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In our very individualistic culture, it may be difficult for us to recognize our essential connection with other people. Benedictine monks and Oblates affiliated with the monks follow a Rule that is for cenobites, that is, monks who live in community. Mutual interaction in community, therefore, is a very important value for us. In his chapter on the different kinds of monks, St. Benedict says of the hermits that they have been “trained to fight against the devil” with “the help and guidance of many” (1:4). The monastery in which they once lived could be described as a “battle line in the ranks of their brothers” (1:5). Although in these verses St. Benedict is describing the eremetical, or hermit, life, he is also saying much about the cenobitic…

Life is full of humor, though we may not always perceive it. I was especially aware of the mysterious and gifted nature of daily life on the day when I began this essay. In the morning while I was searching for a lost page from a reprint desired by an Oblate, I came upon a folder with information about our Oblate-novice survey from the fall of 2014. That folder had been “lost” (really just misplaced by me in a location where I would be unlikely to look for it) for about a year, and upon finding it I felt like telling the whole world, “I have found my lost folder!” (cf. Luke 15:6, 9, 24). I laughed inwardly over the unexpected nature of the discovery. I had not found what I wanted to find, but I found something…

Much of the world has become familiar with Pope Francis’ (and the Church’s) concern for the environment as well as for the plight of the world’s poor, both of which are treated at length in the recent encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home (LS). In addressing the problem of “global environmental deterioration,”* the Holy Father, as one might expect, often refers to St. Francis of Assisi, who had a deep appreciation for nature and its relationship with mankind and who is often considered the patron saint of ecology. However, in a similar way, St. Benedict can be considered…

At our monthly meetings in Latrobe, we have been studying the Rule according to the commentary by Dom Paul Delatte, O.S.B. We recently have been discussing Chapters 2 and 3, which deal with the authority of the abbot, his need to take counsel, the responsibility of the monks to obey, and their duty to offer advice when appropriate. On July 13 the Church celebrated the memorial of St. Henry, who as Emperor Henry II (1014-1024) used his authority in a remarkable way to promote the welfare of the Church instead of his own selfish interests. The co-patron of Oblates, he established monasteries and dioceses and cooperated with the Pope in encouraging reforms. Also, on July 13 our Diocese of Greensburg…

The fact that St. Benedict writes about having joy during Lent is a fascinating phenomenon among many monks and Oblates. Back in 1993 our Fr. Kurt Belsole wrote a dissertation entitled Joy in Lent: Gaudium in Chapter 49 of the Regula Benedicti: The Monastic and Liturgical Contexts. That sounds like a very technical study, but I am convinced that many of its ideas are applicable to ordinary people and are relevant to the Christian disciplines that we undertake during Lent, Easter, and the whole of the year. Besides, in 1995 there was published by St. Vincent Archabbey a 106-page, double-spaced summary of Fr. Kurt’s dissertation which makes the key themes much more palatable to the ordinary reader. (It is out of print, but the Oblate Library has a copy.) In that book Fr. Kurt points that St. Benedict “makes the Lenten observance a model for all of monastic life” (p. 15) and that the term omni tempore…

Vigilance and a quick response to threats are valuable practices on various levels. Anyone who has had eczema knows how vigilance can prevent a worsening of this skin condition. Eczema can be dormant for months or even years, but it can reappear subtly in a patch of skin that has become dry and cracked. If one does not apply the proper ointment quickly, the affliction will spread, cause pain and possible bleeding, and thus become harder to counteract. How much more is it important to be vigilant against cancer and other serious diseases! Keeping watch for the first indication of a malady and applying a remedy…

Angels are not a common topic of conversation among most circles of people, even Christian believers. Although there arose some popular enthusiasm for angels not too many years ago, most of us, I would surmise, have never met an angel, nor do many of us pay much attention to the presence of angels. And yet angels are very much a part of God’s creation, as both Judaism and Christianity have taught for millennia. The Catechism of the Catholic Church asserts that “the existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls ‘angels’ is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition” (#328). In sections 329 through 336, the Catechism tells us that angels are “servants and messengers of God” (as indicated…

We Christians tend to focus attention on eternal life during certain times of the liturgical year: during the Easter Season, at the time of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, and at the beginning of Advent. At Easter, of course, we nurture the hope of participating in the Resurrection of Christ in future glory. On November 1 and 2, we consider our eternal destiny in terms of those who have passed through death and reflect on our communion with them, whether they have attained fulfillment in Heaven or are still being purified in Purgatory. Early in Advent we are given Scripture readings that point to the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ; we are thus…

Are monks and Oblates called to evangelize? As in the case of all Christians, yes, we are called to evangelize (and, of course, first to be evangelized)! Concern for others’ salvation in the Rule According to the Rule of St. Benedict, the abbot of the monastery should be the community’s chief evangelizer. In Chapter 2, St. Benedict asserts that “everything he teaches and commands should, like the leaven of divine justice, permeate the minds of his disciples” (RB 2:5). That is, he is to bring the word of God into the monks’ hearts and minds in a radical, all-embracing way through all that he says and does. Whether or not his “flock” of monks responds well, “he may say to the Lord [at the time of judgment]: ‘I have not hidden your justice in my heart; I have proclaimed your truth and your salvation’” (2:9; Ps 40:11). The abbot is to…

