Enlarge the heart. It almost seems like a dangerous medical request to enlarge one’s heart would bring physical death. Perhaps that’s the point from a spiritual perspective. We enlarge our hearts to die to ourselves and welcome room to love God in a new way.
On this first anniversary of my oblation, I reread the Holy Father’s message to the oblates of the Fifth World Congress of Benedictine Oblates, held on 15 September 2023. His message centered on enlarging the heart. Here are my takeaways.
Being a Benedictine Oblate in the world is an earthy spirituality. In other words, it sanctifies our everyday existence right where we are. We do not need to escape to a monastery to seek holiness. He stated that within our own family and social environment, we recognize the value of the Rule and a way of life that is rich and meaningful in the monastic world. Benedictine spirituality is a spirituality that has deep roots in order for the tree to grow strong, which is in the image of the Psalms, which speaks of a “tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; Its leaves never wither; whatever he does prospers” (Psalm 1:3, NAB).
Being an oblate is marked by a life that continuously seeks God. This root is nourished daily in the practice of lectio divina. Imagine it like a dance or a fugue in a musical piece, where one encounters God in the text, each word and phrase a step or a note in the divine choreography. This encounter with God in the text awakens all our senses to discover the same God in creation and in our daily social interactions. Oblates are constantly seeking God, sustained in a life of regular lectio as our state in life permits.
Another mark of the oblate life is an enthusiasm for the Gospel. One can read this and have an image of a radical man standing on the street corner preaching the Gospel with his cardboard message on his megaphone. The contrary is true. Enthusiasm for the Gospel means to be “leaven in the dough, with skill and responsibility, and at the same time gentleness and compassion.” We live meaningful, centered gospel lives in our social context. We transform our workplace with mercy and compassion. The model of evangelical life is about meeting Christ in our everyday lives and serving him where we are and serving him. We make our lives a monastery for work and prayer in a globalized, fragmented, fast-paced world where the sense of family roots seems to disappear.
Finally, the mark of an oblate is to welcome the guests as Christ, especially the poor and the pilgrim. This is a reminder that we will always find Christ in every circumstance and always have the opportunity to be at his service.
A life rooted in the scripture with an enthusiasm for the Gospel and reception of the guest as Christ Jesus himself is the life of a Benedictine Oblate! Let us be faithful and committed to this call.