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Internet resources for
Benedictine oblates
On page 4 and
4.1
you will find: [Reformatted]
Websites —
Four of the best overall websites for Benedictine oblates
Websites —
By other oblates. Visit the growing online community of web sites by other
Benedictine oblates around the world
Jan 10
Websites
— International — Non-English language web sites
Jan 10
Commentary
— on the Rule of St. Benedict for Benedictine
oblates
Encyclopedia
—
Monastic articles
Message board and Online Forums —
Monastic and Benedictine oblates
Podcasts
— online daily office, beautiful
Retreats
—
Find one near you
Monastery — Find one near you
Benedictine Spirituality and St. Benedict biography —
Overview of key facts and history.
Oblate Guides and
Manuals — In-depth foundational documents for Benedictine
oblates
Early Desert and
Monastic Fathers — Ancient authors you should know
Vatican
— Monastic documents from recent Popes
Books
— A basic Benedictine library
(on page 4.1)
Books
—
A list of Benedictine book
lists and where to buy
(on page 4.1)
Books
—
Most
influential books in my oblate growth
(on page 4.1)
Rule of St. Benedict
— My favorite translation (on page 4.1)
Books for the divine office
— My favorites
(on page 4.1)
BEST OVERALL WEB SITES FOR BENEDICTINE OBLATES
Order of St. Benedict. A major/primary resources for all things
Benedictine on the Internet. As a tip, look
at the entire site, that’s when I was able to find the
things that were of most interest to me.
Christ in the Desert Monastery
Excellence, depth, relevance. A desert
rose.
New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia
I have this classic work bookmarked on
my Windows toolbar on my computer. Having the
Encyclopedia just one mouse click away makes it easy
to look up virtually every Catholic topic.
"...widely considered to be the best Catholic
reference work in the English language." From
New Advent Store.
E-Benedictines - Online Guide to
St. Benedict
A good overview of St. Benedict
WEBSITES BY OTHER BENEDICTINE OBLATES
— Enjoy the growing online community of web
sites by other Benedictine oblates around the world
Benedictine-Oblates.net
From the web site:
"We are a small group of volunteer oblates from
various monasteries who, since the first World Oblates
Congress in 2005, have formed a team to act as a conduit
for information for oblates and thus established this
website for oblates and monastic communities, who may
wish to make use thereof.
"This site has been designed to provide information
about oblates and for oblates, and about the different
Benedictine monastic communities that exist in Great
Britain and Ireland."
INTERNATIONAL OBLATE WEBSITES
OBLATI Insieme Italty
French Benedictine Oblate Website
MONASTIC ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLES
Key monastic articles from
New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia:
Antiphon
Benedict of Nursia, Saint
-
His life and monasticism under his Rule.
Benedict, Medal of
-
Many rich traditions and history.
Benedict, Rule of Saint
-
The Rule for monks.
Benedictine Order -
Extensive history.
Compline -
My
favorite divine office. The last office of the day.
Divine Office -
Praying the Psalms and reading through the day according
to a traditional pattern.
Vigils -
Night watch and prayers
Nocturns
-
Historical development of Vigils
Lauds -
Morning Prayer
Vespers
-
Evening prayer
Compline
- My
favorite divine office. The last office of the day.
See also this article from Christ in the Desert
Monastery:
Jewish roots
— Brief summary of
how Jewish practices before Christ shaped the daily
prayer practices of the earliest Christians. These
are the roots of the divine office still prayed
today in Benedictine monasteries around the world.
Hermits
Monasteries in England, Suppression of
- Tragic history we still feel
today.
Suppression of Monasteries in
Continental Europe
Monasticism - A must read.
This ancient Christian
practice is closely associated with deep spirituality.
Monasticism, Eastern - A general survey.
Monasticism, Pre-Chalcedonian
- Must read for knowing the early Eastern practices
before 451 AD.
Monasticism, Western - OK, read this too,
major article.
Monk - Gives meanings of the
different terms.
