"Cat
napping in the midday shade in Marpissa" by Varmazis
List of changes to this web site and my companion Oblate Blog. We are in the "weeks after Pentecost" as this time used to be called -- rather than the current name of ordinary time (meaning "numbered"). I prefer to call this time by it name that links this time to Pentecost - the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the founding of the Church.
July 14, 2010
A new series of home shrine photos has been added to the Oblate Spring website page on how to set up a prayer corner or home altar/shrine.
An interview with Barb has been added to the Oblate Spring website. This is one of two interviews with experts in holding Benedictine gatherings/meetings in the home. The first interview was with Julia in Texas.
July 11, 2010
Added information, pictures, and links related to how to set up Prayer Corners, Home Shrines, Home Altars, Mary Gardens. See the Prayer Corners and Home Shrines page. Here is the list of 48 items a prayer corner or home altar might have.
June 26, 2010
Oblate Spring's Interview with Julia Smead about having a Benedictine Gathering in your home or church. Read the Oblate Spring's interview with Julia Smead.
January 11, 2010
Added in the England section of the Oblates' Newsletter page that Douai Abbey, England, has Oblate Chapters in Woolhampton, Norwich, the West Midlands, London, and is planning one for Ormskirk, Lancs.
January 10, 2010
Added the Benedictine-Oblates.net web site to a new section titled "Web sites by other oblates" on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and created a new section on the Page 4, Links to Oblate Resources, titled WEBSITES BY OTHER BENEDICTINE OBLATES.
From the Benedictine-Oblates.net 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."
January 5, 2010
St. Meinrad Archabbey uses social media to stay connected is my Examiner.com article about how Saint Meinrad uses virtually every social media known to monks to help people stay connected with Saint Meinrad, its monastic life, and Benedictine spirituality. And there's a map to the abbey. I love maps!
January 2, 2010
Added web page "Benedictine Oblate Newsletters & Programs" to this Oblate Spring web site. The new page has links to the newsletters published by oblate programs at monasteries, links the monasteries' main web site, and links to maps of the monasteries' locations. Take an Internet pilgrimage.
Added
A Catholic Calling
blog to the "Blogs by other Oblates" section of the right sidebar of
the
Oblate Blog and to the
List of Blogs.
December 29, 2009
St. Leo Abbey, Florida, Beauty, Balance, Benedictine is an information-packed article about St. Leo Abbey, what it is, where it came from, what it does, it even has something for the Carmelites. This helpful article has been added to my Benedictine Monastic Spirituality Examiner pages on Examiner.com.
December 20, 2009
The
Following Hard After Christ blog and the
Monks and Mermaids blog were added to the "Spiritual & Religious
Blogs" section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and were also
added to the
List
of Blogs.
December 13, 2009
Abbey Style blog added to "More Than Meets the Eye" section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and also added to the List of Blogs on this web site.
November 7, 2009
In the
Lectio Divina resources section of the large index, added:
Link to an overview of lectio divina history from the Cistercian (Benedictine)
tradition along with Pope Benedict XVI's references to lectio divina and
a series of beautiful pictures.
November 6, 2009
Vultus Christi blog has been added to the "Spiritual & Religious Blogs" section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and also added to the List of Blogs on this web site.
October 25, 2009
Blued Eyed Ennis blog has been added to the "Spiritual & Religious Blogs" section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and also added to the List of Blogs on this web site.
October 25, 2009
Monastic Musings Too blog is the revised name of Monastic Musings and the name has been updated and the new url address has been fixed in the "Spiritual & Religious Blogs" section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and was also fixed in the List of Blogs on this web site.
October 23, 2009
Monastic Ponderings blog was added to the "Spiritual & Religious Blogs" section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and was also added to the List of Blogs on this web site.
October 15, 2009
Lectio divina resources were revised, clarified and expanded on this Oblate Spring web site's Expanded Index page.
September 13, 2009
Benedictine oblates: How to become an oblate, what oblates do was revised and reorganized.
September 12, 2009
Benedictine Monastic Spirituality Examiner -- Articles on Examiner.com
September 7, 2009
"Links to Oblate Resources" -- Reformatted and slightly expanded page 4 and page 4.1.
