About Why
spiffybee asked a question about Final Oblations:
The Director of Oblates is to add the names and addresses of new Oblate novices to the Oblate mailing list as soon as possible. He should file away the blue cards in the file of Oblate novices...He should make out a white card for each new Oblate and file away the white cards in the file of currently active Oblates.
Watching Oblations I can tell you, it may not look like a whole lotta "whoopdee" but it's all in what you make it. You stand before the Abbot and make your final declaration/oblation. There is a certificate to sign which you read aloud to all of the other Oblates/Novices and the Oblate Director as well as the Abbott (or Abbess, or Prioress, depending upon your affiliation). It is the culmination of at least a full year of sweat (or at least it should be some sweat!) and prayer.
In order to keep building our community and keep our prayer life active and fulfilled we have a quarterly meeting at the Abbey specifically for Oblates (Oblate Sunday). At that time, a speaker comes to help direct some thought by speaking on a particular topic. This quarter's topic was Freedom. Last Quarter it was on the Eastern Rite and the quarter before that was on Creativity (we got to play with clay with the former Abbess of St Placid).
One of the pieces that Brother Edmund gave me to read last quarter had to do with "Why"... Why do you choose to be an Oblate? A reason suggested had to do with fellowship in support of my prayer and spiritual life. I have that in spades with my fellow Benedictines at my church. Weekly we gather for Evening Prayer. I've taken on the resposibility of assigning roles for this weekly ritual. We are striving to perform this ministry to our parish as well as form our own support group for prayer and spirituality.
Monthly, we have a Benedictine Spirituality meeting in which we meet among ourselves (it is open to anyone who wants to come and advertised in The Catholic Progress) to discuss those portions of our spiritual life that we are working through, developing, enjoying. These include, Liturgy of the Hours, Lectio Divina, and studying the Rule of St Benedict. When you have more people doing this together, it works!
I am trying to plan a little huzzah for our next Novice to make her final Oblations but she keeps putting it off (: I'm sure she'll tell me when she plans to do it so that we can all do something special for her at our next Benedictine Spirituality group. I think that's the most important bit, to find a group who will support you, hug you, congratulate you and pick you up when you're needing it.
Final Oblations are a private affair within what St Maria Benedicta calls "the Hidden Life" so when you DO get around to making that leap to give yourself to God, it's pretty overwhelming.
The glow on the woman's face who made her final Oblation on Sunday looked pretty fabulous.
The Director of Oblates is to add the names and addresses of new Oblate novices to the Oblate mailing list as soon as possible. He should file away the blue cards in the file of Oblate novices...He should make out a white card for each new Oblate and file away the white cards in the file of currently active Oblates.
Watching Oblations I can tell you, it may not look like a whole lotta "whoopdee" but it's all in what you make it. You stand before the Abbot and make your final declaration/oblation. There is a certificate to sign which you read aloud to all of the other Oblates/Novices and the Oblate Director as well as the Abbott (or Abbess, or Prioress, depending upon your affiliation). It is the culmination of at least a full year of sweat (or at least it should be some sweat!) and prayer.
In order to keep building our community and keep our prayer life active and fulfilled we have a quarterly meeting at the Abbey specifically for Oblates (Oblate Sunday). At that time, a speaker comes to help direct some thought by speaking on a particular topic. This quarter's topic was Freedom. Last Quarter it was on the Eastern Rite and the quarter before that was on Creativity (we got to play with clay with the former Abbess of St Placid).
One of the pieces that Brother Edmund gave me to read last quarter had to do with "Why"... Why do you choose to be an Oblate? A reason suggested had to do with fellowship in support of my prayer and spiritual life. I have that in spades with my fellow Benedictines at my church. Weekly we gather for Evening Prayer. I've taken on the resposibility of assigning roles for this weekly ritual. We are striving to perform this ministry to our parish as well as form our own support group for prayer and spirituality.
Monthly, we have a Benedictine Spirituality meeting in which we meet among ourselves (it is open to anyone who wants to come and advertised in The Catholic Progress) to discuss those portions of our spiritual life that we are working through, developing, enjoying. These include, Liturgy of the Hours, Lectio Divina, and studying the Rule of St Benedict. When you have more people doing this together, it works!
I am trying to plan a little huzzah for our next Novice to make her final Oblations but she keeps putting it off (: I'm sure she'll tell me when she plans to do it so that we can all do something special for her at our next Benedictine Spirituality group. I think that's the most important bit, to find a group who will support you, hug you, congratulate you and pick you up when you're needing it.
Final Oblations are a private affair within what St Maria Benedicta calls "the Hidden Life" so when you DO get around to making that leap to give yourself to God, it's pretty overwhelming.
The glow on the woman's face who made her final Oblation on Sunday looked pretty fabulous.