Monastic Vocations:
VOCATIONS
If you are interested in joining our monastic community, the first and more important thing that you’re called to the Benedictine way of life and that you’re have the passion for the reconciliation and Christian unity.
Traits of a Benedictine monk:
The Benedictine monk should have three notable traits in his character. He should be genuine and authentic in his search for God. He should have a love of the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours. And he should be obedient and able to fit into the daily round of community life. These would be signs of a Benedictine vocation, and no novice would be acceptable without them.
The process of joining the Abbey:
All those who wish to join the Abbey must visit the Abbey at least once and present the following information to the Abbot and his council of formation prior to entry.
Requirements for Admission to Saint Benedict's Abbey:
Letter of petition
Autobiography
6 letters of recommendation
Police background check
Credit report check
Sexual misconduct check
1 psychiatric and 1 psychological evaluation
Birth Certificate
Baptismal Certificate
Communion Certificate
Confirmation Certificate
Schooling Transcripts
2 photos 2x2
Upon acceptance, the aspirant must come and stay for 3 months prior to entry as postulant. Then the period of postulancy may last from 6 months to a year. Upon the completion of postulancy, he may petition to join the novitiate or he may wish to return to his secular life.
Benedictine novices are received for a period of at least one year. If they are found suitable, and if they themselves find their fulfillment in the monastic life, they are allowed to make temporary vows or promises for three years as a further step in their probation. These promises are Obedience, Stability, which means belonging to a monastic family until death, and Conversion of Manners, which include the evangelical counsels of Poverty and Chastity. If after this period they still wish to persevere, the community can open its ranks and receive them for life.
Information regarding Priests:
A Benedictine community is made up of monks some of whom are priests, but it is not essential for a monk to be a priest.
While there is a good deal of sacerdotal work to be done, there would have to be many priests to do it. But in some communities where there is not the same need, the number of priests would be fewer.
No rank or privilege is given to priests except that which belongs to their sacerdotal character. They say Mass, they preach, they give the sacraments. In other respects they take their place in the community and do the work that is given them.
Can a monk become a priest?
A monk becomes a priest by a mutual consent between the Abbot and the monk himself. A monk may ask to be a priest, and the Abbot may ask a monk to become a priest, but neither can force the issue. In this case, a monk may not demand and the Abbot may not command.
It is a good thing to have the sacramental life flowing within the community, and overflowing outside it. But it is not everyone who has the desire, the ability or the temperament to do the necessary studies for taking Holy Orders. The decision is therefore taken at the personal level and remains a mutual agreement between monk and Abbot.
Why consider the Benedictine way of life?
The Rule of Saint Benedict was written fourteen hundred years ago, so is it not time to put it aside as something archaic and write a new one?
The New Testament is older, and still we can live according to the same spirit of the New Testament.
The Rule of Saint Benedict is not an inspired document, but it is still a good guide for modern monks - and nuns.
It has produced five thousand saints in the course of its long history. It has made its contribution to the development of Christian civilization in the past. It is constantly being adapted to modern life, and it is still able to lead men and women to the summit of Christian perfection.
If you are interested in joining our monastic community, the first and more important thing that you’re called to the Benedictine way of life and that you’re have the passion for the reconciliation and Christian unity.
Traits of a Benedictine monk:
The Benedictine monk should have three notable traits in his character. He should be genuine and authentic in his search for God. He should have a love of the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours. And he should be obedient and able to fit into the daily round of community life. These would be signs of a Benedictine vocation, and no novice would be acceptable without them.
The process of joining the Abbey:
All those who wish to join the Abbey must visit the Abbey at least once and present the following information to the Abbot and his council of formation prior to entry.
Requirements for Admission to Saint Benedict's Abbey:
Letter of petition
Autobiography
6 letters of recommendation
Police background check
Credit report check
Sexual misconduct check
1 psychiatric and 1 psychological evaluation
Birth Certificate
Baptismal Certificate
Communion Certificate
Confirmation Certificate
Schooling Transcripts
2 photos 2x2
Upon acceptance, the aspirant must come and stay for 3 months prior to entry as postulant. Then the period of postulancy may last from 6 months to a year. Upon the completion of postulancy, he may petition to join the novitiate or he may wish to return to his secular life.
Benedictine novices are received for a period of at least one year. If they are found suitable, and if they themselves find their fulfillment in the monastic life, they are allowed to make temporary vows or promises for three years as a further step in their probation. These promises are Obedience, Stability, which means belonging to a monastic family until death, and Conversion of Manners, which include the evangelical counsels of Poverty and Chastity. If after this period they still wish to persevere, the community can open its ranks and receive them for life.
