Oblate Formation 
Posts concerning Oblate and Novice formation. These include articles which are also applicable to most Christians, whether Oblate or not. Additional articles on instruction of various parts of the Rule can be found under that category.
George Washington: Let me live according to those holy rules …
O most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ my merciful and loving father, I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins, but so coldly and carelessly, that my prayers are become my sin and stand… Read More ›
The benefits of self-denial in a must-have world
It’s great to have what we want, but once we have a certain amount, having more doesn’t make us happier. Shark Tank is my favorite television show. I like to guess which products will (and won’t) get investments, and which ones have succeeded in the past. I’m always wrong. Among the products that have gone… Read More ›
Are These the Last Days? Pondering a Text of St. Paul’s
Are these the last days? In some sense the planets are aligning. But hold your horses; let’s speak carefully of these matters. Last week in the Breviary we read First and Second Thessalonians, which are important source texts for such considerations. I’d like to look at a critical passage from Second Thessalonians, which lays out… Read More ›
God’s Fingerprints
When we take time to look for God’s Fingerprints, they can be found at every turn and event,through life, but to see them we must be in tune with Him; He is there — His “prints” — every minute. We are never alone. Each of those minutes of life, we are presented with choices and… Read More ›
10 Things to Fast From This Lent Instead of Chocolate
Changing up your usual practice may bear new spiritual fruit Chocolate, candy, and sweets are common Lenten sacrifices, but giving up the same thing every year can begin to feel like a routine rather than a sacrifice. Fasting should be a meaningful gesture of self-denial out of love for God. All the better if it… Read More ›
A Millennial’s Guide to Lent
Maybe our sacrifices won’t be heroic, but let’s at least make ’em hurt Growing up Catholic in the 1980s and ’90s, I was taught to do one thing during Lent: give up sweets. For most of my life, that is what I did each year, and I thought nothing about it. However, I began to… Read More ›
“You’ve got mail!”
“You’ve got mail!” There was a time when those words were associated with an electronic voice on one’s computer, announcing the arrival of e-mail. Do you recall when getting an e-mail was a novelty? Nowadays, my students think of e-mail as quaint, something that only “older” people (such as professors) use for business purposes. If… Read More ›
Humankind is stamped with the Divine Image
These communities, by their representatives in old Independence Hall, said to the whole world of men: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” This was their majestic… Read More ›
A prayer flowing from a place of deep humility and obedience
Yesterday (2/6/16) I had the honor of talking with those who are beginning their journey as ‘Lay Cistercians’ of our order. We talked about the ‘Rule of St. Benedict”, focusing on obedience and humility. I shared some of my own struggles with these topics in living out my own monastic life. There is never an… Read More ›
Vacare Deo: What Will Fill the Spaces We Empty This Lent?
In a few days it’ll be Lent, and I will again hang in the oratory the small plaque with two words: Vacare Deo, to empty oneself for God. It’s a reminder for spiritual cleaning. As it’s midwinter, and I’m already bored with being indoors, I am looking for things to do. This translates to “it’s… Read More ›