September 2019 Minutes

Prayer: Brother Francis offered the opening prayer


Introductions of attendees:
Brother Francis Wagner, OSB, John Rasche, Kathy Gloeckner, Clyde Dorn, Mary Louise Reed, Peyton Reed, Margaret Sherlock, Pat Dorn, Joan Hilton

We read the Mission Statement together, then prayed Vespers.

We learned that Fr. Sebastian Leonard died yesterday (9/21/19). There was discussion, remembering various monks. Br. Francis reported that Fr. Meinrad is doing well.

Lectio: not today’s reading, but Luke 7:11-17, Jesus’ raising of the widow’s son in Nain, in honor of Br. Francis’ theme of “Wake Up”.

Minutes – approved as submitted. Mary Louise Reed is resigning from taking minutes due to Peyton’s and her impending move to a retirement community. Mark Milliron has agreed to take minutes after today.

Treasurer’s report: We have $534 as of 4/28/19. From September, 2018 to April, 2019 we took in less than we spent; the deficit will catch up with us. However, we were reminded that some of the expenses were for the reservation of the Holy Spirit Center for the May, 2020 Day of Recollection. Our biggest expenses are for the travel/honorarium for visiting monks. A donation (suggested $5 or more) from each member attending is requested. Any donations to our chapter can be paid by check, made out to our treasurer, Nick McCarroll. His address is: 3685 Bass Rd., Williamsburg, OH 45176

Next Meetings: Suggestions for TBA meetings were discussed

·       Margaret Sherlock has gathered a list of questions to consider on the theme of vigilance.

·       Br. Francis will have some handouts for us regarding his talk today on this year’s theme. He will send copies to Pat to send to everyone.

·       We want to be sharing our wisdom/insights as well as stories of how they have affected our lives.

Ron reported that Chapter Leaders met at St. Meinrad in June regarding recruitment – gaining and retaining new members.

The question was raised about how we include prayer intentions for oblates beyond a prayer at a meeting. Pat reported that she sends out prayer requests whenever she receives them; they can be anonymous if requested.

Highlights of Br. Francis’ talk,” Wake Up, The Benedictine Oblates Call to Vigilance” Today is Part I, the other parts will be conferences at the Day of Recollection, May 16, at the Holy Spirit Center in Cincinnati. One of the conference periods will involve us and our responses to the handouts we receive.

·       Today’s world requires us to be vigilant; but that can be taken too far. Inordinate fear of bodily harm is the Devil’s tack

·       Eager alertness (“good zeal”) is important for our spiritual life

·       Wake up and walk in the light of Christ

·       Be ready for when Jesus returns

·       Jesus prayed at night; our reason to pursue vigilance. Soldiers on night watch, or third shift security guards, monks with night vigils, night nurses, are examples of how people sacrifice themselves to watch over others in need

·       All this involves great struggle

·       Satan has many tactics to distract us and lead us away from God’s will

·       Jesus, awake in Gethsemane, is our example. Jesus, praying, was awake when the soldiers came for him

·       Oblates are called to vigilance even more than other Christians, becoming watchful at every minute of the day.

·       Benedictines are not called to their works, principally, but to conversion of our own hearts.

Vigilance - Considerations

1.     Vigilance is complicated. Grace and nature cooperate It’s understood as baptismal spirituality
Ephesians 5:8 calls us to” live as children of light” Baptism is a grace, but we have to work it out in response

2.     Baptismal faith must be rooted in prayer. RB Prologue 4 says that every work should begin with prayer

We should be speaking less, and engaging in prayerful reflection more
Be more attentive to conscience messages - compunction, piercing of the heart, calls to interior conversion
Turn the volume down on other voices/noise

There are two handouts to consider. Be ready to discuss them in May at the Day of Recollection

1.     Michael Casey – part of his book on RB chapter 4

2.     Paula Huston - her experience in a mid-life conversion; the relation to vigilance is not immediately obvious

There was further discussion of examples of vigilance. Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of the Christ”, especially the Gethsemane scene; vigilance as prayer in the night when we awake; and journaling, though that can be dumping

Closing Prayer: a prayer of St. Francis de Sales, lead by Br. Francis de Sales Wagner, OSB. Pat will send a copy with the October newsletter.

