Tag Archive for ‘Cobb’
Website Revisions: Part 1
The revisions to the web site are moving forward and today starts the beginning. If you are used to visiting the website from your computer you will not notice anything. If you have wanted to visit the site from your handheld iPhone or iPod Touch, Blackberry, or Palm/Treo devices you will see a significant difference. [...]
Living in Community is not just for Monks
We talk a lot about being “community” and we use the term a great deal in general terms; the parish community, the city as a community, the monastic community. But do we think any further on what it actually means? Michael Casey, OSCO, talks a great deal about the subject in his book Strangers to [...]
Deny Yourself in Order to Follow Christ
On my desk is a small statue of Gollum, the hobbit-like character from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Those who have only read The Hobbit, when Gollum was introduced, only have seen an evil, angry little creature. But those who have read or seen The Lord of the Rings witnessed something else. Gollum was [...]
Odo, Maiolus, Odilio, Hugh, and Peter the Venerable, Abbots of Cluny
Today we celebrate the feast of five great Benedictine saints, all abbots of Cluny, France. Much of their writing are lost to us but during their time Cluny was the mother house of over 1,000 other Benedictine monasteries. The monasteries and convents they founded ranged across western Europe from England to Spain, to France, Germany [...]
The Great Wound
Over the years many people have come to the Abbey wishing to become Oblates. But if you asked them why you often will not get the same answer. Some come because they are inspired by the faith and discipline of the monks they see at the Abbey. Some would say they wish some association with [...]
Lenten Observances
Lent will soon be upon us and St. Benedict calls on us to …deny [ourselves] some food, drink, sleep, needless talking and idle jesting, and look forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing. One of my favorite shows is “Clean Sweep,” where a family is challenged to make a clean sweep of one [...]
New Year’s Resolutions
We all learned the Ten Commandments growing up. Most people will remember “Thou shall not kill,” and “Thou shall not steal.” But according to a survey conducted by Kelton Research, more Americans remember the ingredients of a McDonald’s Big Mac than the Ten Commandments. Suppose we agree to make one resolution; if we do not [...]
A Mother’s Love
With the beginning of the New Year we celebrate the Motherhood of Mary. Our minds immediately are reminded of the scenes in the stable and Mary holding the infant Jesus in her arms. But perhaps this feast comes too close to the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord to be fully appreciated? The feast [...]
Suggested Breviaries
The North American Association of Benedictine Oblate Directors offers the following titles as suggestions for use by Benedictine Oblates: Pray without Ceasing: Prayer for Morning and Evening. Joyce Ann Zimmerman; A Shorter Morning and Evening Prayer by John Brook; Shorter Christian Prayer, Catholic Book Publishing; Christian Prayer, Catholic Book Publishing; Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of [...]
Wisdom from the Desert: An Introduction
When the Oblate website was created part of the site was set aside for the sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. The reason is the sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers instructive and we are encouraged to read them by St. Benedict: “What book of the holy catholic Fathers does not resoundingly summon [...]
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