Saint Michael the Archangel

Oblates of St. Benedict are Christian men and women, married and single, Eastern or Western, who choose to associate themselves with a Benedictine monastery while living in the world in order to strengthen their baptismal commitment and grow in their spiritual walk with Christ according to the Rule of St. Benedict. An Oblate group is being formed in the Sandhills area.

The Oblates meet the second Thursday of each month at 7:00pm at St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Southern Pines, NC.

Please contact Fr. Deacon Daniel Dozier at 910-235-4152 if you are interested.

Oblate Websites

• Oblates of Belmont Abbey, NC
  
• Oblates of St. Benedict Information Page
• St. Vincent's Archabbey - Oblate Program
• International Benedictine Oblates
• The Rule of St. Benedict (Prologue and Chapters)
  
• Accepting the Embrace of God: The Spiritual Art of Lectio Divina (Sacred Reading)
• The Jubilee Medal of St. Benedict
  

A "Little Rule" For Oblates of St. Benedict

by Fr. Deacon Daniel

The word "oblate" comes the Latin word "oblatus" meaning "offering." A Benedictine Oblate is generally a lay person or diocesan cleric who makes a profession to observe St. Benedict's Rule according to his or her state in life (married, single, employed, parish priest/deacon, etc). A number of Orthodox and Protestant Christians have rediscovered this spiritual path of living the Gospel, and many have made their profession as Oblates.

The "Little Rule" is loosely based upon one that I wrote some 15 years ago for another group which I co-founded. The first letter in each part of the Little Rule together forms the acronym "caelum" or "heaven."

CAELUM:

Come and follow Christ in the desert.
Acquire the spirit of peace (pax) and love (caritas) and
Evangelize the world;
Listening with the heart to the rule of prayer (ora) and   
       work (labora), and
Using the ladder of obedience, humility and silence
Make of your life by grace a holy oblation to God alone.


"Come and follow Christ in the desert. "

Following the example of Christ and St. John the Forerunner who went into the desert places to pray and be "alone" with God, the Desert Fathers of the early Church sought to come into the desert to find God through prayer and to engage in the spiritual battle (ascesis) of ascetical struggle. By seeking the "Word in the Desert," these early monastics like St. Anthony, sought to make a blessing and spiritual paradise out of what was a cursed place. St. Benedict sought to bring this same spirit of the desert in the East into the hearts of the Christians of Western Europe, basing his rule of life on the writings of St. Basil the Great's Rule and the writings of St. John Cassian, among others. Ultimately, an "oblate" is a disciple of Christ in the desert.

"Acquire the spirit of peace (pax) and love (caritas)"

"Pax" or "peace" is at the heart of the desert, for it is not a "peace" as the world gives, but rather the peace of covenant communion with God. "Pax" is the motto of Benedictine life, since it is the fruit of grace and interior struggle against the powers of the "world, the flesh and the devil" whom Christ battled in the desert after His baptism in the Jordan. The battle of the Christian life is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers and principalities of the kingdom of darkness. A monastic heart in the desert wages a battle for the Kingdom of Light, that is, of God, and the battleground is the middle earth of the heart. A heart filled by grace is a heart at peace with God and neighbor. It is a heart upon which the Torah of the Spirit, the New Law of caritas or "love" is written. It is a heart that knows the grace of adoption as a son or daughter of God by faith. Pax is found through the Cross, but it must extend its arms to embrace the whole world in an outpouring of priestly charity. As St. Seraphim of Sarov once said, "Acquire the spirit of peace and thousands around you will be saved."

"Evangelize the world"

The Gospel or "good news" of the Kingdom of God is the glory of Resurrection light shining brightly in the words, deeds and missionary presence of a disciple. For a soul who lives in the desert, the shekinah glory of this Word is a constant light and fire illuminating the universe. In this light, the whole world becomes a Burning Bush, burning with the Presence of God, but not consumed. The world was created through the Word, and the Word has impressed itself upon all creation, giving each creature its own inner logoi - its own divinely inspired purpose, orientation and end (telos) which will only find its fulfillment and consummation in the Kingdom of God. To evangelize the world means winning souls for Christ, but more than that, engaging in the priestly redemption of creation which is offered back to God through the Word. Evangelization by nature is thus a liturgical act.