Respectfully submitted, Mary Louise Reed

September 2019 Newsletter

We have an oblate meeting this Sunday, September 22 @ 2:00 p.m. in the St. Joseph Room of the St. Gertrude Parish Center. You will not be receiving a newsletter as usual for this meeting. However, I am attaching the Minutes of the April 28, 2019 meeting to this email and have printed the Agenda below along with the meeting dates for the 2019-2020 year.

Also below you will find an email we received from our Oblate Director Janis Dopp regarding a prayer request from a fellow oblate, Jason Moore, who is serving as a chaplain in an unknown location.  Please remember him in your prayers and, if you would like to do so, feel free to drop him a note.

The agenda for Sunday's meeting is as follows:

   I.  Reading of the Mission Statement

  II.  Vespers (Week 1 - Liturgy of the Hours for Benedictine Oblates)

 III.  Lectio Divina

  IV. Minutes of the April 28, 2019 Meeting

   V. Treasurer's Report

  VI. Old/New Business

 VII. Program

               Guest Speaker:  Br. Francis Wagner OSB

                             Topic:   Wake Up! The Benedictine Oblate's Call to Watchfulness

VIII. Adjournment & Closing Prayer

The meeting dates for 2019-2020 are below.  Please mark your calendars. All meetings begin at 2:00 p.m.

     September 22................Br. Francis Wagner, OSB

     October 27....................Br. Stanley Wagner, OSB

     November 24................TBA

     

     January 26....................TBA

     February 23..................TBA

     March 22......................TBA

     April 26........................Fr. Mateo Zamora, OSB

     May 16.........................Day of Recollection at the Holy Spirit Center

                                          Presenter: Br. Francis Wagner, OSB

April 2019 Minutes

Attendance Br. Francis Wagner,OSB, Pat Dorn, Jane Moyer, Linda Faulhaber, Nick McCarroll, Kathy Gloeckner, Margaret Sherlock, Ron DeMarco, Peyton & Mary Louise Reed Br. Francis, our Oblate Dean, opened our meeting with prayer, then we introduced ourselves.

We welcomed Jane Moyer, visiting from another area in the state. We read the Mission Statement, then prayed Vespers. Lectio this month was not on today’s Gospel, which is permissible, at Peyton’s suggestion, so as not to have the same information we’d heard at church.

The minutes had no corrections.

The treasurer reported a balance of $595, while owing today’s honorarium for Br. Francis’ visit, and $3 for office expenses.

Old Business
We took up the question about the third step in Lectio with Br. Francis. Yes, our response to the reading in that step should be a prayer, or in the form of prayer. Chanting the Psalms: Br. Francis shared his own experience with this when first coming to the monastery. He said the focus on how to do it, and doing it right were very distracting. But, that psalms are meant to be sung, especially at Vespers. They are spoken only at Lauds, though he said an individual monk away from the monastery may well do spoken psalms. Like anything else, practice and time makes the chanting easier. One problem is that when chanting together, there’s no opportunity to stop when something strikes you. But there is no personal prayer in a public office; we pray together for others and for the world. The text is most important; notes help it along, making it sung speech.

Janis, our Oblate Director, said that if there’s someone who can lead, the experience can be enriching. Br. Francis suggested reading the General Instruction for the Liturgy of the Hours, which can be found in the four volume set of the Liturgy, or on the EWTN website.

In response to our questions about the new requirement for investitures and oblations to happen at the monastery, we were reminded that we are chapters of the Archabbey; therefore it makes sense for the Archabbot to want to receive people. It is also more special for oblates to actually sit in the choir and to interact with the monks, making it very special and memorable.

The monastery has an Angel Fund to be able to help those who may need financial help to get there. Other chapters have expressed problems also. The question came up whether Skype, Facetime, or similar technology is a possibility. Currently, it seems that the logistics of that may be prohibitive.

