Oblate Program Description

Purpose

Our Oblate Program offers individuals opportunities to live the ideals and values of the Benedictine way of life by:

Listening to the Word of God as it comes through scripture, prayer, people and the signs of the times.
Making Christ visible through sharing faith, hope and love.
Being sensitive and responsive to the needs of others, especially those less fortunate.
Providing meaningful spiritual programs and times for Christ-centered fellowship.

Commitment

Oblates of St. Benedict are Christian women and men who associate themselves with a Benedictine community in order to enrich their Christian way of life.

Oblates do not take on new religious practices. As individuals and as members of a body, they grow in love of God, neighbor and self. With the Rule of St. Benedict as their guide, Oblates adopt values that are part of the very fabric of Christian Spirituality, simply seeking to deepen their faith and to lead enriched Christian lives according to the Scriptures. Through association with a Benedictine community, Oblates receive help and guidance in living a full Christian life.

Our Oblate candidates participate in a one year formation process consisting of faith sharing and prayer, and classes designed to enhance their knowledge of Benedictine spirituality.

After this formation process is completed, our Oblate candidates make a commitment in the presence of our community to:

Share spiritual and social life
Integrate prayer and work to manifest Christ’s presence in society
Join the community on special occasions for prayer, liturgy, meals and celebrations.

Membership

Membership is open to Christian women and men, single or married, of wholesome character and emotional stability who, inspired by Benedictine spirituality, are willing to commit oneself:

To grow in understanding of faith in order to live the Gospel values more deeply.
To share in Benedictine community through prayer and ministry while remaining in her/his chosen way of life.
To grow in knowledge of the Boerne Benedictine Sisters’ mission and heritage.
To live the charism of Benedictine spirituality and extend those gifts for service promoting the reign of God.

Volunteer Opportunities

Many of our Oblates volunteer at the Monastery in various capacities throughout the year. Giving back is one way they share their Benedictine lifestyle with us.

If you would like more information about our Oblate program, please call (830) 816-8504.

Monthly Oblate Reflection – February 2012

Benedictine Charism as a Legacy
by Sister Antoinette Van Galen, OSB

Are you hastening toward your heavenly home? Then with Christ’s help, keep this little rule that we have written for beginners. After that, you can set out for the loftier summits of the teaching and virtues mentioned above, and under God’s protection you will reach them. Amen.
- Rule of Benedict 73:8-9

The common thread among Benedictine communities is the Rule of Benedict. It defines our Charism, our way of life. Every community embraces the monastic traditions of work and prayer. Benedictine spirituality seeks to find a balance between corporate worship (Liturgy of the Hours), Lectio Divina (Sacred Readings) and work.

The mission statement of the Boerne Benedictines calls us to seek God in community and to respond in ministry through sharing our spirituality and addressing the needs of the people we serve, especially the poor. We live in the southwest, so our response is to local conditions and traditions.

As Sisters and Oblates, we strive to live our lives centered around the Benedictine Charism expressed in the Rule. As I walked through Holy Angels cemetery on our monastic property, I thought about all the Sisters and Oblates who have gone to their eternal home. Their Benedictine Charism lives on through their personal history and grace. Each of them left us their source of inner strength, filled by their words and example, their struggles and fears, and left us with a spark of their belief in Christ. My dog, Little Bit, is buried in our cemetery. She, too, was truly Benedictine, not because I owned her, but because of her Charism among us. She exhibited elements of the Rule and will always be remembered for her faithful walk with me.

Poem by Scott Wright, oblSB
St. John’s Abbey, Minnesota

Here lie at rest those who most of their lives – decade after decade –
lived peacefully, following nature’s cycle and the rich, steady flow of the Liturgy.
While the rest of the world pursues its clamorous path of progress,
automobiles, television, cell phones, computers, wars and depression,
good times and bad, THESE were focused on something quite different,
readying themselves for the end that awaits us all,
and instead of fighting against it,
embracing it, preparing for it – and now,
THEIR LIFE’S JOURNEY ENDED,
QUIETLY AT PEACE WITHIN IT.

Previous Oblate Reflections

October 2011 (pdf)

December 2011 (pdf)

January 2012 (pdf)

2011 – 2012
Calendar of Oblate Classes

All classes, with the exception of October and February, will be joint sessions for both initial and on-going formation groups. All classes meet at the Monastery.

