"The monk is in the monastery. The monk is also on Wall Street, on Main Street, and down on the farm."
Mark Plaiss, The Inner Room: A Journey into Lay Monasticism (Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2003)
Mark Plaiss, The Inner Room: A Journey into Lay Monasticism (Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2003)
Lay Monasticism
God is calling people from every Christian walk and tradition into lives of intentional prayer, simplicity, and holiness. He's rekindling a hunger for the ancient paths and spiritual disciplines of the monastic fathers. The most unique part of this call, however, is that God is not calling these people to enter the monastery, but to live monastic lives at home and at work! This growing movement is called Lay Monasticism. It's a way of shaping your daily life around the patterns and practices of monastic spirituality; joyfully relinquishing yourself to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit through Scripture, quiet contemplation, hidden prayer, and disciplined faith; drawing you ever closer in love to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior; and honoring His life through the living sacrifice of your own life. Do you desire this kind of life? Have you felt this kind of call? Are you being drawn to this kind of intentional faith but didn't know how to begin? Are you ready to experience what God has already done in the lives of thousands of others--with men and women who've found their hearts' home? Maybe you're the kind of person God is calling into a life of lay monasticism.
God is calling people from every Christian walk and tradition into lives of intentional prayer, simplicity, and holiness. He's rekindling a hunger for the ancient paths and spiritual disciplines of the monastic fathers. The most unique part of this call, however, is that God is not calling these people to enter the monastery, but to live monastic lives at home and at work! This growing movement is called Lay Monasticism. It's a way of shaping your daily life around the patterns and practices of monastic spirituality; joyfully relinquishing yourself to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit through Scripture, quiet contemplation, hidden prayer, and disciplined faith; drawing you ever closer in love to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior; and honoring His life through the living sacrifice of your own life. Do you desire this kind of life? Have you felt this kind of call? Are you being drawn to this kind of intentional faith but didn't know how to begin? Are you ready to experience what God has already done in the lives of thousands of others--with men and women who've found their hearts' home? Maybe you're the kind of person God is calling into a life of lay monasticism.
Friends and Oblates
“How do I test this call? How do I nurture this life?” Just as God is drawing people into intentional, consecrated spirituality, He has also tasked organizations, retreat centers, and religious houses across the nation to open their doors to clergy and laity who are interested in joining them, often as ‘Oblates’ or ‘Third Order’ members of their monastic communities. Saint Brendan’s Monastic Retreat Community is one such place for Christians desiring to learn about and practice Benedictine lay monasticism with a Celtic flavor. We offer two levels of membership for interested applicants: Friends and Oblates.
Friends is an introductory level of membership designed for people who, while keenly interested in lay monasticism, want to begin by simply receiving the newsletters, gaining access to teaching materials, having the opportunities to work through the recommended reading lists and study guides, and being part of a kindred family of believers. Friends of Saint Brendan’s are encouraged to learn all they can and practice all they learn by giving themselves back to their local churches through the ‘incense’ of joy, prayer, and holiness. There are no other obligations. This level is open to any Christian regardless of age or gender, denomination or communion. It is also the prerequisite stage for those aspiring to life as a professed Oblate.
OBLATES (or making ‘oblation’) is our contemporary equivalent to the ancient Celtic Manaig - the people who gathered around the monastery, participating in its religious life and livelihood. The manaig were farmers, craftsman, and artisans; married, singles, men, women, and children. They were full members of the monastery but did not live under the sacred life vows of the monks or nuns. Manaig were the original lay monastics and, for the past several centuries, their direct descendants, oblates, have been an indispensable part of both the monastery and the church. Oblates of Saint Brendan’s advance through carefully structured levels of progression until they are ready to make lifelong promises — a Life Covenant Profession — of obedience, stability, and fidelity in imitation of Jesus Christ, the heart’s goal of every oblate. Oblates are expected to be members in good standing of a local church or parish, live according to Saint Brendan’s Rule of Life (an adaptation of Saint Benedict's Rule), receive the Eucharist (Lord’s Supper) on a regular basis, fully participate in their church’s sacraments and ordinances, have a teachable spirit under the guidance of a Spiritual Director, and be shaped through the consistent offering of the Daily Offices of prayer and worship
“How do I test this call? How do I nurture this life?” Just as God is drawing people into intentional, consecrated spirituality, He has also tasked organizations, retreat centers, and religious houses across the nation to open their doors to clergy and laity who are interested in joining them, often as ‘Oblates’ or ‘Third Order’ members of their monastic communities. Saint Brendan’s Monastic Retreat Community is one such place for Christians desiring to learn about and practice Benedictine lay monasticism with a Celtic flavor. We offer two levels of membership for interested applicants: Friends and Oblates.
Friends is an introductory level of membership designed for people who, while keenly interested in lay monasticism, want to begin by simply receiving the newsletters, gaining access to teaching materials, having the opportunities to work through the recommended reading lists and study guides, and being part of a kindred family of believers. Friends of Saint Brendan’s are encouraged to learn all they can and practice all they learn by giving themselves back to their local churches through the ‘incense’ of joy, prayer, and holiness. There are no other obligations. This level is open to any Christian regardless of age or gender, denomination or communion. It is also the prerequisite stage for those aspiring to life as a professed Oblate.
OBLATES (or making ‘oblation’) is our contemporary equivalent to the ancient Celtic Manaig - the people who gathered around the monastery, participating in its religious life and livelihood. The manaig were farmers, craftsman, and artisans; married, singles, men, women, and children. They were full members of the monastery but did not live under the sacred life vows of the monks or nuns. Manaig were the original lay monastics and, for the past several centuries, their direct descendants, oblates, have been an indispensable part of both the monastery and the church. Oblates of Saint Brendan’s advance through carefully structured levels of progression until they are ready to make lifelong promises — a Life Covenant Profession — of obedience, stability, and fidelity in imitation of Jesus Christ, the heart’s goal of every oblate. Oblates are expected to be members in good standing of a local church or parish, live according to Saint Brendan’s Rule of Life (an adaptation of Saint Benedict's Rule), receive the Eucharist (Lord’s Supper) on a regular basis, fully participate in their church’s sacraments and ordinances, have a teachable spirit under the guidance of a Spiritual Director, and be shaped through the consistent offering of the Daily Offices of prayer and worship
The Four Pillars
Monastic spirituality is built on pillars that provide the foundational bedrock for the day-to-day practice of intentional faith. To keep in harmony with ancient monasticism, the Monastic Fellowship of Saint Brendan’s is built on the following pillars:
Obedience
Stability
Fidelity
Joy
We believe that these components best capture the call to lay monasticism for the 21st Century.
Monastic spirituality is built on pillars that provide the foundational bedrock for the day-to-day practice of intentional faith. To keep in harmony with ancient monasticism, the Monastic Fellowship of Saint Brendan’s is built on the following pillars:
Obedience
Stability
Fidelity
Joy
We believe that these components best capture the call to lay monasticism for the 21st Century.
To download an application as a FRIEND of the Monastic Fellowship of Saint Brendan's, please open the PDF file blow, fill it out, and return it as instructed.
| application_for_friend_-_pdf.pdf |