New Business
Peyton Reed reported on his participation in the Honor Flight program for veterans of WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. It is a one day trip to Washington, DC to visit all the war memorials, and includes much celebration at the airport both at the beginning and at the end of the day, thanking them for their service. Those who participate find it very memorable. He has written a memoir of the day, and offered copies to those who want them.

Steve Bay’s wife (Karen Romme) died, and we decided to have a mass said for her at St. Meinrad. Brother Francis lead a discussion based on his assignment from last September to read The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. The book was difficult for many, and he had much teaching for us about the themes expressed in the book.

Highlights of Br. Francis’ discussion:
• Living our lives authentically as Christians is our best witness to others. Christian practices don’t convince people of Christ’s beauty and truth if we don’t act like Jesus in our conversation, our driving • The Devil is constantly trying to tempt us in small things, to make us more consistently doing wrong and eventually not noticing
• We like to avoid seeing our own faults and the habits that annoy others, focusing on others’ faults instead
• Fear of seeing our inner soul: God never refuses mercy to those who acknowledge their faults
• War itself is not our enemy, but the reactions of individuals during war is the spiritual war we are always part of. How we live and die – remembering we will all live forever – is what’s important
• Satan can’t create anything; he twists (or encourages us to twist) virtues into vice
• Unselfishness, with true charity , is meeting another’s needs, not helping others in order to please myself in my inner heart Summary Transparency as the theme for oblates this year has been to help us present ourselves to God in truth and humility, not hiding like Adam and Eve.

The Screwtape study was to help us understand how evil tries to deceive us, and to help us serve the Lord with constancy, more aware of the specifics of the warfare.

Br. Francis closed our meeting with prayer. A social time followed.

Respectfully submitted,
Mary Louise Reed

April 2019 Newsletter

The April meeting will be held this coming Sunday, April 28, in the St. Joseph Room of the St. Gertrude Parish Center at 2:00 p.m.

Our Dean, Br. Francis Wagner, OSB, will be with us to discuss The Screwtape Letters and share his insights on G.K. Chesterton’s insightful novel. We look forward to seeing him.

As a reminder, the Ohio Day of Recollection in Dayton has been cancelled, and there is no meeting scheduled for the months of May, June, July, or August. Our next group meeting, therefore, will be in September.

The Oblate Study Days at Saint Meinrad will be held June 10-13. Br. John Mark Falkenhain, OSB, will present the topic “Chant and Sacred Music.” Please register soon if you are planning to attend as the rooms fill up quickly.

Be sure to check out the minutes of the March 24, 2019 meeting—particularly the information under “New Business.” Mary Louise gives a great summary of the discussion that took place at our March meeting.

There is also information about a new online oblate group that is in the making. Hope you all had a wonderful Easter and were able to celebrate with your family and friends. Pat Our prayers and condolences to Steve Bay on the death of his wife Karen last week. May she rest in peace.

AGENDA April 28, 2019 Meeting — 2:00 p.m. St. Gertrude Parish Center – Madeira, Ohio
I. Reading of Mission Statement
II. Vespers
III. Lectio Divina
IV. Minutes of March 24, 2019 Meeting
V. Treasurer’s Report
VI. Old/New Business
VII. Program Guest Speaker: Br. Francis Wagner, OSB Topic: Discussion of the book, “Screwtape Letters.”
VIII. Adjournment & Closing Prayer

Oblate Anniversaries Congratulations to the following oblates who are celebrating their anniversaries in April, May, June and July.

April:
4/9 Kathy Gloeckner (16 yrs.)
4/9 Joan Hilton (10 yrs.)
4/25 Rockford Patrick (4 yrs.)
4/28 Eric Kenny (6 yrs.)
4/28 Mark Caldwell-Reiss (6 yrs.)

May:
5/8 Susan Anderson (57 yrs.)
5/18 Ron DeMarco (6 yrs.)

June:
6/15 Steve Drees (8 yrs.)
6/15 Margaret Sherlock (8 yrs.)
6/17 Steve Bay (10 yrs.)