September 7, 2009
Added expanded description of lectio divina in the Expanded
Index of this web site. Also added links to three other
descriptions of lectio divina.
See
lectio divina section.
September 6, 2009
Add names of the two St. John's Abbey monks who translated the psalms for The Monastic Diurnal to the "Example of the Divine Office" page of this web site.
September 2, 2009
Added to the Oblate Spring "Example of the Divine Office" page:
Short history of The Monastic Diurnal, the classic and most beautiful Benedictine divine office book in English (also has Latin) published by St. Michael's Abbey, Farnborough, England.
August 16, 2009
Updated links for:
The votive blog was added to List of Blogs on this web site and to the "Spiritual & Religious" blogs section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog. [Blogs are listed in categories along the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and also listed in one long alphabetical list on the Oblate Spring web site here.]
The Photoblog for the vine blog was added in a new Video Divina (Sacred Viewing) section of the Oblate Blog and added to the List of Blogs on this web site.
The testimony of the author of the votive blog and the Photoblog for the vine was added to a new section on the right side bar of the Oblate Blog. The new section is: "votive, a testimony to God."
August 5, 2009
Added a new section to this web site
Benedictine Daily Prayer (BDP) — Tabs & Guide: How to use this popular book for praying the Benedictine divine office.
Materials for making tabs
These are the tabs I use and have found to be helpful
July 2, 2009
The votive blog was added to List of Blogs on this web site and to the "Spiritual & Religious" blogs section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog. [Blogs are listed in categories along the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and also listed in one long alphabetical list on the Oblate Spring web site here.]
The Photoblog for the vine blog was added in a new Video Divina (Sacred Viewing) section of the Oblate Blog and added to the List of Blogs on this web site.
The testimony of the author of the votive blog and the Photoblog for the vine was added to a new section on the right side bar of the Oblate Blog. The new section is: "votive, a testimony to God."
July 1, 2009
Added JS-Kits commenting to the Oblate Blog.
June 28, 2009
Added "Something Else" as a new section to the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog. This first Something Else is a WORDLE of recent blogs.
June 27, 2009
Added a "View Comments" link to the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog to give an easy way to read the past 25 comments made to the Oblate Blog. You can also subscribe in a feed to just the Comments by going to the feed page and then clicking on Subscribe to this Feed.
Added a "Search This Blog and Comments" box to right sidebar of the Oblate Blog to provide a way to search COMMENTS. The search box at the top of the BLOG only searches my posts.
Tonight I tried to locate a good comment on the OBLATE BLOG by Joe Rawls who writes the The Byzantine Anglo-Catholic Blog. I realized that I had no way to search for a comment on my blog. There may be better or easier ways than the one I added, but the new "Search This Blog and Comments" box will help me a lot. The box is a search of both Posts and Comments.
June 21, 2009
New poll was added on the Oblate Blog on familiarity with some monastic-related terms.
For the current open poll, go to the Oblate Blog and look on the right sidebar (the right side of the screen and scroll down). There is an archive of closed past polls from the Oblate Blog.
June 19, 2009
Revised and edited the KEY WORDS used in the Daily Monastic Key Word Google Reader Bundle on Benedictine Monasticism. This will eliminate some of the off-topic results. For example, I have tried to reduce the results which found stories about the St. Benedict College baseball team. Those stories use the term "St. Benedict" but are not of direct interest when I am looking for monastic topics. Yes, a story about monks playing baseball would be of interest!
June 11, 2009
Added a Daily Monastic Key Word Google Reader Bundle on Benedictine Monasticism to the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and on the Blog list page of the Oblate Spring web site. The Monastic Bundle is a web site where you can read current blog posts, web sites, and news articles using various KEY WORDS related to Benedictine monasticism. If the key word is used, the Google Alert will capture it and then display the item along with all other similar items in ONE HANDY LIST. Way cool for busy folks.
June 11, 2009
Added Under the Oak Blog on Irish Saints to the list of Blogs on Oblate Blog and on the list on the Oblate Spring here.
June 10, 2009
On the Oblate Blog the long list of labels (tags or index terms) has been replaced with a way-cool dropdown box I learned about from the http://www.bloggerbuster.com/ Thanks Blogger Buster.
