Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions,
and attend to them with the ear of your heart.
This is advice from a father who loves you;
welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice...
-
Prologue, The Rule of St. Benedict (1)
Thus begins the The Rule of St. Benedict followed by monks and religious since it was written in the 5th Century. The father referred to in the opening lines of the Prologue is the Holy Father Benedict who took it upon his heart and his very soul to lead those within his monastery walls to a life living for Christ – putting love for Christ “before all else.”
In the past two years, I have been searching for a path that would bring me closer to Christ. I wanted to give my life more fully to Him and for Him. (Less of me, more of Him.) I studied with the lay Dominicans (Order of Preachers) for a while – such kind people to allow me in to discern if the way of St. Dominic was a good fit for me. I found after six months and daily prayer that it was not where I felt called to be. Yet I still longed for community – above and beyond the community of believers that I am blessed to have in my life and in my parish.
A week before Thanksgiving in 2021, I found myself between books – an oddity – and found one on a bookshelf at home that had been around a very long time, but I hadn’t read. It actually seemed to call out to me, so I pulled Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, by Joan Chittister, off the shelf and settled on the sofa, seeking good spiritual reading from a woman who is a well-known author and sought out for her deep spirituality – living her life as a Benedictine nun, theologian, and peacemaker.
Once I began reading, I couldn’t put it down – yet I wanted to savor every word and make it last. By the time I finished, the day before Thanksgiving, I went online to find out more about Monasteries of the Heart – an online community for those wanting to grow in a monastic spirituality by living a more deliberate life. I read and clicked and read and clicked and went further out into the ether's web of sites. But yet I wasn’t feeling satisfied that I’d found what I was looking for... And at the same time, I didn’t even know what I was looking for! It felt like I was on a search that Someone else was directing.
I was led to the webpage for the Benedictine Sisters of Erie and remembered that the Benedictines also had a community for lay people, known as Oblates. I read about the monastery’s Oblate Way of Life and thought, “Do I dare?” The more I pondered the idea, the more drawn in I felt. Then I remembered it was the day before Thanksgiving. Should I call the number listed? Surely no one will answer today. But I called anyway, and I left a message that I can only describe as “hungry.” I received a call back within the hour.
When I answered the call that came up as Erie, PA, a wonderful oblate of many years, working at the monastery that day, said “Nancy?” – and from that moment, I began to hope that my life would be forever changed!
S-l-o-w-l-y fast forward to January 25, 2022, I received an email telling me that my application had been reviewed and that a Zoom meet-up for introductions would take place on the 31st – getting closer to my journey finally beginning. So if you’re a friend reading this blog or maybe someone who loves praying for others, pray for me and my newly forming small community, as we meet together on Tuesday afternoons. We eleven “candidates” will spend a year in study together, while forming "community," and a second year of further study and discernment as “initiates” before making a final commitment to the Oblate Way of Life and to the particular monastery with whom I have studied. I am looking forward to writing about my experiences over the next two years. I hope you are well, safe, and happy. 💙
I
wish you Christ’s Peace.
☩
Never swerving from his instructions, then, but faithfully
observing his teaching in the monastery until death,
we shall through patience share
in the sufferings of Christ
that we may deserve also to share
in his kingdom. Amen.
-
Prologue, The Rule of St. Benedict (50)
