Celebration of Oblation in Tabgha 2011.
The spirit of the Rule of Saint Benedict together with charism of a monastery in its concrete environment with its special tasks and services are very attractive to some people. That is true not only for those who decide to take up monastic life and those who are connected to the monastery as pilgrims and friends. People look for a way in which to incorporate, in their daily life, in their families, in their work, in their “normal” environment what they have experienced as spiritually and humanly enriching in a monastic community.
For such people, men and women, married and unmarried, in different walks of life, monasteries offer the opportunity of becoming oblates. Like the monks in the monastery, men and women, who wish to attach themselves to the monastic family as oblates, go through a period of testing and instruction in oder, with the help of one of the monks, the oblate director, to become acquainted with the Rule of St. Benedict and with their community. Similarly to the monks, they make their oblation in a solemn ceremony in which they promise to live their lives as Christians in the world according to the principles of the Rule of Saint Benedict.