An Afternoon of Reflection
Twice a year, in Advent and Lent, the Oblates of
St. Benedict Monastery take a break from their
monthly morning meeting for an Afternoon of
Reflection and Potluck. The Lenten afternoon
occurred on Sunday, March 27, 2022 and was
attended by about twenty oblates.
The afternoon began in
the monastery chapel with a reflection, “The
Prodigal Son Returns in Us”, presented by Br. Mark
Orcutt, which also was the gospel reading for that
Sunday. After the reflection there was time for
discussion questions and a short period of
personal reflection followed by an hour of
adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. During this
hour our monks joined the oblates for Vespers and
Benediction. The day was capped off with a
delicious potluck dinner provided by the oblates
in our retreat house.
Oblates have various
other projects throughout the year including
collecting for needy families at Easter. This year
the oblates collected the funds to purchase sixty
$50 Meijer gift cards to be distributed to
struggling families. These cards were turned over
to the Christian Service coordinator at St. Joseph
Parish, Lake Orion, for distribution to families
in need.
Our oblates normally meet
on the third Saturday of the month. Oblates join
the monks for the morning Mass then their meeting
follows. A Benedictine Oblate is a lay person,
male or female, married or single, who desires to
follow Benedictine spirituality as fully as
possible according to their state in life while
remaining in the world and attaching themselves to
a Benedictine community. If you would like to find
out more about the Oblate Program at St. Benedict
Monastery, please click
here.
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