Mystical Theology -
"extraordinary forms of prayer, the higher forms of
contemplation in all their varieties or gradations,
private revelations, visions, and the union growing out
of these between God and the soul, known as the mystical
union."
Before
St. Teresa of Avila
(a Carmelite) "mystics were concerned principally with
ecstasies, visions, and revelations." Part of the
reasons
St. Teresa is one of the most read mystics today
and most admired is that St Teresa "was the first to
attempt a scientific analysis of the process of mystical
union brought about by contemplation."
St Teresa of Avila
(another short overview)
Mysticism
- Don't worry
"mysticism" is not a bad word in the Catholic Church!
Throughout
history monastics, (monks, nuns, and sisters) have
carried the mystical traditions of the Church.
From the
New Advent Encyclopedia:
"To
some souls...even in the present life, God gives a
very special grace by which they are enabled to feel
His sensible presence; this is true mystical
contemplation. In this act, there
is no annihilation
or absorption of the creature into God, but God
becomes intimately present to the created mind and
this, enlightened by special illuminations,
contemplates with ineffable joy the Divine essence."
Rule of St. Benedict
--- Of course you must read this, it's the Rule!
VATICAN
MAILING LISTS AND MESSAGE BOARDS
Monastic Life Yahoo
Group
Fun, friendly, open, substantive teaching, well-run and
administered by
mature Benedictines, a perfect places for newbies.
My favorite message board/mailing list forum and where I post and have
received the best response is the first one listed,
Monastic Life.
Holy Rule Daily Meditation
by Brother Jerome Leo (Picture
of Brother Jerome).
Best Daily Online Commentary on the Rule of
St. Benedict as applied to oblate life:
This site illustrates the “small-world” character of the
Benedictine life. Brother Jerome Leo is a monk at St.
Mary Monastery in Petersham, Massachusetts. He
wrote/writes a daily commentary on the Rule. Everyone
wants his daily reflections so you will see them all
over the place — but that is good because his
reflections are often the best thing on any message
board. He is loved by all. I think his writing is some
of the best modern thought on the Benedictine monastic
life. He also has a mailing list that contains only his
daily reflections. He used to be a monk at St. Leo
Abbey and he frequently uses events/monks he knew to
illustrate a point. You can easily read his past
reflections on this site w hich contains only his
reflections. His reflections are an easy way to learn
the Rule and what it means to be an oblate.
OTHER MESSAGES BOARDS
AND ONLINE GROUPS AND FORUMS
Everyone has different tastes in discussion forums, here
are the ones I have found, most are not too active,
but a few are.
Just as John Soule said in 1851, "Go West, young man,
and grow up with the country, (which was popularized and
then attributed to Horace Greeley), I advise oblates
today, "Go on the Internet, young oblates, and grow up
in a new era of monasticism."
The Benedictine Way
Benedictine Daily Prayer
Online Daily Office -- Liturgy of the Hours
and Podcasts
Divine Office
online podcasts. Words and music of the divine
office right on your computer.
Monastery Podcasts Beautiful Lauds and Vespers
podcasts from a great Benedictine monastery.
Universalis.
When away from home and "out and about" I read
the Office of Readings at
Universalis.
when it is more
convenient to read on a handheld devise.
Use their calendar. I find the Universalis calendar very handy and keep a printed
copy with the "Benedictine Daily Prayer." It's a
good way to know which Psalm week we are in.
Keller Book.
Short Breviaries in 20th and 21st Century America.
"Source book for those who
have an interest in the breviary and its prayer."
Contains
charts and information on the structure of the
Divine Office in many publications.
FIND
A RETREAT USING THE LINKS LISTED BELOW
FIND A RETREAT
1. Benedictine Retreat Centers
2. Catholiclinks.org
3. Order of Saint Benedict Retreat Centers
4. RetreatFinder.com
5. Lists of religious orders. You might also find
more — out of the way — retreats by finding a
monastery or group near where you live by using this
alternate list:
Order of St. Benedict
Confederation,
Anglican Benedictines,
Camaldolese Hermits of
Monte Corona,
The Carthusians (hermits),
The Cistercians and
Trappists,
The Friends of St.
