I am a Benedictine Oblate, the secular group affiliated with the monastery of the Good Shepherd in Rio Grande City. We make an oblation, not a profession or vows of course, but in the spirit of the Benedictine vows of obedience, fidelity and stability. Stability is dealth with in the Rule of St. Benedict, in the beginning, when he talks about the types of monks. He condemn those who thather together to run things their own way, to eat drink and be merry and neglect spiritual things, and he also condemns those who wander from one monastery to the next looking for where the grass is greener. Stability is the vow that ties you to one monastery for life, unless that monastery disbands, or founds a daughter cell and you are sent there. Even oblates observe stability, no matter where I end up in the country I “belong” to this monastery. It also means that after a year of careful formation and discernment, I have adopted Benedictine spirituality and direction, based on the liturgy of the hours and lectio divina, so I will not jump around looking for the next group to join, the next spiritual fad or devotional practice.