Information regarding Priests:
A Benedictine community is made up of monks some of whom are priests, but it is not essential for a monk to be a priest.
While there is a good deal of sacerdotal work to be done, there would have to be many priests to do it. But in some communities where there is not the same need, the number of priests would be fewer.
No rank or privilege is given to priests except that which belongs to their sacerdotal character. They say Mass, they preach, they give the sacraments. In other respects they take their place in the community and do the work that is given them.
Can a monk become a priest?
A monk becomes a priest by a mutual consent between the Abbot and the monk himself. A monk may ask to be a priest, and the Abbot may ask a monk to become a priest, but neither can force the issue. In this case, a monk may not demand and the Abbot may not command.
It is a good thing to have the sacramental life flowing within the community, and overflowing outside it. But it is not everyone who has the desire, the ability or the temperament to do the necessary studies for taking Holy Orders. The decision is therefore taken at the personal level and remains a mutual agreement between monk and Abbot.
Why consider the Benedictine way of life?
The Rule of Saint Benedict was written fourteen hundred years ago, so is it not time to put it aside as something archaic and write a new one?
The New Testament is older, and still we can live according to the same spirit of the New Testament.
The Rule of Saint Benedict is not an inspired document, but it is still a good guide for modern monks - and nuns.
It has produced five thousand saints in the course of its long history. It has made its contribution to the development of Christian civilization in the past. It is constantly being adapted to modern life, and it is still able to lead men and women to the summit of Christian perfection.
OBLATES:
Before we formally introduce you to the life of an Oblate, it is pertinent that we give a short introduction of the man whose virtue and devotion to the way of Christ continues to attract many to this particular lifestyle.
Benedict –or “blessed” as Pope Gregory the Great describes him in his Second book of “The Dialogues”- was born around the year 480, in the midst of a very turbulent and controversial era of our history. Losing attraction to all the prevailing vanity and perversion of his time, he abandoned his studies in Rome and took shelter in a cave near Subiaco (Italy) and became a hermit under the guidance of an anchorite monk called Romanus. It was through a dedicated life of discipline, study and constant prayer that his vocation flourished and brought the attention of many people in the area. After a failed attempt to guide some unruly monks who invited him to be their Abbot, he decided to build a “cenobitic” monastery (meaning one house under an Abbot and a Rule) where many joined him through the years. Instructing them in what he considered “the school of the Lord’s service” (prologue of his Rule), his community grew in a life of work and prayer and the meditation of the Holy Scriptures (Lectio Divina) as a way to grow in the ascetical life. Time and experience helped him to receive the illumination necessary to compile his “Rule for Monasteries”, which became one of the most prominent outlines of Monastic discipline through Europe and later throughout the rest of the Christian world.
Benedict is known to be the “father of western monasticism” and the Patron Saint of Europe. He is also known for his motto of “Ora et Labora” (Latin phrase which means, “work and prayer”) and “PAX” (which meaning: “Peace”).
His feast, celebrated annually on July 11th, in 1980 marked the release of the famous “Medal of St. Benedict” which today has become a sacramental for blessings and exorcisms for the whole Church.
Oblation as
an “Offering to God”
The reception of Oblates into the Order of Saint Benedict began as children used to be brought to the doors of the Monastery by their parents, who wanted them to be taught and raised by the Abbot and the monks in the spiritual life. The word “Oblate” comes from the Latin word Oblatio, which implies -according to Benedict’s Rule- that people were “offered” to God in a special ceremony, with the signing of a document that was placed on the Altar, certifying that the person would live according to the life of the Monastery and the direction and instruction of the Abbot. It became a common practice in those days both for rich and poor alike.
In the course of time, adult people of many different backgrounds began to do the same as a way to adopt some of the Monastic practices, but keeping their own state in life, uniting themselves to the life of the monastic community while growing personally in Benedictine spirituality.
In recent years, after many reflections about the importance of Monastic life and its impact in the life of the Church, the Confederation of Benedictine Monasteries established as a norm that Lay and Ordained people alike can participate in the benefits of Benedictine spirituality. Currently, there are many Abbeys and Monasteries throughout the world that offer an “Oblate Program” through which they make available the Rule and discipline of St. Benedict available to all who desire it as another “tool” that can help them in their Christian growth and vocation. They join in the mission and the life of the Monastery to which they affiliate with prayers, encouragement and support as they themselves are supported and aided by the Community and those aspects of the monastic life to which they commit themselves.
