February 2015 Meeting Minutes

Cincinnati Oblate Chapter Minutes February 22, 2015

Attendance: John N. Campbell, Linda McCarroll, Nick McCarroll, Clyde Dom, Kathy Gloeckner, Pat Dom, Mary Louise Reed, Peyton Reed, Mary Holton, Ron DeMarco, Karin Mendoza, Ann Spaeth, Dave Spaeth, Eric Kenny, Barb Hanlon, Br. Luke Waugh, OSB

Our meeting opened with introductions and reading of the Mission Statement. Sunday Second Vespers of Week Three were prayed/chanted together. Lectio Divina was cancelled because icy roads prevented Rosemary Conrad from making it to the meeting with the copies of the Sunday Gospel.

Treasurer’s Report

Nick McCarroll reported our chapter balance at the beginning of today’s meeting is $40. Br. Luke Waugh, OSB, will receive $75 for his much welcomed trip to see us today to be our speaker. This left us a -$35.00 balance.

Old/New Business

Our January 25, 2015 minutes were approved. We congratulated John Campbell on his 91st birthday, and for his 71 years as a Benedictine Oblate! There will be an oblate retreat in March. Br. Luke Waugh, OSB investited Karin Mendoza as a Benedictine Oblate Novice, and we congratulate Karin and welcome her into our chapter.

The date of our next chapter meeting is March 29, 2015, in the parish center at St. Gertrude.Br. Luke Waugh, OSB, was our guest speaker. Brother Luke gave a talk on the "Tools for Good Works." He began by reading from the Rule of Saint Benedict, chapter 4, verses 41 through 74. He told us that the reading here is very appropriate for Lent—particularly the examination of conscience that we should be doing regularly, along with the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He pointed out that St. Meinrad's wants priests who one can go to as a good confessor. And to be a good confessor, you must also be able to give a good confession. In talking about the tools, Br. Luke gave an example of a friend he had growing up. The friend's father was a master craftsman who depended on tools that are continually being examined and taken care of, like his saws that are always kept sharp and dings repaired. The father said,

"Take care of your tools and they will take care of you."

Our tools this season of Lent cause us to pay attention to the deep examination of conscience, of our
soul, to sharpen the teeth on the tool of our soul to be all we can be for God. St. Benedict tells us we
need the examination of conscience to proceed on the path of holiness. Brother Luke lives with ninety other monks at St. Meinrad's. As in any family, he may be annoyed at times from an inadvertent action by another monk. To deal with this Br. Luke goes to the examination of conscience and prays for understanding and patience. Br. Luke knows that he cannot judge the motivation of the other monk's action so he prays that the next time he will not let the annoying action make him angry again. We all need to regularly do a deep examination of conscience, and participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for we all need to hear, “Your sins are forgiven."

During the discussion period after the presentation, Brother Luke also discussed how men and women see things differently. As an example of this, Br. Luke suggested to go to the website below and watch the video. It’s a good one!

http://youtu.be/-4EDhdAHrOg

Thank you Br. Luke!

Submitted by Ron DeMarco