benedictine oblates in the 21st century

Is there a Place for Oblatesin the 21st Century?

Sister Edith Bogue, O.S.B.Oblate Retreat St Mary's Monastery

Rock Island, IllinoisOctober 17, 2014

October 17, 2014

a little about me

Plan for the day

• Spend the first conference talking about "The 21st Century" and contrasting it withBenedictine values.

• Consider being an Oblate in the workplace

• Consider being an Oblate in family life

• Closing

There will be some times for questions & comments. But it won't be all talk…

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Pause…Think…Note

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THE 21ST CENTURY:

The World's Wayand Benedict's Way

Modern Society• Few social theorists or commentators have

positive views of modern culture.Many people – even the most successful – speak of feeling empty or shallowWe have more than any group in history. (Genghis Khan couldn’t blow-dry his hair, and St. Benedict didn't have a computer for writing The Rule…)

• There are negative perspectives about many key elements of the Benedictine way of life.

• Benedict’s orders all of life.– Ten chapters on prayer schedule– Job descriptions with scripts.– How to act when you're sick.– Instructions for travel and

what to say on your return.– How to make a mistake and

how to correct someone.– Coming & going in order– Daily schedule

ORDER AS FREEDOM

Inequality: Greater in 2013 than any time since 1929.

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An ancient Sumerian art piece shows awareness of social classes …The nobles, priests, and warriors at the top…Below them, merchants and artisans …The serfs and slaves who performed manual labor on the bottom.

Consumerist Desires Balloon

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Affluenza

(de Graaf &

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uenza: The All-Consuming Epidem

affluenza, n. a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.

AUTHORITY

• We hope everyone will be “a leader” and train them for it• We promote independent thinking and individual choice,• Benedict tells us to follow TWO authorities all the time:

• The Rule AND the superior who takes the place of Christ

• The Rule often describes how to be a good follower• Don’t grumble and complain• Be satisfied with the work you’re asked to do• If a task seems impossible, explain the problem

but try it anyway if you have to.• Don’t get puffed up about your contributions

No nation or people is ready to follow laws to slow climate change or help the environment

Effici

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RESPONSIBILITY

•Our encounter with Christ, our belief, makes claims on our lives that are real.

•Responsibility will mean shaping our actions, our choices, our words, even our hopes and dreams towards Christ, out of love and desire for him.

•The Rule calls us to be moderate and give up some good things so as to be oriented constantly to Christ.

New Economics

• Modern economies founded on growth.

• Growth often founded on borrowing and debt.

• Can this persist in an aging world?

• Steady State Economics

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Koyaanisqatsi• Koyaanisqatsi: Hopi term for

“chaotic life” or “life that calls for anotherway of living” or “unbalanced”

• “The economy” has become a force on its own.

• Family relationships and life are complex and increasingly uncertain.

• Life is fast, pressured, scheduled, controlled.

• Human dimension is lacking.

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“School” of the Lord’s Service

• Society tells us to look out for ourselves• Service – of anyone – may be seen as a

virtue but not required. It is something we maychoose to do or not.

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OBLATES IN THE WORKPLACE

Why Work?• God works.

– God’s work never ends

– We are made in God’s image

– Jesus rested in orderto go out in ministry

• We work to survive– Food and shelter– Comfort and joy– To learn and grow

LINEAR TIME, HISTORICAL TIME

Birth Child Youth Adult Death

• We enter at conception• Circumstances shape us for good or ill• We achieve whatever we can• We exit at death

Secular view: time = motion, progress

Culture defines the purpose or goal of timeIn America, we have "bucket lists"

Over-work• Work productivity has

increased many times• Predicted outcomes

– Fewer working hours– More vacation– Stable incomes

• Actual outcomes– Longer working hours– Two jobs– Rising incomes

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Procrastination

• Fatigued• Overwhelmed• Confused• Fear of starting• Fear of failure• Fear of success• Needing to play• Self-blame• Self-loathing

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At work, we encounter• friends, colleagues, mentors • goof-offs, jerks, intimidators• incredible generosity• equally incredible injustice • a variety of rules & expectations• for the most part, few people

tryingto live the Gospel.

• Is there any place for living as an Oblate in the workplace?

Bureaucracy• Management is by

rules and roles.• Impersonal, based on

“the files”, rather than personal relationship or memory.*

• Interchangeable people• Contrast: The only

written record described in The Rule is the record of one’s monastic profession.

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chap. 6, pp. 650-78.

Identity

• Human doings, not human beings.

• Careers before family.• Crisis in retirement or

unemployment• Self-image comes from

the job• Who am I, would I be,

without my job?

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WHAT DOES SAINT BENEDICT OFFER US?

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Monastic Work Schedule: A modern view

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For most monks and nuns the basis of their daily life was the Rule of Saint Benedict. In his rule, Benedict devised a rigid, monotonous routine of work, prayer, study and sleep designed to make the mind and the will submissive to God. The pattern of the day varied only according to the seasons of the year and the liturgical calendar.

Work done in the Benedictine tradition is supposed to be regular; it is supposed to be productive, it is supposed to be worthwhile, but it is not supposed to be impossible.

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What features guide Benedict?