The Oblation Ceremony still keeps its basic historical principles; the person makes “promises” (*different from the monastic vows) and states his/her desire to follow the directives and life of an Oblate, sharing the life and ministry of that particular Monastery/Abbey which receives them. These are promises, not vows, and therefore do not incur major moral obligations if broken.
Our Oblates and the Abbey
In this same spirit of reconciliation and unity, our oblates participate of our life and mission and are witnesses of Christ and of the values of the kingdom in their respective faith communities. The oblate candidates and oblates of our community receive continued formation with the purpose of helping them in the following of Christ, to understand the mission of the Abbey and commit to it and to be agents of reconciliation and unity in the world around us.
Before we formally introduce you to the life of an Oblate, it is pertinent that we give a short introduction of the man whose virtue and devotion to the way of Christ continues to attract many to this particular lifestyle.
Benedict –or “blessed” as Pope Gregory the Great describes him in his Second book of “The Dialogues”- was born around the year 480, in the midst of a very turbulent and controversial era of our history. Losing attraction to all the prevailing vanity and perversion of his time, he abandoned his studies in Rome and took shelter in a cave near Subiaco (Italy) and became a hermit under the guidance of an anchorite monk called Romanus. It was through a dedicated life of discipline, study and constant prayer that his vocation flourished and brought the attention of many people in the area. After a failed attempt to guide some unruly monks who invited him to be their Abbot, he decided to build a “cenobitic” monastery (meaning one house under an Abbot and a Rule) where many joined him through the years. Instructing them in what he considered “the school of the Lord’s service” (prologue of his Rule), his community grew in a life of work and prayer and the meditation of the Holy Scriptures (Lectio Divina) as a way to grow in the ascetical life. Time and experience helped him to receive the illumination necessary to compile his “Rule for Monasteries”, which became one of the most prominent outlines of Monastic discipline through Europe and later throughout the rest of the Christian world.
Benedict is known to be the “father of western monasticism” and the Patron Saint of Europe. He is also known for his motto of “Ora et Labora” (Latin phrase which means, “work and prayer”) and “PAX” (which meaning: “Peace”).
His feast, celebrated annually on July 11th, in 1980 marked the release of the famous “Medal of St. Benedict” which today has become a sacramental for blessings and exorcisms for the whole Church.
Oblation as
an “Offering to God”
The reception of Oblates into the Order of Saint Benedict began as children used to be brought to the doors of the Monastery by their parents, who wanted them to be taught and raised by the Abbot and the monks in the spiritual life. The word “Oblate” comes from the Latin word Oblatio, which implies -according to Benedict’s Rule- that people were “offered” to God in a special ceremony, with the signing of a document that was placed on the Altar, certifying that the person would live according to the life of the Monastery and the direction and instruction of the Abbot. It became a common practice in those days both for rich and poor alike.
In the course of time, adult people of many different backgrounds began to do the same as a way to adopt some of the Monastic practices, but keeping their own state in life, uniting themselves to the life of the monastic community while growing personally in Benedictine spirituality.
In recent years, after many reflections about the importance of Monastic life and its impact in the life of the Church, the Confederation of Benedictine Monasteries established as a norm that Lay and Ordained people alike can participate in the benefits of Benedictine spirituality. Currently, there are many Abbeys and Monasteries throughout the world that offer an “Oblate Program” through which they make available the Rule and discipline of St. Benedict available to all who desire it as another “tool” that can help them in their Christian growth and vocation. They join in the mission and the life of the Monastery to which they affiliate with prayers, encouragement and support as they themselves are supported and aided by the Community and those aspects of the monastic life to which they commit themselves.
The Oblation Ceremony still keeps its basic historical principles; the person makes “promises” (*different from the monastic vows) and states his/her desire to follow the directives and life of an Oblate, sharing the life and ministry of that particular Monastery/Abbey which receives them. These are promises, not vows, and therefore do not incur major moral obligations if broken.
Our Oblates and the Abbey
In this same spirit of reconciliation and unity, our oblates participate of our life and mission and are witnesses of Christ and of the values of the kingdom in their respective faith communities. The oblate candidates and oblates of our community receive continued formation with the purpose of helping them in the following of Christ, to understand the mission of the Abbey and commit to it and to be agents of reconciliation and unity in the world around us.
