Oblate Retreat - Benediction

The following homily was given during Benediction on Saturday:

Matthew 9:35-38 -- Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness.  At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest."

Sometimes I think we all get a little bit jealous of those first century Jews and Christians. Faith would be so much more simple if we could have just touched him, seen him, watched him as he did ordinary, even boring things. What did his voice sound like, was it a smooth baritone, a resounding bass, or a crisp clear tenor? Were his hands calloused from hard work or were they miraculously smooth from treating his body as a precious gift? Did those around him realize how blessed they were to simply sit at his feet and watch the play of light across his features? They couldn’t have known as much as we know now, so couldn’t we appreciate all the more the real presence of the Lord?

Just a glance, to know the glance, the gaze of Jesus. Did it cause a person to tremble or to rejoice – “He sees me! He knows me!”; was it in fact a mixture of both? To hear his words and experience the recognition of truth, of True knowledge and perfect reason. A man who knows about the world and its ways, but could pass through the midst of falsehood and still proclaim the Truth.

At times we almost groan and stomp our feet in frustration over having to believe without seeing, to have faith and to trust and to hope. Is it really be too much to ask for a glimpse for just a moment of the glory of the Word made flesh?

The real presence, the experience of the word, the joy of intimacy with Jesus, to share his thoughts and his experiences.

This is the joy of Lectio. This is the joy we search for, the place of our rest and our strength. And it leads us to Christ. To an encounter with his Body and Blood in the Eucharist. We enter into the mystery of Christ’s life through the Word of Sacred Scripture and through the encounter with the grace of God made visible, the sacraments. Lectio, the slow, deliberate, and passionate embrace of Christ’s own life and his revelation from the very Beginning. And then to touch him as he comes offers himself for us to be consumed and to be united with him. It is natural for us to thirst for more, to see him as he is in Glory. But that is for the end, for now … we will simply have to wait and listen as he teaches us at length.

Approximately 35 minutes of silent adoration followed ....

Oblate Retreat Weekend

Nearly 40 oblates and friends were here this past weekend for the Oblate Retreat!  Our retreat director Br. Matthew Mattingly, OSB of Saint Meinrad Archabbey discussed the topic of Lectio Divina.  He discussed the technique, the challenges, and some wonderful everyday examples to help us in our practice.  Lectio is certainly something that we can always learn more about.  I will post more about the retreat talks as I am able to compile the notes.

Following Saturday's conference we received three new oblate candidates: Mr. Anthony Dean, Mr. William Ellis Jr., and Mr. Charles Alsobrook III; and the current oblates renewed their promisses.

Strive to join yourselves more deeply to the Gospel of Christ ....

Receive these medals with the cross of our Holy Father Benedict ...

"May all who use these medals devoutly, be blessed with health of soul and body ...."

Accept the Rule of Our Father Benedict as your rule and guide ....

Charles, Anthony, Bill, & Fr. Bede

Switching things up a bit we took our group photo outside as a reminder of the new life and expression of renewed interest in the oblates, new inquiries arriving almost weekly.  The original plan was to have our photo near the statue of Saint Benedict in the courtyard, but the sun came out and we were trying to avoid "sun smiles".  Maybe a morning photo next year. - Thecla, the dog, decided to join us at the last second.

(in no particular order) Bill Ellis, Laura Bownes., Pat Hildabrant, Tony Dean, Susan Grimm, Kay Barmettler, Gloria Mull, Jean Henderson, Bobby Jackson, Curtis Henderson, Danielle O'Donnell, Thomas O'Donnell, Martha Ann Warnke, Ava Inbau, Vanda Antaillia, Kevin McBride, Daniel Sharkey, Bob Killelea, Christine Webb, Mary Calligaris, Judy Regau, Maureen McEneany, Charles Alsobrook, Katie Alsobrook, Charles Alsobrook III, Jim Barmettler, Kay, Barmettler, Mary Jo Carlysle, Vicki Dorsey, Patti McFadder, Flo Piotrowski, Sr. Therese

More to come later -- Fr. Bede, OSB

Oblate Retreat Registration

By now our Oblates should have received their retreat information via US Post.

Wait! What's that? You didn't receive your Oblate Retreat info by mail!  No Problem.
Send me a quick email and I will gladly send it as a PDF via email.

The Book of the Genealogy of Jesus Christ

St. Bernard Prep, Wednesday Homily - Nativity of the Virgin Mary

Romans 8:28-30; Psalm 13:6ab, 6c; Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23

Nativity of BVM

Whew! That is a lot of names. And if you were in my scripture class I’m guessing that you could tell us quite a bit about many of those people in the list. And it is quite a list. You have Patriarchs, and prophets, prostitutes and kings, you have heroes and villains, you have saints and sinners. It’s quite a collection.

But isn’t this just a bit scandalous? Shouldn’t we be a little bit ashamed to talk about Jesus being descended from some of these people? And heck wouldn’t it be much better to just remove the “PEOPLE” all together … Jesus is the Son of God and let’s just leave it at that?

Sure it might be easier. It might make us a little more comfortable. It might make us look a little better. But we would loose something. Something really important. Something that this feast of the birth of Mary brings to the forefront … front and center.