"Listening with the heart to the rule of prayer (ora) and work (labora)"

The Rule of St. Benedict begins with the call to "listen." The ears attuned to the spirit of the desert hears the voice of God carried on the breath of the Spirit in the whisper of the cave of the heart. A disciple is first one who "listens" to the Word, allowing it to penetrate to the marrow of being, and finding resonance within one's own inner logoi. The harmonic vibration of the heart yields its fruit in a song of prayer and praise and is carried forth in ones work, where a spiritual offering is made of oneself at the altar of the church, the home and the marketplace. The Work of God (Opus Dei) is especially to be found in the praise of the Psalms; the royal hymns which announce the hope of the Messianic Kingdom. Thus prayers of the Divine Office are central to the life of an Oblate. Ora et Labora thus form the two horizons of the Cross, "Ora" the vertical and "Labora" the horizontal. The heart of Christ is at the intersection of these two horizons, and is the cleft in the Rock where blood and water flow forth in a life giving communio. The bent third bar, the foot bar, is the path of the Oblate, since ascent is only possible through the Cross, and like the woman who anointed Our Lord's feet with oil her hair, so an Oblate through fragrant words and deeds venerates the Body of the Christ as Church whose feet announce the Good News of Christ Crucified, Resurrected, Ascended and Glorified. Like Christ's Body, the Church, fixed in glory and suffering in her members between heaven and earth, stands ready to announce through prayer and work the sacrifice of Christ so that the whole world may draw near to the Redeemer.

"Using the ladder of obedience, humility and silence"

Obedience to the Word and to those in spiritual authority is at the heart of Oblate life. It is to make an offering of the will completely to God, abandoning the idol of selfish ambition - even in the name of God - for the glory of the Will of God. In this regard, obedience is better than sacrifice, since the immolation of own will freely offered to God is greater than all other sacrifices. This is the glory of the Condescension of the Word echoed in the Fiat of Mary at the Annunciation and its consummation is in the Garden of Gethsemane and the Holy Cross. This condescension of the Word becomes the basis for our elevation in the Spirit. The obedience of Christ becomes our own obedience in Christ, and this obedience extends to all those who properly exercise the authority of Christ over us. Humility is the virtue by which we keep constantly before us our own status as both creature and anawim of the desert. The desert is a place where all the idols of wealth, pleasure and power by which we seek to make a name for ourselves attempt to assert themselves fantastically upon our minds, but they are an artificial and false light which, like a light bulb, always burn brighter and hotter before they are extinguished. Obedience and humility are for us a shield against the assaults of despair as we ascend to God as through the fire of divine charity. Humility reminds us of both our the depths of our lowliness as sinful creatures and the height of God's holiness, as well as the obligations imposed upon us to be partakers of the divine nature through theosis, by which the image of God is healed and the likeness restored. Humility's roots are in the earth, but its branches reach towards heaven. Finally, silence is the entry into the very presence of God, to discern the echo of His Word in creation and in the heart. Silence is not simply the absence of sound, but rather of noise - the noise of the world, the flesh and the devil who seek to drown out the chorus of the heavenly liturgy which takes place in the heart. Silence is the sacrament of eternity through which we penetrate all being and discover its divinely appointed end in God. It is the gold of the icon and the issan of the chant tones. It is the silence beyond sound out of which comes forth the creation of the world. It is the Divine Presence in all things in union without confusion or absorption. It is the silence of death and judgment before God, which is vested in the mercy and grace of the new birth. Silence is the womb, the font in which we are immersed as we enter Eternal Life. It is the image of the Father and from Him comes forth the Word carried on the breath of His Spirit. Obedience drives our ascent through humility, rooted in the earth but stretching forth to the silence of the Heavenly Presence of God.

"Make of your life by grace a holy oblation to God alone."

We ascend to the altar of God by His grace to make of ourselves an offering in union with the offering of Christ for the world. This is the priestly dimension of oblate life, which springs from our consecration through "water and the spirit." The oblation of an oblate is total and it is to God alone. But through purity of heart, one discerns the presence of the living God in creation and one's brother and sister. Oblation is to God alone, but since God is an eternal outpouring and perichoresis of divine life and love in a communion of Three Persons, the monos of monastic oblation is properly a consecration to the koinonia of the Church. Oblation through, with and in Christ is inseparable from His Body and the great fiery cloud of witnesses in the Tabernacle of the Word. Here the offering is made - this is the Tent of Oblation, of Sacrifice, of Immolation and of Praise and Communion. An Oblate offers all to be filled with all. Grace alone extends the universal dimensions of this offering, divinizing the will by uniting it to the universal and priestly Will of Christ. In this regard, an Oblate's vocation is not simply the imitation of Christ, but rather His inpersonation, so that it is no longer the Oblate who lives, but Christ within him, his every thought and action caught up in the fire of divine love poured out for the life and glory of God. In this regard, Oblation is ratification of the calling given in Holy Baptism, whereby we are vested in the garment of grace, as sons and daughters of the Father through Christ in the Holy Spirit. Amen.

UpcomingEvents

Oblate Meeting on 2nd Thursday of each month at 7:00pm at St. Michael's Chapel.

All are welcome to attend!