The Volunteers of God, a group affiliated with the Secular Institute The Oblates Missionaries of Mary Immaculate, commit themselves annually to live 5 attitudes of evangelical life in their environment.

With the members of this group spread across Quebec, Canada, the United States and many other countries of the world, I allow myself to dream of peace, one day.

These are difficult times for all of us in terms of the violence that is spreading around the world.

The Volunteers of God, convinced of the need to be a source of peace, believe in the power of the Word of God in one of its beatitudes: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.ˮ Mt 5:9

By meditating on this Word, they become aware that they belong to this God of Love. They discover, as time goes by, that this peace of Christ is a strength. They know that they will live it in the midst of the upheavals of the world. But energized by the power of the Spirit, they want to announce it to those around them, since it transforms actions into benefits. Pope Francis' message in Bethlehem on May 25, 2022 was clear: “Building peace is difficult, but living without peace is a torment. ˮ

In order to live this ideal, the Volunteers of God live in the presence of God, putting their trust in his Spirit. I allow myself to dream of peace with them by concluding with a phrase from our founder: “Peace is impossible if we do not feel the life of God in the center of our being.” Taken from the book: In the Footsteps of Jesus, 1993, page 128, by Father Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I.

Réjeanne Allard, Oblate




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