www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology My blessing to be an Oblate novice

I ran across this information about Orthodox Benedictines.

Here is a copy of their offices and prayers:

Offices and Prayers - Orthodox Benedictines [stmichaelwhittier.org]

Here is a link to a western Rite parish that has started a Benedictine Oblate program:

http://www.stcolumbachurch.org/benedictine_oblates.html

Alex,

Thanks for the information! I will await Father Meinrad's e-mail.

Yours in Christ,

Gordon

PS; Do you have any pictures of your reception as a novice?

Alex,

I just bought "Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict" by Esther de Waal (an Anglican Oblate). It looked quite good. Have you read this?

I'll be travelling next week and was planning to use this for my Lectio Divina. Also, is there a specific method for LD that you have found helpful?

I figure that with the discipline of the Horologion, the Jesus Prayer and Lectio Divina, I should have a pretty well rounded spiritual practice. That, at least, is the frame. Now to ask the Divine Artist to write the image...!

God bless,

Gordo

Dearest Brother Gordo,

Your zeal is a great example to one and all!

Anything produced by Esther is GREAT and must reading, to be sure! She has written a number of books on Benedictine living and is a most sought after public speaker on the subject.

Fr. Basil Pennington published a book on LD, but one should just take any book and read it slowly and meditatively as if one were to "digest " its contents. When one comes to a really inspirational passage, one should cut off further reading and ponder it, even memorize it and refer to it throughout the course of the day. This should lead us from meditation, to prayer to contemplation. But it's hard work, like liturgical prayer!

St Benedict prescribed three hours of LD daily, and especially on Sundays, for monks.

We can all do to have more spiritual reading on Sunday!

The Jesus Prayer actually relates to St Benedict's 12th point on monastic virtues.

We should read a chapter of St Benedict's Rule daily and ponder it. St Benedict laid down that his Rule was to be read aloud thrice yearly and the www.osb.org [osb.org] website has arranged daily readings to fulfill this cursus.

And I don't have any pictures of my reception ceremony . . . that's all I needed was to have some, post them here and have the administrator remind me, again, about how full of myself I really am! (I'm working on it, I'm working on it!)

Ciao,

Alex