Benedictine Oblate #2

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Tampa_Dave said:
Glad I could make you chuckle, Luigi. Any updates on the Franciscan situation? I’m curious to see how this plays out for you. It always seems like something you want has just the slightest wrinkle or caveat, enough to discourage you from reaching your desired end. At least, that’s how I feel when the Cleveland Indians’ closer gives up a two run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning …
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I will keep you guys updated when I get info.
Thanks Dave!

@iloveangels: thanks for the clarification!
 
iloveangels knows a lot about monastic orders. She’s given me some great advice over the past several weeks. So, whatever she said is fine by me!

I’m meeting with yet another supernumerary tonight, then attending an Opus Dei circle on Wednesday. Lunch with the numerary again at the Study Center on Friday. Busy week, but it should be enlightening. To put it in the vernacular of youth, Opus Dei rocks!
 
Tampa_Dave said:
iloveangels knows a lot about monastic orders. She’s given me some great advice over the past several weeks. So, whatever she said is fine by me!

I’m meeting with yet another supernumerary tonight, then attending an Opus Dei circle on Wednesday. Lunch with the numerary again at the Study Center on Friday. Busy week, but it should be enlightening. To put it in the vernacular of youth, Opus Dei rocks!
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I am very glad that you are so happy.🙂
 
I appreciate that, Luigi. I love the constant interaction with Opus Dei members and priests. Constant reinforcement of values and always educational.
 
Thought you guys might enjoy this brief story about Fr. Starzynski, leader of my wife’s Catholic charismatic prayer group. He has a bit of a national reputation for healing and wrote the book “Miracles: Healing for a Broken World”. For several years, he has taken trips abroad with no plans for lodging, itinerary and, in his words “no bag, and no money in the belt not even a change of clothes”. He is doing it again this year. The link below tells provides an interesting update on his planned trip to Poland:

Ask yourself: did our Lord intervene or is it pure coincidence that the same thing happened in all prior trips abroad?

fatherstefan.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/new-update-on-father-stefan-trip-to-poland-the-amazing-things-happen/
 
Tampa_Dave said:
Thought you guys might enjoy this brief story about Fr. Starzynski, leader of my wife’s Catholic charismatic prayer group. He has a bit of a national reputation for healing and wrote the book “Miracles: Healing for a Broken World”. For several years, he has taken trips abroad with no plans for lodging, itinerary and, in his words “no bag, and no money in the belt not even a change of clothes”. He is doing it again this year. The link below tells provides an interesting update on his planned trip to Poland:

Ask yourself: did our Lord intervene or is it pure coincidence that the same thing happened in all prior trips abroad?

fatherstefan.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/new-update-on-father-stefan-trip-to-poland-the-amazing-things-happen/
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Very cool! Thanks for sharing.

I was reading an article on Benedictine stability ( here ) and I was struck by this part:
Lasting professional relationships are threadbare as well as long-standing relationships between businesses and customers, tradesmen and clients
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Funny thing is, I’ve been a pharmacist for almost 30 years. I have been at the current location for almost 20 years. I have lost customers, sure (health plans changing, moving away, passing on), but I can honestly say that I have a significant portion of my patients who have been with me the whole 20 years, or 15, or 10. I am struck after reading this that
  1. I am greatly, undeservedly blessed by this and
  2. Maybe, just maybe, this is my Benedictine stability and possibly even hospitality (although this would mean my patients have a very tolerant nature and a very forgiving definition of hospitality :o ).
I will have to pray on this…

EDIT:

and also this
In the gospel for this coming Sunday Jesus counsels: Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. In other words, settle down and don’t go from house to house looking for a better deal or a better meal. Pick a house and stay there, set down roots in the community where you minister, eat what is set before you and develop the deep relationships that are necessary for evangelization and the proclamation of the gospel.
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I will be praying about this, too. It seems to be speaking to me directly. Problem is, do I take this to mean the old house or the new one?
This is also simply brilliant:
Perhaps a parable to end: Sometimes there would be a rush of noisy visitors and the Silence of the monastery would be shattered. This would upset the monks; but not the Master, who seemed just as content with the noise as with the Silence. To his protesting disciples he said one day, “Silence is not
the absence of sound, but the absence of self.”
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Wow. (emphasis mine)
 
It makes sense to me. Your professional relationships are stable insofar as they are constant, long-term and committed. It seems logical that you can analogize reciprocal client relationships to the concept of Benedictine stability (attachment to a specific monastery).
 
I had dinner with another supernumerary last night. besides Opus Dei, he belongs to Legatus, an organization of wealthy, powerful and obviously devout Catholics. Check out their membership criteria: legatus.org/qualifications. I never heard of Legatus until last night. Pretty impressive and certainly out of my league.
 
Luigi, thanks for linking to that blog post. I really enjoyed it. For me, I was struck by the part about moving into a neighborhood … I can still go up to the neighborhood I moved into in 1989 and find the same neighbors. They watched me grow and now get to see my kids.

