How to Be a Monastic and Not Leave Your Day Job: An Invitation to Oblate Life (Voice from the Monastery)

How to Be a Monastic and Not Leave Your Day Job: An Invitation to Oblate Life (Voice from the Monastery)
by Brother Benet Tvedten

How to Be a Monastic and Not Leave Your Day Job: An Invitation to Oblate Life (Voice from the Monastery)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Brother Benet Tvedten
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-02-01
ISBN: 1557254494
Number of pages: 119
Publisher: Paraclete Press

Book Reviews of How to Be a Monastic and Not Leave Your Day Job: An Invitation to Oblate Life (Voice from the Monastery)

Book Review: A Slight Introduction to Benedictine Oblates
Summary: 4 Stars

Brother Benet Tvedten's HOW TO BE A MONASTIC AND NOT LEAVE YOUR DAY JOB is short book, written in an accessible, breezy style, about the Benedictine Oblates. Oblates are associations of lay people, Catholic and non-Catholic, that are attached to particular Benedictine monasteries. These associations provide a formal framework for lay observance of the Rule of Saint Benedict. Though there are ceremonies that celebrate stages in the process of oblation, and that manifest in an oblate's attachment to a particular monastery his or her observance of the Benedictine rule of stability, the oblate does not take religious vows of chastity, poverty and obedience; in short, oblates are not monks.

The title of the book, if one didn't take notice of the subtitle, might mislead one to think the subject is much broader in scope than the Oblates of Saint Benedict. Though Tvedten does discuss the Rule of Saint Benedict, and briefly describes some of the attributes of Benedictine spirituality, his book is not intended as a thorough treatment of Western monasticism and the qualities of the contemplative life. If you are looking for direction in how to adapt contemplative practices to your life in the world, you are better off looking for guidance elsewhere; indeed, since the Jesuits are known as "Contemplatives in Action," one might instead look at one of the numerous books on Ignatian spirituality.

As far as oblation is concerned, Tvedten is, if you'll pardon the clich?, preaching to the choir. The target reader has probably already heard of the Oblates and has some interest in pursuing that path. For that reader, this book may not provide much information that he or she doesn't already know. For the person unfamiliar with the Oblates, this introduction doesn't really convincingly make the case for considering it. This reader was interested in knowing that Jacques Maritain, Sir Alec Guinness, Dorothy Day, Eugene McCarthy, Rose Kennedy and Walker Percy were all oblates (p. 70), but wasn't really sure what it was about the Oblates that drew them to the life. In other words, how does becoming an oblate fulfill one's desire to live Benedictine spirituality? Are oblates just monastic wannabees? or is their oblation, as Tvedten suggests, a vocation?

BE A MONASTIC is a light if enjoyable snack that will leave you feeling peckish for a more satisfying meal.

Summary of How to Be a Monastic and Not Leave Your Day Job: An Invitation to Oblate Life (Voice from the Monastery)

Dorothy Day was an oblate while she lived in the heart of New York City. So was the French poet, Paul Claudel. Kathleen Norris is an oblate, and so was Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia, the first woman in Europe to earn a Ph.D. What connects them all? There are at least ten thousand oblates in the United States today (no one knows for sure how many), and each of them is connected in meaningful ways to a monastery or abbey. Most oblates are ordinary lay people from various Christian traditions. They are linked together by common appreciation for the Rule of St. Benedict. Originally written for monks, the principles in the Rule may be applied by everyone else---and in today's hectic, changing world, being an oblate offers a rich spiritual connection to the stability and wisdom of monastic life. This essential guide explains how people who live and work in "the world" are still invited to balance work with prayer, cultivate interdependence with others, practice hospitality, and otherwise practice their spirituality like monks.

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