Oblates of St. Benedict are Christian men and women who choose to associate themselves with a Benedictine religious community in order to strengthen their baptismal commitment and enrich their Christian way of life. The life of any Christian is a self-offering to God in gratitude and in loving response to the God who has first so lovingly and graciously offered Himself to us in Jesus Christ. "Oblation" means offering. Oblates seek to offer themselves more fully to Christ and to the Church by pondering the wisdom found in the Rule of St. Benedict and by entering into fellowship with their community of affiliation. By these means Oblates discover ever anew that God calls us to holiness of life and that the Rule and the Benedictine community can be instruments of God's grace in their vocation to become holy in the world.
Oblates do not take vows or live in a monastery. They continue to live in the world while they strive eagerly to live out the values of the Gospel. On the other hand, they do make promises to seek God more intensely through the principles of the Rule of St. Benedict and in partnership with the monks or sisters of the Benedictine community with which they are affiliated. Oblates may be single lay people, married lay people, or secular clergy. Whatever their state in life, Oblates have discerned a call to deepen their Christian commitment through association with a Benedictine religious community. In their promise to live according to the spirit of the Rule, they commit themselves to seek God above all things and to prefer Christ to all else in the ordinary circumstances of their lives. This commitment is meant not only to enhance their personal spirituality but also to help them become better witnesses of Christ by word and example, just as it is the role of vowed religious to give witness to Christian values that the secular world tends to ignore or reject.
Unlike members of third orders, Oblates do not adhere to a distinct rule of their own, nor are they bound to a specific set of religious practices. They do, however, promise to "dedicate [themselves] to the service of God and neighbor according to the Rule of St. Benedict, insofar as [their] state in life permits" (ceremony of Oblation). This promise does involve a personal commitment to nurture the specific values contained in the Rule and to make some time in one's schedule for the Liturgy of the Hours and the holy reading of Scripture (see below).
Information about the life of St. Benedict comes from Book II of the Dialogues by Pope St. Gregory the Great (590-604). Benedict was born about the year 480 A.D. in Nursia, a small town north of Rome, Italy. Although he was sent to Rome for higher education, the youth soon abandoned his studies because of the atmosphere of moral corruption in the big city. He went to live as a hermit for several years at a place called Subiaco, where in time he acquired a reputation for holiness and miracles. Attracting many followers, he established monastic communities at Subiaco and then moved on to Monte Cassino about 529 A.D. It was at Monte Cassino that Benedict wrote the Rule, which combined fidelity to the best traditions of Christian monasticism with a spirit of moderation and of remarkable concern for the individual monk. During the following centuries, the monastic way of life outlined in the Rule spread throughout Europe, and Benedictine monasteries became centers of prayer, culture, and education.
The Rule (Chapter 59) mentions that monasteries could accept young boys, who were "offered' to them by their parents for their religious training and education. These boys lived in the community, shared its daily round of religious activities, and became known as "Oblates." In the course of time, adult lay people asked to be associated with the prayer and work of the monks, even while they remained with their homes, families, and secular occupations. Over the centuries such informal arrangements became more formalized, and these "secular Oblates" were officially received in a ceremony as they offered themselves to God and promised to regulate their lives according to the spirit of the Rule of St. Benedict. These Oblates prayed in union with the monks as best they could and applied the teachings of the Rule to their lives in the world. Today thousands of Oblates throughout the world pray and work in spiritual union with Benedictine men and women of various communities, and they both receive and share spiritual strength and inspiration as a result of their affiliation as Oblates.
Oblates promise to live according to the values expressed in the Rule of St. Benedict, which was written in the spirit of the Gospel and which has been handed down through centuries of committed Christian life, along with traditions that developed with it. By their commitment to the Rule, Oblates benefit from a time-tried spiritual tradition that has led countless other Benedictines and Oblates to holiness. Just as a candidate for the monastery is tested to see whether he "truly seeks God" (RB 58), so also those who become Oblates are committed above all else to seek God in Jesus Christ. As a document focused on Christ and intended to lead disciples ever closer to Christ, the Rule challenges every Benedictine and Oblate to a continual refocusing on Christ amidst the routines of ordinary life as well as on special occasions.
"Prayer and work" (ora et labora) has become a motto of Benedictine life. The Rule summons a monk to live a life balanced among prayer, work, and other elements of an horarium (schedule) chosen specifically to help the monk put on the heart and mind of Christ. In a society which encourages people to become ensnared in relentless work or in pleasure-filled indulgence, the Oblate finds support for a life totally dedicated to God in a Rule which calls for balance among prayer, work, community activities, creative leisure, and reading that nourishes one's spirit. The experience of the ages has shown that such balance best keeps a person from being caught up in anything other than God Himself.
A Benedictine monk takes vows of obedience, stability, and conversatio morum, or ongoing conversion of life according to the monastic way (RB 58:17). The Oblate also promises to live by these three primary values. By obedience Oblates learn to listen to God's call always and everywhere, with the help of meditative reading of Scripture, especially the Gospels. Oblates also listen to God's voice by frequent meditation on passages of the Rule and by efforts to apply the fruits of their meditation to everyday life. By stability Oblates learn to practice perseverance in carrying out the obligations of their daily lives, especially amidst trials. Striving for an awareness of Christ's redeeming presence in every situation, they become grateful for the seemingly small blessings of each day and struggle against murmuring in difficult times. Stability means being rooted in Christ, no matter what happens, and joining one's sufferings to the passion of Christ so that they become redemptive. By conversatio morum Oblates make use of all means at their disposal to welcome God's grace to purify and transform them. Just as the monk's corresponding vow commits him "to grow in perfect charity through a monastic manner of life," so the Oblate promises to surrender more and more of his or her life to Christ amidst daily vicissitudes; thus every moment becomes an opportunity for firmer rejection of self-will and deeper abiding in the love of Christ.