Comparing that to my current neighborhood, which is almost always changing. We moved here in 2007, and in that time; there has been about 5 houses that have been for sale and sold, and one house is on it’s third “for sale” cycle in the time we’ve been here! :eek:

We’ve been told our little house is simply a “starter house” … but my husband and I absolutely disagree. We’ll be here until we die, God willing.
 
mylo said:
Luigi, thanks for linking to that blog post. I really enjoyed it. For me, I was struck by the part about moving into a neighborhood … I can still go up to the neighborhood I moved into in 1989 and find the same neighbors. They watched me grow and now get to see my kids.

Comparing that to my current neighborhood, which is almost always changing. We moved here in 2007, and in that time; there has been about 5 houses that have been for sale and sold, and one house is on it’s third “for sale” cycle in the time we’ve been here! :eek:

We’ve been told our little house is simply a “starter house” … but my husband and I absolutely disagree. We’ll be here until we die, God willing.
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My pleasure 🙂

I will always have a warm spot in my heart for our first home. Built in the 1870’s. 1300 square feet (with 300 or so up what seemed like straight up and down stairs). Drive by it every day (new house is 3 houses down). Miss it, sometimes. Good times.
 
Luigi_Daniele said:
I was reading an article on Benedictine stability ( here )
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Unfortunately, this is one thing I have not really been able to experience. In fact, if and when I make my oblation, I will likely be the world’s worst Benedictine in terms of physical stability. I counted it up recently and since I graduated High School 21 years ago, I have moved over 30 times to include 3 countries as well as 9 states in the USA. Since 2008 my wife and I have lived in Louisiana, Virginia, Tennessee, and Texas.

Since I obviously cannot think of stability in terms of staying in one place I am trying to think about it in terms of rooting myself in Christ and His Church, my Wife, the rest of my family, then friends and other loved ones. Looking at those things as the stabilizers in my life seems to help me not get too caught up in where I am going to be a year from now. In addition, two years ago it was just me and my wife on our own, and that was our attitude. Since we have both come into the Church it has made a big difference.
 
jwinch2 said:
Unfortunately, this is one thing I have not really been able to experience. In fact, if and when I make my oblation, I will likely be the world’s worst Benedictine in terms of physical stability. I counted it up recently and since I graduated High School 21 years ago, I have moved over 30 times to include 3 countries as well as 9 states in the USA. Since 2008 my wife and I have lived in Louisiana, Virginia, Tennessee, and Texas.

Since I obviously cannot think of stability in terms of staying in one place I am trying to think about it in terms of rooting myself in Christ and His Church, my Wife, the rest of my family, then friends and other loved ones. Looking at those things as the stabilizers in my life seems to help me not get too caught up in where I am going to be a year from now. In addition, two years ago it was just me and my wife on our own, and that was our attitude. Since we have both come into the Church it has made a big difference.
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If you contemplate excessive transiency, will you consider becoming a distance oblate and attach yourself to a monastery like Norcia in Italy? That takes care of the stability issue.
 
Luigi_Daniele said:
My pleasure 🙂

I will always have a warm spot in my heart for our first home. Built in the 1870’s. 1300 square feet (with 300 or so up what seemed like straight up and down stairs). Drive by it every day (new house is 3 houses down). Miss it, sometimes. Good times.
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In the DC metropolitan area, everyone is a transient from somewhere else in America. We’ve lived in the same house in Northern Virginia for about 20 years, but I still consider myself a transient.
 
Tampa_Dave said:
If you contemplate excessive transiency, will you consider becoming a distance oblate and attach yourself to a monastery like Norcia in Italy? That takes care of the stability issue.
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Not really. Norica, while seeming to be a wonderful place, requires you to come visit in order for them to consider oblation. That really isn’t an option for me, but I did consider it.

I would much rather become an oblate somewhere close to where I live to develop that relationship if possible. If I have to move again, I will have to seek to transfer my oblation to another monastery. The monks seem to understand that while they live apart from the world, their oblates do not and thus are subject to all that comes along with it. I know St. Gregory’s accepted two or three oblate transfers last Spring and when I was at the retreat a few weeks ago, there were two other people there who were considering transfer to St. Gregory’s as well.

Heck, even St. Benedict, who is obviously a fan of stability, in the Holy Rule provides a for a monk to transfer from one monastery to another should he desire to do so. St. Benedict was a realist it seems.
 
Tampa_Dave said:
In the DC metropolitan area, everyone is a transient from somewhere else in America. We’ve lived in the same house in Northern Virginia for about 20 years, but I still consider myself a transient.
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You aren’t kidding. I met only a handful of people in the two years I lived there who were actually from the area.
 
I forgot you could transfer fairly easily with the Benedictines. That solves any problems. So long as you’re in agreement or conformance with their spirituality, you are in fine shape.
 
I attended my first circle tonight. We prayed, studied a Gospel passage, listened to a related lecture, and did an examination of conscience. The subject matter was purity and the lecture itself was pretty good. I enjoyed the evening thoroughly.
 
Tampa_Dave said:
I forgot you could transfer fairly easily with the Benedictines. That solves any problems. So long as you’re in agreement or conformance with their spirituality, you are in fine shape.
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:yup:

I especially love the realism of St. Benedict - from the ability to transfer as needed, the rearrangement of the Psalms as needed, and of course; allowing for “the duties of nature” when getting thyself to the Divine Office. 😃 It’s one of the things that attacted me to the Bennies.
 
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