Most of life consists of little things. Each day we receive an abundance of little things from God (which are really great things since they come from His heart of infinite love), and we are called to give generously to others in little ways. One might even summarize a Christian’s life of faith as an ongoing reception of graces from God, a growing capacity to receive these with a response of thanksgiving, and a readiness to share with others the generous bounty bestowed on us by God. This past January 21-22, I once again attended the March for Life in Washington, DC. At least in retrospect, I recognized many reasons for…

Many people probably associate the word “monk” with someone generally confined to a monastery and not leaving it very often. This impression is supported by certain passages of St. Benedict’s Rule. In Chapter 66, St. Benedict recommends that a monastery should include “all necessities” within its grounds so that “there will be no need for the monks to roam outside, because that is not at all good for their souls” (66:7). Nonetheless, monks under St. Benedict did travel, undoubtedly for good reasons, since he makes provision for “brothers sent on a journey” (50:4) in Chapters 50, 51, 55, and 67. What can Oblates (and monks) of today…

It is always right to practice charity, patience, humility, and faithfulness to commitments. Likewise it is always wrong to indulge in whatever is forbidden by God’s moral law; most Christians, and certainly Catholics, believe that there are moral absolutes so that certain behaviors are always sinful. However, there many human responses that have their proper times and their improper times. There are times to speak out and times to be silent; times to seek help and times to bear with neediness; times to be with community and times to embrace solitude; times to pray and times to do the work God has given us; times to do…

The partaking of meals is frequently recorded in the Bible. In his witness to Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:28-43), St. Peter mentions that the risen Christ had been seen, “not by all, but only by such witnesses as had been chosen beforehand by God – by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead” (Acts 10:41). In the Resurrection accounts, Our Lord is indeed reported to be eating and drinking with His disciples, just as He did during His earthly life. St. Mark records only that “as they were at table, Jesus was revealed to the Eleven” (Mk 16:14). St. Luke writes that when the disciples traveling to Emmaus encountered Christ, although they did not recognize Him, they invited…

This past Christmas Season (the longest possible – a little more than 20 days) ended (as always in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar) with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Among the many themes embodied in the feast is the privilege we have of being baptized Christians. Our Lord took on human flesh; so our flesh has become sacred. Our Lord was baptized in the Jordan; so we are united with Him in a powerful way through the sacrament of baptism. Our Lord was sent forth by the Holy Spirit on a mission to “bring glad tidings to the poor” (Lk 4:18); so we have the mandate and the honor of continuing His mission of serving the needy with self-emptying love and of evangelizing…

Daily life is replete with decisions which may seem insignificant in themselves but which cumulatively can draw us closer to Christ or can distance us from Him. We as Benedictine Oblates and monks are called in a special way to “prefer nothing whatever to Christ” (RB 72:11); so to choose in accord with love for Christ even in the smallest of matters is a substantial dimension of our Christian commitment. As the autumn has brought colder weather, the water coming from our faucets, especially early in the morning, has become colder. While washing up early one day, I reflected on the choice I had either to accept the cold water (from the hot-water tap) or to keep the water running…

A substantial dimension of Christian life is the struggle against evil. In our 21st-century society we are often jolted by egregious crimes reported by the media, but we tend not to realize that flagrantly evil actions are generally preceded by a series of sinful choices. St. Benedict surely knew of the daily individual and communal battles against self-will. In those conflicts we must take up the “noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true King, Christ the Lord” (RB Prol:3). The one who wishes to dwell in the tent of God’s Kingdom is the one who…

The Paschal Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday (including also the quiet waiting of Holy Saturday before the Easter Vigil) is the most sacred time of the Church year. All the faithful are urged to attend as many of the liturgies as possible because what they commemorate is at the core of our Christian lives. Priests are reminded that the Chrism Mass and the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrate the origins of their priestly vocation, to which they should gratefully recommit themselves with ever greater zeal. Monks, too, have a special role in celebrating these sacred liturgies in community with prayerful preparation, reverence, and careful attention to the profound personal…

We live in a non-ideal world, in a non-ideal Church, and in non-ideal families and communities. Some of the flaws are unavoidable while others, alas, stem from evil choices. We Christians live by high ideals, but we almost always fall short. We monks and Oblates know that we should not murmur (RB 34:6-7), and yet sometimes we grumble about our problems to get a bit of fleeting relief. We know that we ought always to be moderate in our consumption of food and drink (RB 39 & 40), and yet some of us chronically overindulge or think immoderately about the next meal. We know that “nothing is to be preferred to the Work of God” (RB 43:3), and yet we may often fail to find enough time to pray the portion of the Divine Office to which…

Preparing well for anything takes discipline. If I am going to preach at a Sunday Mass, I must discipline myself to spend some time almost every weekday to reflect on the Sunday readings, to jot down relevant thoughts, and eventually to organize them. If I am traveling to an unfamiliar destination, I must discipline myself to obtain good directions and to follow them. (Most of us probably know from experience that failure to do this can result in disaster!) Cooking a festive meal requires discipline to mix well and time well. Facing an athletic contest likewise requires much…

Is lectio divina a problematic task fraught with difficulties, or is it a marvelous opportunity to encounter Christ? A number of people, including Oblates, have told me that they find it very hard to practice lectio. They verbalize their hardships with such expressions as “I read and read, and nothing comes”; “I don’t hear God saying anything to me”; “I have no insights”; or “I just feel bored and distracted.” Indeed, I agree that the practice of lectio can be difficult and unrewarding at times. I recently finished going through the prophet Ezekiel for my lectio. The last chapters of that book describe in great detail…