Oblate Program
You are invited to participate in our yearly Oblate study. We are all on a journey of faith and we need others to journey with us. Our Oblates are a community of persons who come together to learn Benedictine values and then live them in their families, parishes, neighborhoods and work places. You can be a part of this special group which will enrich your Christian life.
Each new Oblate year (September – May), we begin the study of an expert in Benedictine philosophy. Currently we are reading Sister Joan Chittister’s book, Monastery of the Heart.
You can get this book at Amazon.com.
We have begun in-person meeting again. The good thing about Zoom is that we get to see each other and Oblates at a distance can join us. Normally we hold meetings on the 4th Sunday at Holy Name Monastery in September, November, January, March and May. You are welcome to invite friends and family and we just ask that you RSVP by the Wednesday before the scheduled meeting.
2024-25 Meeting Dates:
Sept 22nd
Nov 24th
Jan 26th
Mar 23rd
May 25th
The day’s schedule:
10:30 a.m. Morning Praise and Mass in Monastery Chapel
Noon Dinner in Monastic Dining Room
1:00 p.m. Meeting
3:00 p.m. Departure
Our Oblates are a great group of people and travel an average of 60 miles to participate. They use assigned readings and “homework” to make learning more than information. They come to find it life-giving… a radical spirit.
We also have an Oblate Retreat and/or Summer Day.
General Information about the Oblate Program at Holy Name Monastery:
Sharing Saint Benedict’s legacy is the cornerstone of the programs and ministries of the Benedictine Sisters. We rejoice in this commitment to become closer to God. Christian women and men in all walks of life who wish to seek God under the guidance of the Rule of St. Benedict and in union with a Benedictine community become Oblates.
Today there are thousands of Benedictine Oblates throughout the world. They are called Oblates because they make an offering or “oblation” of themselve
s to God and promise to follow the Gospel guided by the wisdom and spirit of Saint Benedict. The Oblate program of the Benedictine Sisters of Florida began in 1980. Today we are delighted to have forty Oblates who have made Oblation and eight candidates. Typically we have three to ten other friends join as guests in the open meetings. Oblates associate themselves with us to share in the rich Benedictine spirituality, the prayer and good works of the community, and to spread the Benedictine spirit to all those they contact. For many it is like finding the Domus Dei, the House of God, the place and the community they have sought where God can be found, where there is peace, acceptance, and support for living the Christian life. The entire process supports the Oblates as they live the principles of the Rule and Benedict’s precept “to seek God and to prefer nothing to the love of Christ.”
The relationship and interaction promoted by the Oblate program stimulates growth for the Oblates, the Sisters, and the Church. “ We count on the love, support and example of one another to live faithfully. The Oblates are a true blessing to us and to one another,” says Sister Mary David, the program director. The Oblates meet five times a year, the 4th Sundays of September, November, January, March and May. Christian women and men over the age of 18 are welcome to attend any Oblate meeting. If you would like to attend please RSVP, through phone or email, by the Wednesday before the scheduled meeting.
If you are interesting in our Oblate Program, contact Sister Mary David Hydro at:
(352) 588-8320 or email: mary.david.hydro@saintleo.edu