July:
7/26 David Annabel (8 yrs.)

March 2019 Minutes

Cincinnati Oblates’ Meeting March 24, 2019

Attendance Linda Faulhaber, Kathy Gloeckner, Linda & Nick McCarroll, John Rasche, Clyde & Pat Dorn, Ron DeMarco,Margaret Sherlock, Ron Lillie, Pauline Cantrell, Hermie Glaser, Peyton & Mary Louise Reed

Ron DeMarco opened the meeting with prayer, then we introduced ourselves. We read the Mission Statement together, then prayed Vespers, followed by Lectio, using Luke 13:1-9 The minutes from the February 24 meeting need a correction: The correct web address for our chapter is: www.cincinnatioblates.org

The treasurer reported a balance of $562 with a bill for copies of $2.78

Old Business The Day of Recollection for 2020, sponsored by our chapter, is all set for May 16, 2020. No one from our chapter was able to attend the St. Meinrad Day of Service in Dayton on March 9.

New Business Br. Francis will be here next month, and we will be discussing The Screwtape Letters, as assigned us last September. Br. Francis has earlier sent us discussion questions to help us understand the book. A live on-line oblate group is coming in the future. Currently there is an email list connection. If you send your full name and email address to oblates@saintmeinrad.edu they will confirm it with you as space opens (it’s currently limited to 100 oblates), though you may not hear for a while. More information will be coming.

March Program: “Our Town Hall meeting”. Ron led a discussion about how to make our meetings more meaningful for our members.

• Lectio: what do we mean by “prayer” in part three? 
• Vespers: Chanting the psalms. Some members are having trouble “getting” the sung psalms. Some members find the singing meaningful, even they may not be able to fully sing them. Others enjoy the chanting. There were high feeling levels, and Ron moved that we table a decision for now. 
• Ron reminded us that the monastery and the oblate program have had quite a few changes, and that these are affecting each and all of us differently. There is a new abbot who is instituting his vision, there are changes in the formation program, we have a new oblate director replacing Fr. Meinrad, we now have oblate deans, and this year’s emphasis on transparency and accountability have all stretched us in new ways. 
• Chapter coordinators will be meeting in June and discussing how we work in our various chapters. 
• The Screwtape Letters has been difficult for some. Ron suggests prayer to seek lessons/truth about our discussion. 
• Several members suggested our meetings have discussions based on the information sent to each of us from St. Meinrad – newsletters and booklets, for example. Sessions sharing how each of us is responding to these, as well as to the monks’ visitations, or the Rule of St. Benedict. A logistical problem here is that novices and guests don’t receive all of this correspondence. One suggestion is that someone could read a booklet, newsletter, etc. and present a summary, which could then be discussed as a group.

Investitures and Oblations: we have questions for the chapter coordinators’ meeting in June regarding the requirement that these happen at St. Meinrad. It is a hardship, in time or in expense, for some to go there rather than have these happen in our chapter meetings. And, it’s body building and encouraging for us to be able to see the oblations and to receive the new oblates into our midst. The meeting adjourned with prayer, and we shared snacks and conversation. 

Respectfully submitted, Mary Louise Reed

March 2019 Newsletter

March 18, 2019 By Pat Dorn

The March meeting will be held on Sunday, March 24, at 2:00 p.m. in the St. Joseph Room of the St. Gertrude Parish Center.

MEETING PROGRAM: Rather than focusing on a specific topic, the program for this meeting will be a bit different. Ron Demarco will facilitate a discussion on how to make our oblate meetings more meaningful for our members, and we encourage your participation by offering any ideas/suggestions you may have toward this end.

REMINDERS: On Thusday, March 21, we celebrate the first of two feast days honoring St. Benedict—The Passing of Blessed Father Benedict. (The second—Our Blessed Father Benedict—is celebrated on July 11.) Oblates have an opportunity to earn a Plenary Indulgence on these days by fulfilling the following conditions: 1) Confession, 2) receiving Holy Communion, and 3) praying for the intentions of the Holy Father.

