Oblate Program at Belmont Abbey, NC

Living the Rule rss

Stories and examples of how monastics and oblates live out the Rule in their daily lives.

John H.

John (not his real name) is a very immature adult, at least on an emotional level. In the 37 years that I have known him, 17 of those was spent in manifesting bullying behavior, to not only keep people at a distance, but also manipulate them through fear; which worked to his detriment as well… Read More ›

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Loss

I would suppose when all is said and done, when priorities are set after much thought, and yes prayer, in the end, the answer arrived at, sooner for some, later for others; is……. it is love that the heart seeks, more than mere instinct, for it is true that our loves can be needy, we… Read More ›

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Do not cling

His mother ill in the hospital very sick and he is going crazy not knowing what to do, so he calls the doctor expecting an answer, when often the only answer is one he does not want to hear; she is old winding down though slowly, doctors can only do so much in any circumstance… Read More ›

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The hardest task of all

I often wonder why I am at times even though I know it is wrong; yet I persist like someone picking a wound, over and over again in being unfair in my attitude towards others. Self righteousness really at its root, when they commit the same faults or sins that I do, more willing to… Read More ›

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Getting Older

Emilio, is Cuban gentleman, in his younger days a teacher, and a philosopher, at least he is to me. He has a way of dealing with life that I respect and admire. He is organized to a fault, but not overly rigid, listens to his doctors and benefits from his not needing to constantly fight… Read More ›

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Inner itch

What is the gnawing that many feel, that drives us here and there like mad men and women as if we are trying to scratch an inner itch that simply cannot be reached? Why the self destructive behavior the thanatos principle in plain view for all to see(?), our world a place where death is… Read More ›

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The fight

The call can be strong even insistent in its pursuit yet I often ignore, or perhaps run from the freedom offered, as if I prefer my chains of petty concerns and fears to the wide open spaces offered to me by grace, locked behind a door that I have the key to, often not used…. Read More ›

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Hook in me

Emotions flow of their own accord often times my mind plays it’s own tapes, movies, reruns seen often, all I have to do is sit back and observe, the length of their life depending on how the observer reacts, calmly allowing things to proceed, or being absorbed by the inner play, which allows the story… Read More ›

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Talk on Grief

There is one experience that most of us are not spared from, it often starts as a child when our innocence is shattered when the reality of how something that we love can be taken away, for most it can begin with the death of a beloved pet, or perhaps we hear of the death… Read More ›

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By the dollar store

I drove Luke to his dentist appointment on Thursday afternoon it was a beautiful cloudy warm winter’s day, as usual he was very pleasant company and talkative. After the visit he wanted to go to the “the Dollar Store”, I let him go in alone so that he could just take his time, unlike me… Read More ›

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