Oblates
Oblates of the Bernardine Cistercians are Christian men and women, married or single, who wish to deepen their search for God, and to live the Gospel more intensely, in the light of the Rule of St. Benedict and Cistercian spirituality.
The Bernardine Cistercians offer to Oblates a defined structure and a recognizable spirituality to help them in their everyday lives by sharing in our life of prayer and work; receiving support and guidance to live according to the Gospel in a complex and rapidly changing world and contact with like-minded Christians who face the same challenges in our secularized, competitive society.
Because we believe the values of the Rule of St. Benedict to be relevant today, we offer this to encourage Christians to take a fuller part in the life of the church.
This also helps out community to share more fully in the life of the Church, receiving from the Oblates a deeper insight into the vocation of the laity, and together finding ways of mutual service.
We ask of our Oblates a serious commitment to personal prayer, the Eucharist and the prayer of the Church, service to others, and regular contact with the monastery, all according to each Oblate’s possibilities. We reflect with the Oblates on the Rule of St. Benedict and the elements of the Cistercian life, as they apply to each Oblate’s situation.
We aim to show solidarity with the Oblate’s local Church through our interest and prayerful support.
My Oblate life
Life can be such a strange mixture of ups and downs and happenings, that we don’t really consider why this is until we are brought to a standstill and reflect.
If I had not gone to meet a priest friend, Father Augustine Moly, at Westminster Cathedral (who, like me, began life as an Anglican, and then also became Roman Catholic), I might never have met up with some wonderful people.
My prayer life was satisfactory, but Father’s was very solid and meaningful. Over a lunch of jacket potato and cheese, he asked if I knew the Sisters at Brownshill Monastery. He had met one of the Sisters at Saint Peter’s Residence, where he lived in London. I said that I had heard of them, but didn’t really know them, and he suggested that I should get in touch with the Sisters.
I believe that God was truly working here, for when I read our church bulletin, lo and behold, there was to be a series of ‘quiet days’ coming up. I decided to phone and enquire, and I soon found that I had arranged to go there on the following Tuesday! (God does work in a mysterious way!)
I was met by Sister Mary Stephen and then Sister Mary Lucy - words cannot be found to express how I felt. It was just wonderful - exactly what I had needed in my life-peace, quietness, stillness, and it was such a joy.
I had been going to vespers for one year when I learned about their Oblates. I approached Sister Catherine, the Oblate mistress, and one year ago I began my journey. I have now been going to Brownshill for two wonderful years. Everything seems to have taken on more meaning in my life. Prayer is the essence of the relationship with God, and we are pilgrims on a journey leading to God and eternal happiness.
This has changed my life, finding the blessed silence in which to communicate one’s thoughts and try to lead a better life. Silence is necessary in all walks of life, for it is only when we stop speaking that we can truly listen to the voice of God and be aware of His presence, which in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, may not be heard. We may not always see or feel His presence, but rest assured that he is always there and will always find us, as He loves us and will never abandon us.
Our journey towards God is not an easy one, but as His children, we know that at the end of our road, we will come face to face with Him, and what could possibly be better?
We therefore need to reflect on Psalm 45 ‘Be still, and know that I am God’.
I give a very big ‘thank you’ to the Sisters of Brownshill Monastery for all your help and kindness, and for taking me on!
Lynne Davis