Sunday, September 18, 2011
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Topic: Spiritual Direction
Presenter: Nancy Groom

Bio: Nancy Groom has been a Bible teacher, conference speaker, and retreat leader for over forty years and is the author of several books. She completed her undergraduate degree at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and has been involved in post-graduate studies in theology through Distance Learning at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. She and her husband, Bill, entered the Catholic Church at the 2003 Easter Vigil, and in 2009 she completed a three-year spiritual director formation program offered by St. Peter upon the Water in Ingram, Texas. Nancy presently serves as a member of the Formation Team at St. Peter upon the Water and as a spiritual director and supervisor of directors. She is active in her parish, Sacred Heart in Comfort, Texas, and enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren.

Sunday, October 16, 2011
Initial Formation Group ONLY
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Topic: Overview of the Rule
Presenter: Sr. Antoinette Van Galen, OSB – Oblate Director

Sunday, November 20, 2011
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Topic: Psalmody
Presenter: Rita Minkley

Bio: Rita T. Minkley is a consultant for catechesis, adult faith formation, spiritual formation and a spiritual director. She is the former director of the Archdiocesan Catechetical Center in San Antonio. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Rita comes with over 40 years experience in parish and pastoral ministry where she has served as a catechist, catechetical leader, pastoral administrator, cantor and choir director.

Sunday, January 15, 2012
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Topic: St. Benedict’s Toolbox
Presenters: Bill Howden and Jan Davis

Bill Howden Bio:
Bill combines the wisdom of a scholar, the heart of a pastor and the voice of a poet. An ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Bill has lived in San Antonio, Texas, since 2004. His work has appeared in Sacred Journey, Pulpit Digest, Word and Witness and other publications. Bill's wide-ranging ministry has included pastorates in six states, teaching at Princeton Theological Seminary where he earned his PhD, and ecumenical work in Germany.

Jan Davis Bio:
Also actively involved in ministry, Jan Davis is a spiritual director, author, and speaker. She also leads spiritual retreats and parish missions. Jan earned her Doctor of Ministry degree from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and holds certification as Professional Catechist with the Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio. Jan provides creative input and business management for Soul Windows Ministries. She and her husband Bill Howden are both Benedictine Oblates.

Sunday, February 19, 2012
Initial Formation Group ONLY
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Topic: Liturgy of the Hours
Presenter: Sr. Bernadine Reyes, OSB

Sunday, March 18, 2012
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Topic: Spirituality in sickness and in health
Presenter: Mary Earle

Bio: Mary C. Earle is an Episcopal priest, writer, retreat leader and spiritual director who taught classes in spirituality for the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest until her retirement. Her home parish is Sr. Mark’s in San Antonio. Her recent book, Celtic Christian Spirituality: Essential Writings (SkyLight Paths) was released in June, 2011. Currently she is working on a new book titled Marvelously Made: Gratefulness and the Body (Church Publishing Incorporated). Mary has also written about the desert mothers, the Benedictine Rule and living with illness, and about the Celtic saints. She and her husband Doug, also an Episcopal priest, live with three border collies, two cats and a lot of gardens. Their son Jason teaches French at Barnard College in Manhattan. Her website is www.marycearle.org.

Sunday, May 6, 2012
Oblation Ceremony
10 am- Monastery Chapel

Resources and
Suggested Readings

http://www.osb.org/obl/index.html

The Oblate Life
Editor: Holdaway, OSB
Liturgical Press
ISBN 978-0-8146-3176-8
www.litpress.org

Benedict in the World
Portraits of Monastic Oblates
Editors: Kulzer and Bondi
Liturgical Press
ISBN 0-8146-2571-1
www.litpress.org

Friend of the Soul
by Norvene Vest
Cowley Pubications
ISBN 1-56101-138-X
www.rowmanlittlefield.com/Imprints/Cowley.shtml

Heart Whispers
Benedictine Wisdom for Today
by Elizabeth J. Canham
Upper Room Books
ISBN 0-8358-0892-0
www.upperroom.org/books/

Wisdom Distilled From the Daily
Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today
by Joan Chittister, OSB
Harper San Francisco
ISBN 0-06-061399-8

The Rule of Benedict:
A Spirituality for the 21st Century
by Joan Chittister, OSB
Crossroad New York
ISBN 978-0-8245-2594-1
www.cpcbooks.com