Frank R. Fisher, Obl OSB
 
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    "Of Brethren Who Work a Long Distance from the Oratory or Are on a Journey"

    "The brethren who are at work too far away, and cannot come to the oratory at the appointed time, and the Abbot hath assured himself that such is the case -- let them perform the Work of God in the fear of God and on bended knees where they are working. In like manner let those who are sent on a journey not permit the appointed hours to pass by; but let them say the  office by themselves as best they can, and not neglect to fulfil the obligation of divine service" - Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 50.
                   
    I have to admit my career as an interim pastor does not make me an ideal Benedictine. St. Benedict wanted his monks to be stable, to stay, live, and die in one place; in one community. But the high stacks of packing boxes surrounding me at this moment, show that this interim call will soon end.  I am off on the road again after December 27th. This time I am looking for my seventh interim pastorate.

    Early in my time as an Oblate, I was wrestling with this fact with a fellow Oblate. "Should I simply find one congregation and stay there for the rest of my life," I wondered aloud. "But if I do that, I know quite well I will be entering a life that does not suit me. I am a wanderer, a pilgrim if you wish, in the depths of my heart." My brother in Benedict simply smiled and said, "but your stability is to your profession."

    Suddenly it all made sense. And it has brought me to contemplation of Chapter 50 of Benedict's Rule. I am almost always too far away from the Oratory (chapel) to join in the hours of prayer. But I can join in them, and in the reading of the rule, wherever I am at the time.  In a sense I revolve around the abbey, connected by lines of prayer, work, and study. There are times when the tug of those lines is too strong, and I must go home and live for even a short while in the midst of my community. After that recharge of my spirit, I am once again ready to begin wandering.

    There may be some others of you who read this who have lives who are in someway rootless. Perhaps your circumstances or your profession has stopped you from joining a spiritual community. If that is so, simply look to the google search bar on this page, and begin searching under abbey, oblate, monk, nun, and your own geographical location. Once you've found a listing, go physically and check it out. If it is not the place where your heart, to quote John Wesley, is "strangely warmed," start the processs over again and continue it until you find your spiritual home. And if by any chance you live near Peoria, Illinois, I can save you some searching. Just check out http://www.SBAbbey.com. You will find a warm welcome there

PAX,

Brother Oscar Romero, Obl OSB
 
Stability 07/16/2009
 

Next August, Saint Benedict's Abbey will celebrate it's twenty-fifth anniversary. Our Abbot refers to it as our "three month" anniversary. You see, when the Abbey was founded, people told the monks it would not last for three months. Yet twenty-five years later the Abbey's bells still call the community to the hours of prayer. Those bells have become so vital to the Abbey's neighbors that they call to check if everything is OK if the bells do not sound on time.

The continuing presence of the Abbey in the community is a visible, and audible, witness to Christ, to prayer, and to service to God's people. It is also a visible call to work and prayer for those who live within the cloister. Benedict insisted that his monks be rooted to one place. He said the only real monks were those "who belong to a monastery, where they serve under a rule and an abbot." - Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 1.

Before monks take their final vows, they talk to the community to tell them of their journey to this place. They also talk of their future. During this talk they invariably say, "this is the place where I will die." This decision is emphasized during the vows themselves when the monks find themselves prostrated before the altar, covered with a funeral pall. Their old ways are dead. They fully commit the rest of their lives to the monastic community.

For those of us who follow Benedict's Rule in the world, how do we show our stability to the world and ourselves? How do our Oblation promises enable us to hold fast to Christ during life's storms?  Mostly the Rule itself, and it's call to Christian life is the way we hold stable. The rule calls us to prayer, bids us to study,  reminds us of our call to radical hospitality, and instructs us to treat everyone we encounter as if they were Jesus.  We do not have the benefit of the Abbey's visible presence with us for most of our life. But we do have the Rule as a constant reminder to be stable in our walk with Christ.