History Has Its Eyes on Us
by Vicky Otto, Precious Blood Companions Director
The poet Walt Whitman wrote, “O me! O life! Of
the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains
of the faithless…of cities filled with the foolish; what
good amid these, O Me, O life? Answer, that you are
here—that life exists, and identity, that powerful play
goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the
powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.
What will your verse be?” Looking into the future
allows us to dream and imagine what the future may
be, and if we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit the
possibilities can be endless and the future shines with
hope. Today I ask you to just sit back for a moment
and dream. “That the powerful play goes on and you
may contribute a verse.” What will our verse be?
As a Companion, I find looking into the fu-
ture comes easily, because thanks to a dream, that
is how the Companion movement was created.
People—many who are sitting in the room today—
looked int o the future and dreamt of a way for lay
men and women to enter into relationship with the
Missionaries of the Precious Blood and work side
by side with them, animated by the charism of Saint
Gaspar. I stand here today—along with the over five
hundred Companions across the United States—be-
cause people had the courage to dream big and work
to make that dream a reality. It is that same spirit
that allows me to continue to build on the dream that
began over 25 years ago.
What verses would I add to our dreams and hopes
for the future? The first verse would be that all our
covenanted Companions are living out our vision
statement: stepping out, standing up and speaking
clearly about the Precious Blood of Jesus. Our world
desperately needs the healing of inclusion and rec-
onciliation that our spirituality offers. My hope is the
Companions will continue to be courageous and bold
enough to speak out and share these sentiments with
the world through all the ways they minister, that they
stand ready and able to be a source of evangelization
in the community and throughout our country. Our
community may be small but our spirituality is big
and is desperately needed today. Companions can
help to make the Missionaries of the Precious Blood a
resource of reconciliation and renewal in the Church.
They can continue to live out their spirituality through
their outreach to the communities in which they live
and serve; continue to honor and foster their relation-
ships with all the Missionaries of the Precious Blood;
and join with Missionaries in ministry around the
country as we stand with those who are on the mar-
gins, those who long for a place where they can feel
safe and feel loved.
The second
verse is that
lay associates
around the
world can come
together to form
community with
the hope that we
can learn from
and support
each other in
our ministries.
I learned when
I was at the
Community Life
Symposium in
Liturgical Celebration during the gathering
Rome, that
at Techny Towers
lay associates
are defined in
different ways across the congregation. Despite this,
there are talents and gifts that can be shared for the
benefit of the community. We can learn and support
each other in our various ministries as lay people in
the world today. And we can support each other and
as we work with our brothers in this congregation.
The third verse is my dream that youth and young
men and women will eagerly discern and answer a
calling to become a Companion. As a community, we
need these voices to remain relevant in the world to-
day. How do we widen our circles to a younger genera-
tion? How do we widen our circles when these voices
want to share their gifts and talents and are often told
that “This is the way we have always done it?” We must
be willing to step out and form these new relationships
that may challenge and push us. We must form rela-
tionships that not only help youth and young adults,
but help us to grow as well. We can and we must work
now to find a way where we can build these relation-
ships which allow all voices to be heard.
continued on page 8
November 2017 • The New Wine Press • 7