If you want to check on a list of topics I have blogged about, look on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and you will see the "Labels Index Tags" heading.
June 7, 2009
Added a new poll on the Oblate Blog on renaming Ordinary Time to something, well, not so ordinary.
For the current open poll, go to the Oblate Blog and look on the right sidebar (the right side of the screen and scroll down). There is an archive of closed past polls from the Oblate Blog.
June 6, 2009
Added page to web site: Directions, map, and GPS coordinates for St. Leo Abbey, Florida, USA -- a wonderful place for a spiritual retreat by anyone of any faith, any time of the year.
Added direct link to map to St. Leo Abbey on Oblate Spring home page.
May 27, 2009
Added text on Vatican Documents on Monasticism page: Pope Benedict XVI's Vespers Discourse about St. Benedict
May 24, 2009
Added "Chimes: Time's Poetic Parallelism" to the Oblate Spring web site here. The page describes Hebrew parallelism in the Psalms and gives a history of the Big Ben Chimes including the words to this famous series of chimes.
May 19, 2009
New poll added on your favorite Psalms translation for praying the divine office -- on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and then look on the right sidebar (the right side of the screen and scroll down).
May 19, 2009
Added page containing an archive of closed past polls from the Oblate Blog. For the current open poll, go to the Oblate Blog and look on the right sidebar (the right side of the screen and scroll down)
May 16, 2009
On the Oblate Spring web site's Home page, added links to "Expanded Index" and "What's New" pages so returning visitors could find specific information faster than having to click to Enter the web site and then click again to get to the "Expanded Index" and "What's New" pages. These are the two pages I visit most often, and I thought it might help others too having a "one-click" solution.
April 7, 2009
Thousand Mile Journey blog by the gifted poet Amy has been added to the "Internet Friends' Blogs" section of of the Oblate Blog. [Blogs are listed in categories along the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and also listed in one long alphabetical list on the Oblate Spring web site here.]
April 4, 2009
Ecumenical Benedictine Oblate blog added to the "Other Oblate Blogs" section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog. [Blogs are listed in categories along the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and also listed in one long alphabetical list on the Oblate Spring web site here.]
April 3, 2009
Excerpts from "Benedictine Daily Prayer" and "The Monastic Diurnal" added to Oblate Spring web site page about breviaries.
April 1, 2009
Blogaim Anseo blog added to List of Blogs on this web site and to the "Spiritual & Religious" blogs section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog. [Blogs are listed in categories along the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and also listed in one long alphabetical list on the Oblate Spring web site here.]
Link to Servite Secular Order added to the List of Third Orders and similar groups on this web site.
March 27, 2009
Colorado Musing blog added to the "Other Oblate Blogs" section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog. [Blogs are listed in categories along the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and also listed in one long alphabetical list on the Oblate Spring web site here.]
March 25, 2009
Praying in the Body blog added to the "Other Oblate Blogs" section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog.[Blogs are listed in categories along the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog and also listed in one long alphabetical list on the Oblate Spring web site here.]
March 23, 2009
Celtic Soul blog added to the Spiritual & Religious blogs section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog
March 22, 2009
Living by the Rules blog added to the Spiritual & Religious blogs section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog
Communio blog added to the Spiritual & Religious blogs section of the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog
Added List of Third Orders, tertiaries, and confraternities to the Oblate Spring web site.
March 20, 2009
Alphabetical list of blogs and web sites listed on the Oblate Blog has been added to this Oblate Spring web site on a separate page for easy reference.
March 14, 2009
The Urban Abbey blog was added to the Christian Monastic Communities section on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog.
Also today, I had another great idea for this web site -- to make all the main text fonts black and then make all the links green throughout the web site. Yes, it was another one of the original flaws that existed when the web site was first made and I fixed this obvious defect today.
March 12, 2009
I have been running behind in new postings, but should catch up on the weekend.
February 21, 2009
Monastic Diurnal Helps added to the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog. Here is an explanation of the book "Monastic Diurnal."
February 14, 2009
The Catholic Blog added to the list of "Other Oblate Blogs" on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog.
