|
At the gate of the
monastery let there be placed a wise old man, who knows how to receive
and give a message, and whose maturity will prevent him from straying
about. From chapter 66 of the Rule of St. Benedict. |
This Mini Index is for people who want to find the Benedictine oblate essentials quickly. The Expanded Index contains many more links and summaries.
Mini Index
Benedictine Oblate and Benedictine Spirituality Topics
● Oblates What's an Oblate? Brief summary
An oblate is a person who makes an offering (the word oblate comes from "offering" or "gift") of his or her life to God at a monastery and follows the Rule of St. Benedict (read about below) as much as their state in live allows.
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How to use the Oblate Spring. Two options on how to locate
information contained on this web site.
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Benedictine
Spirituality
in PDF - An Overview
For many people it is the desire for a deeper spiritual life that causes them to open the door to this little-known and ancient part of the Catholic church.
Benedictine Spirituality drew me and my wife to the Catholic Benedictine monastery near our home. We knew something was there for us the minute we walked on the abbey grounds.
Benedictine spirituality is peace, tranquility, and rest in God. For us, we had travelled many years on a spiritual path, and this was like coming to the headwaters of the stream.
Benedictine spirituality is not something added to our lives, it was the conversion of our ordinary lives into a life for God: an oblation.
● About Oblate
Spring Purpose,
dedication
● Books
First book to read
about being an oblate.
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Blog my blog about my life as an oblate.
●
Benedict St.
Benedict
in PDF
St. Benedict of Nursia, Italy. Born at Nursia, c. 480 AD; died at Monte Cassino, Italy, 543 AD.
Benedict was author/compiler of a Rule for monks. The Rule consists of 73 short chapters on how to live in a monastery. Benedicts Rule became the foundation of western monasticism.
The Rule contains many Biblical principles for living the Christian life making the Rule easily used by oblates who do not live in a monastery. That's part of the wisdom we find in the Rule.Nursia (Latin) is now spelled Norcia in Italy and is pronounced "Nor - cha."
● Benedictine Monastic Spirituality Examiner -- Articles on Examiner.com
● Links
Oblate Resources (Page 4 of this web site) Essential & most basic resources are grouped by TOPICS . This is my list of KEY Internet Resources for new oblates and those interested in exploring oblate monasticism in depth. This is where to start a serious examination of oblates and monasticism.
● Oblate Resources
Essential In-Depth Documents
on Benedictine Monasticism
The opus dei ("work of God")
Guidelines For Oblates of St. BenedictOblate Manual from the Monastery of the Ascension
Oblate Formation Booklet Saint Vincent ArchabbeyJewish 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.
A set of requirements for monks to live together in a monastery under an abbot. Written about 530 AD. My favorite translation is this version of the Rule of St. Benedict. It has a gentle grace and beauty.
Short, simple, and with its principles expressed in frequent Biblical phrases and allusions, this Rule guides monasteries of monks and nuns all over the world today. Other than the Bible, the Rule of St. Benedict has been called the most important book for the development of European society and culture.
The Rule's principle are easily adaptable to "regular" Christians who are not monks or nuns.
● What's New at the Oblate Spring
Added and revised pages on this Oblate Spring web
site and the Oblate Blog, on page 6.
