We lost a great pal and raconteur. May Arthur rest in peace!  Murph

Ideally I’d like this little OSFS necrology to be a collective effort. I’m almost finished at 100 pages, (I’ll go no further), and it’s just me. Now I haven’t extended myself but I’ll do so now. I am gathering sketches of Lost Friends, as listed on this site. If you have a favorite or old enemy, get in touch with me at murphyj11@verizon.net I can only remember about a third of those listed but my experiences were mostly brief. If you have any sketches, send them to me and I’ll ascribe the story to you. Xosfs too. Murph

Of all the xosfs you were the most stunning in your love of the Oblates. The youngest attendee.   God, you knew more than me! That’s a compliment. Thanks for your presence and the note on the blog.  I think another reunion is in the works. Murph

Tom Hallan and I have taken a few sojourns West in our days as Oblates.  We were always welcomed as brothers on our stops from Toledo to Salt Lake made to feel instantly at home.  We decided to take another journey since leaving the Oblates and priesthood to follow another call.  I had entered in '73, ordained in '81 and would not know many of the guys from the West.  But I also knew that we shared a common bond of spirituality and a heritage of old tales from Childs, Camp Brisson, North, Judge or De Sales Hall.  We also shared the lived experience of our struggles and triumphs since leaving religious life behind and choosing other roads less traveled.  I/we left not so much to reject the OSFS as to follow my/our own spirit-guides to where I/we believed I/we were called. 

We were made to feel at home again.  Old names were placed with new faces that had faded from memory. The old bonds of fellowship came to life again.  I had realized that I missed the fellowship of other men who shared a common life and who worked in the vineyard of ministry toward a common purpose.  I was edified by the love and  tenderness shared among those who knew each other years ago.  And I was grateful to see others from the East.  When I heard the voices, the accents of other men from Philly I knew I was among kindred spirits.

We stayed up late, lingered longer over the dinner table not just to catch-up but to connect or reconnect.  I was impressed that Ken McKenna took the time to really be with us.  Not only did he cook for us.  He also fed our desire to reconnect when he answered questions about Oblate formation for a new century.  I got goose bumps inside and thought that this was what religious life was supposed to be like after the Council. 

Then we began to discuss what we had been doing with our lives and the education with which we had been gifted these many years.  It was no surprise that many (if not most) of us were in helping professions of one form or another.  While proud of who we had been as OSFS we were equally proud of who we had become and the lives that have been enhanced by us, our wives, our families, our work and our friendships.  The only bit of sadness came when I thought of the opportunity the Order has lost by not having such talented and gifted men involved in some adjunct manner in it's current life and ministry.

I am grateful for the opportunity to share my own reflections and know that the next time we meet, others will feel just as welcomed, just as valued, just as loved.
Philip Cerrato

1. Hold the general gathering in a similar way that the one at Camp DeSales was held (start in the afternoon and run until the following day). Very little structure would be needed as it is mostly a time to mingle and share stories with people we haven’t seen in many years.
2. Provide for an optional gathering beginning a day in advance of the general gathering. This would be for those who would like to meet together in a more structured atmosphere. Input might come from us or those outside of our xosfs group. I won’t even attempt to suggest particulars, but I am sure we could come up with a worthwhile agenda.

Once again thanks for a very worthwhile gathering.

           The Reunion that Became  a  Jubilee

 In the Book of Leviticus, we read: “The 50^th year you shall make sacred… It shall be a jubilee for you”.

 The path chose us, bright eyed dreamers that we were. A hounding call,and faith, had flattened us fifty years ago, we were young and playful when we knew each other then. We rose from that marble floor with silver crosses around our necks, but left to stand our ground as teachers, lawyers, doctors, and sculptures of the Great Work.

 We gathered in Brooklyn, Michigan to eat and chat and remember our beginnings on Soyhiers Hill in Childs, Maryland. We lifted a toast to celebrate the way it went for all of us, and the way it is. In the chapel we stood together under the stained glass window of the Sacred Heart, and took the wheat that had been through mill, and grapes bruised into wine, and prayed: “May the Lord accept this sacrifice at our hands”. The way we felt was the only way we could feel: “overwhelmed with gratitude” that we were Oblates.