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.
Receiving Gifts
The things we really need come to us only as gifts, and in order to receive them as gifts we have to be open. In order to be open we have to renounce ourselves, in a sense we have to die to our image of ourselves, our autonomy, our fixation upon our self-willed identity. We… Read More ›
Silencio: The Beginning of Prayer
Recently, we saw a situation whereby a family member made an observation that was unfair and uninformed. The temptation: confront. And sometimes, we have to correct a situation, to speak up. Yes. But when praying about a course of action, the word, “Silencio” came flying, surprisingly, into our thoughts. Was this a “word of knowledge”… Read More ›
Scriptures come to life for Irish families through Jesse Box
Rome, Italy, Dec 21, 2014 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A new initiative out of Ireland is using Biblical dioramas to engage parents and children in Scripture. The Jesse Box, says one of its creators Sebastian Kraszkiewicz, aims “to help pass the faith to the children and to encourage family liturgy.” The diorama kit provides… Read More ›
Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (Christmas)
During the first two centuries after Christ’s death, Christmas was not celebrated. In 245 AD, when a group of scholars attempted to pinpoint the exact date of Christ’s birth, a Church council denounced the endeavour, declaring that it would be wrong to celebrate the birth of Christ “as though He were a King Pharaoh”. In… Read More ›
The Spirit of Christmas and the Spirit of Islam
Catholic World Report. Dec. 21, 2014. How much do Christians and Muslims have in common? Plenty of clues can be found in the celebration of Christmas. “The man that hath no music in himself/ Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds/ Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils” –William Shakespeare, The Merchant of… Read More ›
Christmas and the Liturgical Conception of Time.
In order to understand the full meaning of the liturgy we have to grasp the liturgical conception of time. The Christian “present” of the liturgy has some thing of the character of eternity, in which all reality is present at once. The past and the future are there fore made present in the mysteries of… Read More ›
UK youth create Advent video calendar
London, England, Dec 21, 2014 / 01:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- This Advent, young Catholics in the UK are using video media to challenge their peers to “engage in the life and rhythm of the Church” and seek a deeper relationship with Christ. Made for Glory, a by-the-youth, for-the-youth faith initiative in the UK, has been… Read More ›
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel: The Origin and the Music
Every traveler has had the experience while still far from home on a cold night. Along the road, we pass a home where light streams forth. A party must be going on, for cars surround the house and people fill it. We feel a certain pang in passing, because we long especially at that time… Read More ›
St. Bernard on Free Choice
Free choice is something clearly divine which shines forth in the soul like a jewel set in gold. From it the soul derives its power of judgement, and its option of choosing between good and evil, between life and death, in fact between light and darkness, and any other concepts which are perceived by the… Read More ›