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My life as a Benedictine oblate at a Catholic monastery in Florida, USA.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'retreats'
Four reasons to have a spiritual retreat. A Benedictine oblate blog
My wife and I went on a spiritual retreat recently with a group of other Benedictine oblates at St. Leo Abbey in Florida,. Location and directions. The Friday to Sunday retreat was the best one we have had, but each one has been better than the last,...
Pilgrims and oblates. A Benedictine oblate blog
My wife and I are back from a Benedictine oblate retreat over the weekend — Friday through Sunday evening. Like the Mediaeval pilgrims who were told “one’s pilgrimage does not end in Santiago — it begins there”(1) we came home feeling that...
Video of St. Leo Abbey. A Benedictine oblate blog
Tampa Tribune Religion Reporter Michelle Bearden prepared an excellent video about St. Leo Abbey.St. Leo Abbey, Florida, USA, is where my wife and I are oblates. This short video might help put faces and places to what I blog about. The abbot gives a...
Themes for Spiritual Retreats. A Benedictine oblate blog
Before one of our spiritual retreats at St. Leo Abbey in Florida, USA, my wife and I adopted a theme and thought about that theme in the weeks before our weekend at the abbey. Contemplating the retreat theme kept us focused. We moved our lives away...
When is a retreat over? A Benedictine oblate blog
In the past two years my wife and I have had four weekend retreats at the monastery located about 45 minutes from our home. For each retreat we prepared more than the previous one. And after returning home from each retreat, we have spent more time ...
Retreat Compline. A Benedictine oblate blog
Guesthouse where we stayed My wife and I are back home from a long weekend retreat at wonderful St. Leo Abbey in Florida, USA (about 45 minutes north of Tampa/St. Petersburg). We had a wonderful time. We prayed with the monks during all their divine ...
Lectio for our retreat. A Benedictine oblate blog
I have been preparing for an upcoming retreat at a Benedictine monastery in the same way as I prepared for the annual oblate retreat of several weeks ago. I have selected an idea or spiritual practice as my theme during the weeks before the upcoming...
Oblate Sunday. A Benedictine oblate blog
This Sunday my wife and I will drive to the abbey for oblate Sunday. This is the first oblate meeting after our oblate retreat weekend — the peaceful spirit from that retreat is still a light in our hearts. We have so much to be thankful for from...
What’s So Special About Ordinary? A Benedictine oblate blog
Yes, the peace from our retreat still fills our hearts. And this blog is an extension of how that happens. My wife and I are ordinary folks like everyone else — jobs, house payment, extended family, community activities, and hobbies. But keeping ou...
Our Retreat, Part 4. A Benedictine Oblate blog
My wife and I returned from our weekend oblate retreat at St. Leo Abbey in the state of Florida, USA, about two weeks ago. We had spent about a month at home preparing for the retreat by spending more time in contemplation and I focused on beauty as...
In a Spiritual Space, Part 3. A Benedictine Oblate blog
This is part 3 of my report on our time at the annual oblate weekend retreat at St. Leo Abbey in the state of Florida, USA.My wife and I are still in the spiritual peace we entered during the weekend retreat at St. Leo Abbey. We have each taken more...
Retreat Part 2, Overall Schedule. A Benedictine oblate blog
St. Leo Abbey, Florida, USA[Click picture to enlarge] The schedule for the weekend retreat was as follows — beginning with registration Friday after work and extending until Sunday just after lunch so people had enough time to drive back home. Some...
Our Oblate Retreat, Part 1. A Benedictine oblate blog.
"Peace I leave with you"[Click picture to enlarge] We are back home from the oblate retreat, but our hearts are still at the peaceful monastery.The oblate weekend retreat my wife and I attended was a spiritual blessing. We had prepared for the retr...
Walk to beauty. A Benedictine oblate blog
Beauty has been a gentle guide as I prepare for an upcoming oblate retreat later next month. Weekends are especially contemplative as we go into “retreat-preparation mode.” We practice lectio divina and silence. My wife and I had a little humoro...
List of Monasteries and Retreat Centers. A Benedictine oblate blog
There is a poll associated with this blog on the right sidebar of this blog: Would you attend a spiritual retreat?Many monasteries welcome guests and/or have retreat programs. Welcoming visitors as Christ is part of the Rule of St. Benedict (Chapter ...
More beauty, more apologetics. A Benedictine oblate blog
I am going on a weekend retreat at a Catholic Benedictine monastery, and I have been focusing on beauty as the main part of my preparation. Over the weekend, I did a little research on natural moral law in the Catholic Catechism (the 900-page versio...
Rest in the Light. A Benedictine oblate blog
Rest on the Flight into Egypt[Click pictures to enlarge] The "Rest on the Flight into Egypt," is the 1879 painting by Luc Olivier Merson. I mentioned the painting at the very end of my last blog which was about focusing on beauty as preparation for ...
Pursue beauty and it may find you. Benedictine oblate blog
The Annunciation[Click picture to enlarge] I am preparing for an annual oblate retreat by focusing on beauty. I hope it will help fix my attention on peace and truth — two of beauty’s closest companions.Recently, I came across Henry Ossawa Tanne...