Interrupting the Silence blog added to the list of Byzantine Anglo-Catholic Blogs on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog
December 24, 2008
In Persona Christi Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam blog added to list of "Spiritual & Religious Blogs" on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog
December 21, 2008
Ivars' Voice Blog added to the list of "Other Oblate Blogs" on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog. Be sure to look at Ivars' other blog on bird pictures.
December 17, 2008
"Vatican Documents on Monasticism" page on the Oblate Spring web site was revised by the addition of several new links.
Praying Daily blog added to list of "Spiritual & Religious Blogs" on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog
A Contemplative Life blog added to the list of "Other Oblate Blogs" on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog
December 16, 2008
Christian Books: Monasticism blog added to the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog as a separate topic.
December 15, 2008
This Moment blog added to the list of "Other Oblate Blogs" on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog
December 13, 2008 2:30 am
My Twitter added to the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog.
The "Comments" Widget (a list of comments made by people on the Oblate Blog) was removed because I could not get it to work.
December 12, 2008 6:30 PM
Average Joe Catholic blog which contains a Catechesis of the Popes -- added under the heading "Extensive Catholic Research Materials" on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog.
A "Comments" Widget (a list of comments made by people on the Oblate Blog) added to the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog.
December 10, 2008
Podcast links added to the "Links to Oblate Resources" section of the Oblate Spring web site:
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.
December 10, 2008
Subiaco Academy blog added to the list of "Spiritual & Religious Blogs" on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog.
My blog post of Dec. 9, "Good News, it’s really dark" was revised to add a new reference.
Oblation Journal blog about Eastern Orthodox oblates was added to the list of blogs on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog.
December 9, 2008
The Ora et Labora blog was one of the first oblate blogs I found and added to the list of other oblate blogs listed on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog. But, for some reason, I could not get my Blogger software to pickup the new posts like it did for the other blogs. I tried several times and it never showed when this fine blog was updated. Well, today I tried again and it worked. You will now be able to easily see when Ora et Labora blog has been updated.
December 8, 2008
Abbey of the Arts blog added to the list of "Other Oblate Blogs" on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog. I learned of this blog by the beautiful poem by Square Peg.
December 7, 2008 9:25 PM
Returning Catholics Blog added to the list of Other Oblate Blogs on the right sidebar of the Oblate Blog
December 7, 2008 8:30 PM
A poll was added about spiritual growth.
December 7, 2008
She Maunders blog added to Internet Friends' Blogs section of the Oblate Blog
December 3, 2008
"As an Oblate" blog added to the "Other Oblate Blogs" section of the Oblate Blog. Scroll down on the right side and look for **New** in the Other Oblate Blogs section.
November 27, 2008
The Expanded Index page was reformatted to make each entry a hyperlink. The previous format had the links in the description of the topic.
November 26, 2008:
The list of in-depth New Advent Encyclopedia articles on many monastic topics has been expanded by the addition of several new articles.
Several errors I made when doing the November 23rd revisions were corrected.
Several page designations were either wrong or did not make any sense! The obvious need to correct the work I did on Nov. 23 dawned on me when I realized that the first page people go to after the home page should be called page 1. Oh, boy.
The name of the Large Index was changed to Expanded Index.
The page previously called "Find information on Oblate Spring" was unclear --- at least one person thought it was information ABOUT the Oblate Spring web site. The page is now called "How to Use the Oblate Spring web site."
A change in the format of the Expanded Index has started. A bullet symbol will be inserted by each index entry.
November 23, 2008:
What I am Doing page added [This page was subsequently deleted because it tended to duplicate what I wrote on the Oblate Blog.]
Find Info on Oblate Spring page added
The top menu bar was revised and expanded
Links to several key monastic articles from the New Advent Encyclopedia added. These key articles are grouped in a handy list.
A link to the Find Info page was placed at the bottom of the home page to make it easy to get to the main indexes.
The About page was revised to add links to the Find Info page
Information on Lectio Divina was added to the Large Index for easier reference (it is also on Page 2)
A pretty butterfly picture was added to the First Book to Read page
Other pages were revised for clarity and better organization.
November 12, 2008 added the
Mini Index page
November 12, 2008 added the Large Index page
November 8, 2008
added page
Vatican on Monasticism