• The forces of nature– RB 10.2 Prayer Schedule

• The size of the community– RB 17.6 prayer refrains– Ch 31 help for cellarer

• The needs of human body– RB 8.2,4 Digestion, "nature's needs"–

• Available technology– RB 11.12 Awaking on time (no clocks)

Time as a God-given Cycle

Traditio

nal Litu

l Year – so

Winter Schedule Summer Schedule1:30AM:Preparation for night office.2:00:AM: Nocturns 3:30AM:Matins (Lauds) at daybreak.4:00AM:Change and wash.5:00AM:Trina Oratorio, Reading6:00AM:Prime, Morrow Mass, Chapter7:30AM:Reading8:00AM:Terce, Sung Mass9:30AM:Work11:30AM: Sext12:00PM: Dinner1:00PM: Siesta2:30PM: None, Drink3:00PM Work5:30PM Supper6:00PM Vespers7:30PM: Change into night shoes, Collatio8:00PM: Compline8:15PM: Bed

2:30AM Preparation for night office.3:00AM Nocturns (aka Matins.5:00AM Reading6:00AM Matins (Lauds) at daybreak, Prime7:30AM Reading8:00AM Terce, Morrow mass, Chapter9:45AM Work12:00PM Sext, Sung Mass1:30PM None2:00PM Dinner2:45PM Work4:15PM Vespers5:30PM Change into night shoes6:00PM Collatio6:15PM Compline6:30PM Bed

How does Benedict assign work?• Kitchen Servers (Ch 35)

– Work is done by all unless assigned other work

– Builds community spirit, not just getting the tasks done

• Commands – Hard or impossible tasks occur (Ch 68)

– Discussion occurs, but the final choice rests with the superior who calls, not the monk who works

• Deans (Ch 21)

– Spiritual danger (power)– Personal traits– Grow into the role or be lose it

• Artisans (Ch 57)

– Rule's only self-chosen ministry (may be assigned to learn)

– Spiritual risk recognized– Spiritual life more important to Benedict

than goods produced

How does Benedict deal with talent?

One example: The Cellarer (RB 31)

Wise, mature character

Temperate God-fearing Keep custody of

orders Deny bad requests

kindly Keep custody of own

soul Care for sick, children,

guests and poor Treat all goods as

sacred vessels of the altar

Give everything in proper measure

The Cellarer Not excessive eater Not haughty or turbulent Not harmful or sluggish Not wasteful Do nothing without order Not sadden the brothers Not treat with disdain Not neglect anything Not be avaricious Not wasteful, squanderer

“The external practices of monastic life are directly connected with our search for God. In and through these practices we express our spiritual values and ideals, and daily live out our commitment to God.”

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astic Practices

HOW CAN OBLATES CHANGE THEIR PLACES OF WORK?

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OBLATES IN FAMILY LIFE

Family Life: Love & Struggle

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What are people worried about?• The old worry: divorce• One newer worry: not marrying• Another newer worry: not having a

family• Complicated family structures

– Blended– Multiple mothers or fathers of siblings– Absent parents

• The next generation

Families in the news

• Pope Benedict frequently spoke of the importance of building family life

• U.S. Bishops released a pastoral letter on marriage and families

• One focus of immigration reform is trying to help families.

• Synod on the Family considering how the Church can better strengthen families.

Family Life

• Families have less time together• Complex, blended & fractured families. • Fewer family meals and rituals.• Many young people report feeling adrift,

unrooted, or lacking a foundation.• Mental health problems are increasing.

Forces shaping our family lives

• Demographic changes– Aging society– Decreasing birth rate

• Economic changes– Affluenza– Environmental degradation– Inequality

• America’s people & culture– Modernity & Post-

modernity– Pluralism and diversity– Global perspective

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• The reasons we think about– Better medical care: people live longer– Greater safety (highway, work, homes)– More knowledge about health

• Effects of an aging society– Greater access to wisdom and experience– More people in retirement – Dependency – society or families or

individuals must provide for the care of the frailest of the elderly

Aging society: America

Why so few children?

• Marrying later• Sexuality separated

from marriage and family• Divorce and cohabitation• Career and workplace

(not family-friendly)• Emphasis on “freedom” and self-

actualization– Progression from “clan” to “nuclear family”

to“couple” to “as long as it works”

• Norms of “success” are more materialistic

Affluenza

affluenza, n. a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. (de Graaf)

Social forces inside the family

• The family has weak boundaries: phones, email, text bring others into its midst.

• Simulated reality in games, videos, often seem more real than everyday life

• Many think, or act as though they think,

that there is no "reality" • A relentless search for experiences that

are more powerful and emotional than the last.

Today’s lifestyle leads to...

• Strained relationships

• Lack of leisure• Depression • Stress-diseases• Consumerism• Troubled families

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What does St Benedict offer?

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What if we saw Christ in each member of our families?

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Memoria: mindfulness

• An inner re-orienting• Become a seeker after

God in the midst of everyday family life.

• Remembering God leads us to place other things in a different perspective.

• Compunctio, the sting of a spiritual awakening, happens often in a family

Lectio on family life

Stability: Being where you are

• A moment-by-moment giving of the self to the place and people with which one is engaged.

• Views relationships, both personal and formal, as meaningful, rather than as a means to an end.

• Bears the burdens of wayward actions of the others in the family as part of the suffering of the Body of Christ.

Examen on Family Life

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Paschal Mystery of Family Life

• The dynamic of the paschal mystery is the engine of our spiritual lives– an old self that must die– an unknowable future– trust in rebirth

• Our families are often the scene of our dying….

• …and our rebirth • The Chapter on Humility

shows us the way

What are the sources of joy where I see God's presence in my family today?

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IS THERE A PLACE FOR OBLATES

IN THE 21ST CENTURY?

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Oblates leaven the world

• Seeing Christ'spresence in a variety of people.

• Living out values other than those of modern society.

• Creating moments of quiet,forgiveness, and peace.

"Try to be the first to show respect to the other"…

"as if they were Christ in person"

Carrying the monastic skills of commitment, stability, and fidelity into relationships.

A focus on praxis, on living the Benedict's Rule, on practices that can be learned, taught, and passed on.

"What can be sweeter to us, dear ones, than this voice of the Lord inviting us?"

"Now is the hour…"

"Prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together into everlasting life"

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Rock Island, IllinoisOctober 17, 2014

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