Delighting and Inviting

Jul 31

Like many of you, I am fortunate to have an incredible travel experience this summer that I will not soon forget. Right now, I am on a train to Geneva, Switzerland, my brother and I are heading back to the States after a powerful General Chapter. During this gathering, I connected with Oblates of St. Francis de Sales from around the world. We gathered in Annecy, France at our school, Saint Michel. We prayed, met, ate, and slept at Saint Michel. There are so many stories and insights to share, but I’ll focus on one experience for this reflection: the gathering table.

Right outside the doors of the school is a long table. As you can imagine, it was our favorite place to gather in the evenings. We gathered there and talked late into the night. From the table, you could see the gates of Saint-Michel and outside the gates, the old city of Annecy was just a 10-minute walk. After dinner, many Oblates would leave the school to walk the old city. If you have ever seen pictures of Annecy, you know her beauty and that you walk back in time on her streets and canals.

Each day, after the sunset, we sat at that outdoor table, and we would cheer as Oblates came back to Saint-Michel. From a distance, you would only see an outline of a person and before we could even recognize the Oblate, we would yell: “Come! Sit down and join us at the table.” Only after the invitation did we discover who it was. We delighted before we recognized. We invited before we knew.

There are many things that I need to pray on following the General Chapter, but I think I’m going to start with the lessons I learned at that gathering table: the powerful experience of delighting and inviting. I’m going to start there.

May God be praised!

Learn more about the General Chapter