On Sunday, January 31, 2016, the Monastery ended its 24-hour Call to Holiness – Day of Prayer to mark the end of the Year of Consecrated Life. One of the final events was a ceremony of enrollment of two Oblate Inquirers into Oblate Candidacy. They were Judith Gerald and Sharon Strand.
During the ceremony Sister Beverly Raway, our prioress, asked them what they were seeking, and prayed for their spiritual growth as they begin a deeper study and experience of the Benedictine charism. Sister Edith Bogue, Oblate Director, presented each of them with a copy of The Rule of St Benedict to study and a Benedictine medal.
Benedictine Oblates are individuals who affiliate themselves to a particular monastic community. They promise to follow the Rule of St. Benedict in the everyday world according to their station in life. Oblates hold an alternative form of membership in the monastic community.
Inquirers explore their possible call to become oblates by attending the monthly oblate meetings and consulting with the Oblate Director. Candidates begin a period of study, prayer and discernment that usually lasts one to two years. During that time, they study The Rule of Benedict and the way oblates use it to guide their lives today, continue to participate in oblate meetings, and reflect in writing on questions designed to help them in their discernment. Sharon and Judith are part of a community of over 70 oblates, inquirers, and visitors of St. Scholastica Monastery of Duluth, Minnesota.
To learn more about oblates in this website click As an Oblate .
Or click on Sister Edith’s Oblate site Who Is an Oblate? .
For a quick summary of oblate formation stages click Oblate Formation .