them fired by piety and fervent in the love of Christ,” the constitutions state. “Only gradually and with gentle tact did he continue to test and to ascertain as a manifestation of the Lord's will what, by daily experience, was congenial and useful to them, day after day, in the achievement of holiness. And he would say persuasively that this kind of life really was especially suited to secular priests and lay people, and was in conformity with the divine will.”
[link]
Gradually and with gentle tact...
Perhaps they are referring to the famous incident when St Philip turned up in the middle of the night with no warning and sent people away indefinitely for being entirely guiltless of any wrong-doing whatsoever.
Reader Comments
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Basil said...
One could also raise the question of frail, elderly Oratorians being moved from their home and stuck in a nursing home because the Provost doesn't like old people. When the same, frail Oratorian died a few weeks later - as often happens when the elderly are moved - his Provost was too busy to even attend the funeral.
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Clara said...
I think you should find out the facts before putting such a stupid post on this blog. The frail Oratorian concerned required 24hour nursing care. His brethren are not trained nurses so were unable to provide the necessary care that was required. His brethren visited him daily and were devastated when he died. Unfortunately his Provost was unable to attend the funeral as he was out of the country at the time. Judge not lest you be judged.
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Basildon said...
Oh come on Clara! Even if what you say about the need for 24hr care were true (which is doubtful), Fr Gregory could have been allowed to stay in the church he had given much of his long life to. Nurses could have been employed to come in. His remaining brethren might have been devastated, but that does not explain the reaction of their non-resident Provost. You have to ask yourself the question - WHY was he abroad for the funeral? In the modern world planes are easy to catch, especially with the amount of notice which he had between the death and the funeral. What a disgrace.
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