In the beginning humanity, man and woman, together. They messed up. They didn’t just mess things up this was an EPIC FAIL if there ever was one. They broke their good relationship with God, by disobedience, lying, blaming, stealing, covering up, and in so many other ways. They lowered themselves. They sinned.

But God wasn’t about to leave them there. On the ground. Covered in leaves and dirt and all alone. In fact as many of you already know … that’s the whole point of the Bible. The Bible is the story of God’s love for us … for all of us. It is the story of all of the things that God did to bring us back to where we were meant to be from the beginning.

And in a single list of names … we have just covered the span of centuries. In Luke’s Gospel we begin with Adam and Eve in the Garden. But here in Matthew, it’s enough to start with Abraham and the creation of a covenant, a promise, between God and us. The promise – YOU ARE MINE, all mine and I’m never going to let anyone take you away from me! And David the king …this is how it’s going to happen. I will raise up one like you, like all of you, a human being from lowest to the greatest. One like you who has had a good history and a bad history. One just like you in every way except one. Except one. This one will be God and human, He will be sinless. This one will be perfect and have the power to do what you could not do on your own. This one can fix it all. But he will be like you – so that where you and your first parents messed up … He will fix it. He will not mess up.

And Mary … I will make her special too. She will be born, and set apart. She will have the freedom to choose. To choose to be part of this great plan to save us all. She will be the mother and she will be like the Church … She will provide for the Christ, Jesus, and he will set us free.

So these names are really really important. They are our names. Our history. Our people. And they remind us of the good times and the bad times. And they lead us to Christ. They show us that no matter how bad it can get … we can CHOOSE to return to Christ. To seek forgiveness for our sins. To become a person that other people want to be around and for all the right reasons.

Oblates of Saint Bernard Abbey

Today we had our monthly meeting of the Oblates of Saint Benedict.  There were about ten or so who were able to make it for the 4:00PM Conference.  One of the things I was asked to do is see if I could keep in more regular contact with the Oblates through this blog and maybe even a Facebook page.  Since this is already up and running ... I'll start here.

Firstly we welcomed a prospective candidate for the oblates, Mrs. Zelda Bigot, who lives just down the road here in Cullman.

We recapped last month's discussion on the role of the Abbot and how this applies to the Oblates of Saint Benedict who are not living in the monastic enclosure.  Our first conclusion concerned the role of a father or mother of the family.  The spiritual guidance of the family usually comes from the parents or even the grandparents.  This a wonderful opportunity to put what is said about the Abbot into practice.  The father or mother, must always remember what they are and what they are called, aware that more will be expected of one to whom more has been entrusted.  They must realize what a difficult and demanding burden they have undertaken: directing souls and serving a variety of temperaments, coaxing, reproving, and encouraging the4m as appropriate. (RB 2:30ff)  Yes, the words of Saint Benedict certainly apply to any head of the house.  Which lead us to our second conclusion.  Throughout the Rule of Saint Benedict, whenever there is mention of a superior (Abbot, Prior, Dean, Cellarer, etc.) the words of admonishment or the descriptions given for these individuals is nothing more than what is expected of any member of the monastic family.  Because of their position of authority they are simply reminded more emphatically to live up to the common standards of the house, recognizing that they have been set apart as an example.  Pride lurks in the wings, an ever present temptation and so Saint Benedict doesn't call them to something higher, rather he calls them to the common observance all the more diligently.

Following our discussion of last week's reflection, we moved on to new business.  We discussed ideas for the coming year.  The decision was made to do some common reading of the Rule.  "We are called to live by it, so maybe we should discuss it more closely this year."  After some discussion of how best to do this in the time provided we realized that there is no way to cover the whole Rule in a single year.  So in true Benedictine fashion we accepted that and will set out to do it anyway, taking as long as is necessary.  RB 1980 here we come!


The assignment for the next meeting (October 3, 2010) is this:
1. Read the Prologue of the Rule of Saint Benedict (in whichever translation you have).

2. For the next meeting, bring at least one question AND one insight*.

Insight = in your reading there will usually be something that peeks your interest, resonates with your life, or maybe brings an epiphany. That's the thing. For those who were at the meeting today .... it your version of the priest's "homilometer" ... your "lecti-ometer".

An finally a very brief synopsis of my reflection during the Holy Hour for Vocations:
Reading from RB Chapter 3 - Summoning the Brothers for Council.
Think Trinity ... in the beginning God created us in His image and likeness.  And in Genesis 2 He says, "It is not good for man to be alone."  God's inner life is a relationship of communion among the three persons.  When we are cooperating with Grace, we reflect that same divine communion in our families, our Church, our monastic community.  Is it any surprise that Saint Benedict would then call us to live in such a way that communion is at our core?  Seek the council of others, because when we try to act alone we get into trouble. Seek communion, even if there is disagreement, the work must be done together, in council, that the Holy Spirit might work in us.

Ok ... so now the challenge for the year.  Make sure I remember to keep updating this.  Even if it is just a short link to something great.  Thank you all for your prayers and patience.

Your servant in Christ, Fr. Bede, OSB

Post Script --- Br. Matthew Mattingly will be our retreat director (Sept 24-26).  Join us for this wonderful opportunity to rest and be renewed.  And don't forget Benefactor's Day on the 27th of September!