Benedictine Oblate #2

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Luigi_Daniele said:
The third is stunning. May I add it to my sig?
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None of them are mine. I just happened to find them on facebook by accident. I totally “borrowed” my signature graphic and as long as you aren’t making money on it or taking money from them, I can’t imagine anyone having a hissy fit about it.
 
jwinch2 said:
None of them are mine. I just happened to find them on facebook by accident. I totally “borrowed” my signature graphic and as long as you aren’t making money on it or taking money from them, I can’t imagine anyone having a hissy fit about it.
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Grazie 🙂
 
I admit to lusting after that medal, BTW :o:D

Our Monastery uses a beautiful lead colored one that has a corpus with His arms raised on top of the + with the Benedictine CSPB. 🙂
 
Merton went off the deep end toward the end, but this looks really interesting:

Merton, Thomas. The Rule of St. Benedict, Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 4. Ed. Patrick F. O’Connell. MN: The Liturgical Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-87907-019-9.
One last “commentary” that should be noted and is a recently published collection of notes on the RB written by Thomas Merton. His notes are primarily directed toward novices but the book was edited with the average lay person in mind:
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EDIT: wow the Doyle commentary is $50.:eek: I’ll wait to hear a review from you Jason before I buy it.
 
All right, you Benedictines. Let me give you an update from the other end of the spectrum.

I met once more with the Opus Dei numerary over a formal lunch at the Study Center today. We will do the same next Friday. Great experience! We had lunch with an Opus Dei priest and another numerary, then the three of us sat and talked in their main living room. Thereafter, I had a private meeting with the numerary in one of the Study Center offices. The whole thing lasted about three hours. I will immediately begin my Opus Dei life as a cooperator. I will begin the Norms (plan of life) today, join a nearby cooperator’s circle (led by a supernumerary), continue my evenings of recollection, begin spiritual guidance with an Opus Dei priest, and start attending monthly classes on Church doctrine taught by the Center director. I will attend my first retreat at Longlea December 13th - 16th.

I hope you guys don’t mind my discussing the Opus Dei experience in this thread. I know we’re taking separate paths, but I enjoy talking with you. I enjoy hearing about your specific involvement with the Benedictines and the monastic orders in general. There isn’t an active Opus Dei thread that I’m aware of, so I hope you don’t mind. Kick me out if you like.
 
Tampa_Dave said:
All right, you Benedictines. Let me give you an update from the other end of the spectrum.

I met once more with the Opus Dei numerary over a formal lunch at the Study Center today. We will do the same next Friday. Great experience! We had lunch with an Opus Dei priest and another numerary, then the three of us sat and talked in their main living room. Thereafter, I had a private meeting with the numerary in one of the Study Center offices. The whole thing lasted about three hours. I will immediately begin my Opus Dei life as a cooperator. I will begin the Norms (plan of life) today, join a nearby cooperator’s circle (led by a supernumerary), continue my evenings of recollection, begin spiritual guidance with an Opus Dei priest, and start attending monthly classes on Church doctrine taught by the Center director. I will attend my first retreat at Longlea December 13th - 16th.

I hope you guys don’t mind my discussing the Opus Dei experience in this thread. I know we’re taking separate paths, but I enjoy talking with you. I enjoy hearing about your specific involvement with the Benedictines and the monastic orders in general. There isn’t an active Opus Dei thread that I’m aware of, so I hope you don’t mind. Kick me out if you like.
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Sounds awesome! Its great that you are getting that much one-on-one with everyone and that they are working with you so much. I’m a bit jealous on that front.
 
Tampa_Dave said:
All right, you Benedictines. Let me give you an update from the other end of the spectrum.

I met once more with the Opus Dei numerary over a formal lunch at the Study Center today. We will do the same next Friday. Great experience! We had lunch with an Opus Dei priest and another numerary, then the three of us sat and talked in their main living room. Thereafter, I had a private meeting with the numerary in one of the Study Center offices. The whole thing lasted about three hours. I will immediately begin my Opus Dei life as a cooperator. I will begin the Norms (plan of life) today, join a nearby cooperator’s circle (led by a supernumerary), continue my evenings of recollection, begin spiritual guidance with an Opus Dei priest, and start attending monthly classes on Church doctrine taught by the Center director. I will attend my first retreat at Longlea December 13th - 16th.

I hope you guys don’t mind my discussing the Opus Dei experience in this thread. I know we’re taking separate paths, but I enjoy talking with you. I enjoy hearing about your specific involvement with the Benedictines and the monastic orders in general. There isn’t an active Opus Dei thread that I’m aware of, so I hope you don’t mind. Kick me out if you like.
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Sounds great Dave. 👍

Kick you out? :eek: You’re family 🙂
 
Luigi_Daniele said:
Sounds great Dave. 👍

Kick you out? :eek: You’re family 🙂
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You’re just saying that because I have a Sicilian mother, lived in an Italian-American neighborhood nearly all my life, and religiously attended the Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy every year.
 
Dave, the nerd in me is loving your talking about Opus Dei. So, don’t disappear!! What are the Norms that you mentioned?
 