Other values in the Rule include silence, humility, peace, "glorifying God in all things," and community. Living in a noisy and unfocused world, Oblates nurture both external and internal silence as a necessary condition for hearing the call of God and responding to Him. Humility involves both an honest admission of one's own limitations, weaknesses, and sinfulness and also a reverent mindfulness of God's greatness, expressed most fully in the all-forgiving love of Jesus Christ. "Pax," the peace of Christ which is meant to pervade every aspect of Christian life, has become a Benedictine motto; thus Oblates seek to dwell with peace in their hearts, to work for healing and reconciliation within family and community, and to join with other peacemakers to bring about a world of peace and justice. "Glorifying God" (RB 57:9) means bringing out God's goodness, in Christ, in every person and situation; it means nurturing hope-filled attitudes; it means avoiding murmuring, gossip, and all that destroys or tears down what should rather be healed and redeemed. Since the whole Rule is written in the context of community, Oblates necessarily live in a spirit of community; even if living alone, they strive to nurture loving communion with others who seek God in Christ and ultimately with all people. Oblates show high respect for family life and community life as essential vehicles for transmitting life in Christ.
Benedictine spirituality also summons monks and Oblates to reverence, devotion to the Eucharist, praying of the Liturgy of the Hours, hospitality, special concern for the poor and underprivileged, stewardship for God's creation, and prophetic witness. Oblates develop an attentiveness to the Word of God wherever and however it may speak to them, but especially in the practice of lectio divina, a slow, gentle savoring of the words of the Bible. Oblates also treasure the living presence of Christ in liturgy, particularly in the Holy Eucharist. They seek to sanctify all the hours of the day by praying some part of the Liturgy of Hours, or "Divine Office," in union with the monks of the Archabbey; this prayer of the Church is meant to extend the effects of the Eucharist to all moments. Just as they come to find Christ in the Eucharist and in Scripture, Oblates likewise learn to welcome Christ in the stranger, as well as in all guests, as an act of faith. This hospitality will overflow to a heartfelt concern for all those in whom Christ suffers -- the poor and oppressed of one's neighborhood and the world. The Rule challenges Benedictines to regard all material things "as sacred vessels of the altar" (RB 31:12), and so Oblates nurture an informed care for the environment as a gift of God to be shared by all people. Finally, just as the monks of St. Benedict's time witnessed to Christian values that were often contrary to the norms of their society, so also today's monks and Oblates have a prophetic vocation to proclaim the primacy of God and the sacredness of all life in a world that is often deluded by self-centered, materialistic concerns.
Christian men and women are attracted to the Oblate Program because they are seeking God in Jesus Christ and have begun to find Him. They hope to intensify their journey of faith through affiliation with St. Vincent Archabbey and through commitment to the Christian values manifested by the monastic community and its Oblates. A person who discerns God's call to such affiliation should inquire of the Director of Oblates or of a local Benedictine moderator or lay leader at one of the Oblate deaneries (Baltimore, MD; Johnstown, PA; St. Marys, PA; State College, PA; Williamsport, PA; Virginia Beach, VA; Niagara Area, Ontario, Canada; Ampang, Selangor, Malaysia). After further reflection and the completion of a simple application form, the person may be invested as an Oblate novice in a ceremony with the Director of Oblates or another Benedictine monk as officiant. (Those who cannot travel to a location where a Benedictine can invest them may obtain permission to be received by a priest in their local parish.) The time of Oblate novitiate is a period of a year or more of intensive reflection on the Rule of St. Benedict and of efforts to live out Benedictine values. The Oblate novice must also fulfill a few minimal requirements in order to be ready for full Oblation (see the Oblate Formation Booklet).
If after this period the Oblate novice discerns a call to make a lifelong commitment as a full Oblate of St. Benedict, he or she may seek to make the Act of Oblation with the permission of the Director of Oblates or local moderator. A form indicating the person's readiness for Oblation must be completed and sent to the Director of Oblates. At the ceremony of Oblation the new Oblate recites the Act of Oblation and signs the certificate on which it is written. At that time the person may also take on an "Oblate name." A copy of the certificate is kept by the Oblate, and a duplicate copy is deposited in the Archives of the Archabbey. Full Oblates are committed to ongoing conversion of life and to those practices that will dispose them to accept the Lord's continual invitations to fuller life in Christ.
The way of life as set down by St. Benedict in his Rule offers a set of Christian ideals which are sufficiently flexible, adaptable, and moderate so that no one need be dismayed or discouraged at failure to achieve the heights of holiness all at once. St. Benedict makes room for many different levels of spiritual progress when he states: "[Let the abbot] so moderate all things that there be something for the strong to strive after and nothing to dishearten the weak" (RB 64:19).
If you are interested in this way of life, you are welcome to contact:
Director of Oblates
St. Vincent Archabbey
300 Fraser Purchase Rd.
Latrobe, PA 15650-2686
phone: 724-805-2291