Benedict,
The Lay Community of Saint
Benedict,
Orthodox Monasteries and
Monasticism
6. The wider circle
of spiritual retreats.
If your circle of interests extends beyond the
Benedictine, you might find a spiritual retreat
at “Find
the Divine” which has a
large list of other
forms of spiritual retreats as well.
7. Florida, USA,
Spiritual Retreats at St. Leo Abbey, Catholic
Benedictine Monks
Map
—
Directions, map, and GPS coordinates.
For spiritual retreats and praying the divine
office with the monks, find a time of rest on
holy ground. For anyone of any faith or
denomination, anytime of the year.
Contact information page.
8. Getting started
on a spiritual path to a deeper, fuller life of
peace:
My wife and I
can trace our path to becoming Benedictine
oblates through some private retreats we planned
on our own at nonreligious places of
tranquility.
FIND YOUR MONASTERY
Find a Benedictine monastery:
Order of St. Benedict Confederation
A
More
General List:
I f you want to
explore other groups, Catholic and non-Catholic, try the following
list:
Anglican Benedictines
Camaldolese Hermits of Monte Corona
The Carthusians (hermits)
The Cistercians and Trappists
The Friends of St. Benedict
The Lay Community of Saint Benedict
Orthodox Monasteries and Monasticism
OVERVIEW -- SPIRITUALITY AND ST.
BENEDICT BIOGRAPHY
Benedictine Spirituality
and St. Benedict's biography.
An
eight-page PDF of the key elements of
what makes Benedictine spirituality a powerful
presence during the last 1,500 years. The
second part of the PDF document gives the most
memorable and important parts of St. Benedict's
life (480 - 543 AD).
IN-DEPTH HISTORY,
HANDBOOKS, OBLATE MANUAL
Essential In-Depth Documents
on Benedictine Oblate Programs
Jewish roots —
Brief summary of how Jewish practices before Christ shaped
the daily prayer practices of the earliest Christians. These
are the roots of the divine office still prayed today in
Benedictine monasteries around the world.
Good overall monastic web site —
Christ in the Desert. This is the
monastery that was featured in the TV show the Monastery
in 2006. The material written by the Abbot especially
has that great monastic feel about it -- to me at least.
The classic
1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
at New Advent. I use this
almost like a dictionary and it has lots of articles on
monasticism and St. Benedict and the Divine Office, etc.
Put the New Advent Link on your toolbar so it is
available with just one click of the mouse, as you come
to new terms, just look them up on New Advent.
Nothing is better or as complete. They knew how to
write encyclopedias in 1913.
MORE IN DEPTH:
The history of
"Oblates in Western Monasticism,"
by Derek G. Smith.
This is an in-depth long
article
about
which monasteries had oblates during
the development of monasticism in the West.
My favorite points made by this article are following:
1. Throughout the long history of oblates in the
West, the number of oblates has always expanded
during times when monasteries "placed primary
emphasis on contemplative prayer and a life of
silence." We are seeing the effects of Vatican
II to help turn the church to a "serious commitment
to simple, humble monastic prayer." This has
been a factor -- often repeated in history -- for
the large increase in the number of oblates now.
2. And this pleasing quote that looks to the
future, "The free and supple structure of oblature
adapts well to a wide variety of religious
temperament and social circumstance. It seems to
present marvelous and large opportunities for the
life of intensive Christian meditation and prayer;
it is a rich inheritor of, and contributor to, the
life of evangelical humility and simplicity
envisioned by Our Holy Father [St.] Benedict, a man
of God for all times."
Early
Desert and Monastic Fathers — Ancient authors you should
know
VATICAN DOCUMENTS ON MONASTICISM
These are long documents from the Vatican, often
by Pope John Paul II or Benedict XVI. These
will appeal mostly to those who want to spend
considerable time in monastic study -- but who knows
-- these may be just the words that might make
someone want to explore the world of monasticism.
Go to Page
4.1 For Continued Links to Oblate Resources
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