Tampa_Dave said:
You’re just saying that because I have a Sicilian mother, lived in an Italian-American neighborhood nearly all my life, and religiously attended the Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy every year.
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Well, obviously 😃
 
mylo said:
Dave, the nerd in me is loving your talking about Opus Dei. So, don’t disappear!! What are the Norms that you mentioned?
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Sorry for the delay, Mylo. I was at Eucharistic Adoration and Mass for the past few hours.

You can find out about the norms from a variety of sources. Wikipedia details the Norms (Plan of Life) fairly accurately. They are a guideline for supernumeraries and cooperators, but we should make every effort to comply with the Norms. Opus Dei understands that we live in the secular world, which may affect our ability to do everything each day. We are expected to attend daily Mass where it is possible to do so. Scepter Publishers offers a free booklet called “The Plan of Life”, that can be downloaded in pdf format (about 10 pages). If you include Mass in your time computations, it takes about two hours to complete everything in one day.

***Daily norms:
Code: 
Heroic minute, waking up punctually and saying "Serviam!" (Latin: I will serve)
Morning offering, fixing one's intentions to do everything for the glory of God
Spiritual reading and reading the New Testament, a practice recommended by St.    Paul and other saints
Mental prayer, conversation with God
Mass, Communion and Thanksgiving after Communion
Rosary, a traditional Catholic devotion to Christ and to Mary
The Preces (the common prayer of Opus Dei in Latin)
Angelus, a Marian prayer which recalls Christian belief in God's becoming man
Memorare prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary offered for the Opus Dei member in most need at that exact moment
Visit to the Blessed Sacrament, a Catholic practice of greeting Jesus in the Eucharist
Examination of conscience at the end of the day
Three Hail Marys before bed to pray for the virtue of purity
Short, spontaneous prayers throughout the day, offering up to God one's work, sufferings etc.
Weekly norms:
Code: 
Confession, in pursuit of the Catholic recommendation on frequent confession
a group meeting of spiritual formation ("the Circle")
the praying of a Marian antiphon on Saturdays
taking Psalm 2 as the basis of mental prayer on Tuesdays
Additionally, members should participate yearly in a spiritual retreat; a three-week seminar every year is obligatory for numeraries, and a one-week seminar for supernumeraries. Also members are expected to make a day-trip pilgrimage where they recite 3 5-decade rosaries on the month of May in honor of Mary.***
 
Just your typical Catholic day, right? I like the regimen of Opus Dei’s Norms. I also like the concept of monthly evenings of recollection, circles and Church doctrine classes, plus bi-weekly meetings with a spiritual director (Opus Dei priest). Discipline is a trait to be admired.
 
Tampa_Dave said:
Just your typical Catholic day, right? I like the regimen of Opus Dei’s Norms. I also like the concept of monthly evenings of recollection, circles and Church doctrine classes, plus bi-weekly meetings with a spiritual director (Opus Dei priest). Discipline is a trait to be admired.
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Agreed.

Looking at the schedule, there is a bit too much Marian devotion for me, but I am like many converts in that I love our Blessed Mother, but get uncomfortable at what feels like excessive devotion to her. Please note, I am not suggesting that you, or Opus Dei is actually excessive, just that I get a bit antsy I suppose. Its one of the things I enjoy about Benedictine spirituality. It is very Christ centered. Not that there is no devotion to Mary, far from it. I guess that meets me where I am at this time.

I hope that didn’t come across the wrong way.

Peace Dave,
 
Jason,

I understand your point perfectly well. I constantly check myself precisely because of my strong Marian devotion (I’ve prayed the “Memorare” daily since my teen years). So long as one keeps the Blessed Virgin’s role in proper perspective, however, there is nothing wrong seeking the intercession of Mary and the saints of the Church. Opus Dei wants its members to become Christ-like, ipse Christus, in conjunction with the prelature’s concept of divine filiation. Christ is our focal point for leading a sanctified life.
 
Tampa_Dave said:
Jason,

I understand your point perfectly well. I constantly check myself precisely because of my strong Marian devotion (I’ve prayed the “Memorare” daily since my teen years).
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Very cool. That is really great!
So long as one keeps the Blessed Virgin’s role in proper perspective, however, there is nothing wrong seeking the intercession of Mary and the saints of the Church.
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Agreed completely. I do seek her intercession on a regular basis.
Opus Dei wants its members to become Christ-like, ipse Christus, in conjunction with the prelature’s concept of divine filiation. Christ is our focal point for leading a sanctified life.
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Good stuff there. I have zero concerns about OD’s focus on Christ and I know their devotion to our Blessed Mother is a healthy one.

Peace,
 
The numerary I’ve met with has been with Opus Dei for four decades. One of his greatest inspirations for joining Opus Dei was the book "Mary of Nazareth, originally published under the title “Our Lady the Virgin” in 1956. Interesting, huh? Its on my personal reading list based solely on his recommendation. All five reviews on Amazon are five star ratings.

amazon.com/Mary-Nazareth-Federico-Suarez/dp/188933488X
 
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