In addition, oblates should renew, at least privately, their promise to faithfully observe the promise of their way of life. Br. Francis de Sales Wagner. O.S.B. will be joining us for our April 28 meeting to discuss The Screwtape Letters.

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The Ohio Day of Recollection is sponsored this year by the Dayton Chapter and will be held in Dayton on Saturday, June 8. Fr. Joseph Cox will be the presenter. Registration and program information will be provided to you as soon as it is available to us. See you at the meeting on Sunday, March 24!

AGENDA March 24, 2019 Meeting
I. Reading of Mission Statement
II. Vespers
III. Lectio Divina
IV. Minutes of February 24, 2019 Meeting
V. Treasurer’s Report
VI. Old/New Business
VII. Program: Ron DeMarco will lead a discussion on how to improve our meetings
VIII. Adjournment & Closing Prayer

February 2019 Minutes

Cincinnati Oblates’ Meeting February 24, 2019

Attendance Peyton & Mary Louise Reed, Nick McCarroll, Ron DeMarco, Mark Millaron, Kathy Gloeckner, Clyde & Pat Dorn, Fr. Joseph Cox,OSB

Opening Prayer – Fr. Joseph Introductions Reading of Mission Statement Vespers, Week 3 Lectio Divina Lk 6:27-38 Related portion of the Rule of St. Benedict, RB 4:8-9, 31-32, & end portion

Minutes – Approved

Treasurer’s Report - $622 in our treasury. A few small bills and a donation to Fr. Joseph are due. The amount in the treasury seems high because we acquired some extra money from various circumstances. The funds are now available for helping those who are involved in required visits to St. Meinrad, for example for Investitures or Oblations.

Old Business
The 2020 Day of Recollection, which our chapter will sponsor, has a confirmed date of May 16, 2020 The March 24, 2019 meeting program will be finishing the last five questions sent to us earlier by Br. Francis about The Screwtape Letters in order to be prepared for his visit to us in April. March 9 St. Meinrad Day of Service will be held in Dayton. We aren’t aware of anyone from our chapter attending.

New Business
Mark Millaron reported that he has been working with Nick Dellecave to update our chapter website (www.cincinnatichapter.org). Mark stated that he will continue to use the same hosting site this year, but may explore the use of a different hosting site in the future. We received an email from Janis Dopp about the Cause for Canonization for Dorothy Day going forward. Since she was a Benedictine Oblate, it has seemed appropriate for oblates to help with this project. The work being asked of each volunteer involves transcribing 10 pages of Dorothy Day’s diary. Pat Dorn will send out the information about the project to chapter members. Volunteers should let Pat know. She will send the names to Janis, who would like to keep a list of oblates participating. Peyton Reed gave more information about the Veterans’ Honor Flight one-day trip to Washington, DC. The trip is to visit the various war memorials. Peyton will be attending the April 17 (Wednesday of Holy Week) flight, and will be able to tell us about it at the April meeting.

 Fr. Joseph Cox – Accountability - Brief Summary of Important Points Fr. Joseph’s talk was based on The Rule of St. Benedict, Prologue vv 45-47, as well as RB chapters 44- 46. “A little strictness may be necessary in order to amend faults and safeguard love.” (Prologue 47) He explained that “faults” involve those in church, at work, or in the house; they are not deliberate or sinful, but recognize the interdependence of community members. And love is the basis for amending them. Humility is about truth: “It was my fault, and I’d like to admit it to others”. Self-admittance is better than someone else telling. The virtue of humility is the object, but also relationships. Amending faults is based on the Latin for “amend”, to cut the lie out of one’s behavior, slaying the shame, admitting one isn’t perfect. Without recognition of our inadequacies, we delay our progress toward humility. Personal accountability brings a peaceful, tranquil atmosphere. In order to amend faults, we first need to know what they are. We discover them from listening to Scripture, Church teaching, family and friends. The sequence is: Recognize, Admit, Repair. After his talk, he passed out a small card to each of us with the Prologue quote: “A little strictness may be necessary in order to amend faults and safeguard love”.