Oblate Day 2020: Reflection
by Oblate Lynda Marlene Moshage, Waltham Township, Illinois
HOW DID I RECOGNIZE MY CALL TO BECOME AN OBLATE?
I credit with great gratitude my sister Oblate, Deena Pavinato, whose faithful Christian life and heartfelt application of the Rule of St. Benedict in her life was a true inspiration to me. Through accepting her invitation to join Sr. Mary Schmidt’s study group, I came to treasure the times of fellowship inspired by the practice of Lectio Divina and in the sharing, with fellow Oblates, how each of us strove to incorporate, in our daily routines, St. Benedict’s dictum to “seek Christ above all things”.
I also am thankful that I could share this Oblate journey (inquiry, formation and profession) with my good friend, Karen Karczewski, a trusted colleague as well as a gifted Church of Christ minister, whose opinions and prayers I often solicit. Karen also felt the stirrings of Christ’s call to broaden her own faith journey through affiliation with St. Mary Monastery as an Oblate. Although I take full responsibility for responding to a spiritual call, nevertheless, I was encouraged to examine the value of oblation even further as I observed Karen considering similar questions and their impact upon her growth as a maturing Christian.
WHAT DURING MY FORMATION REALLY TOUCHED MY HEART AND SOUL?
In brief, true Christian hospitality and the grace, a reflection of God’s unconditional love, that I felt directed toward me by Sister Mary Schmidt and later by all the Sisters (especially Sister Ruth and Sister Bobbi) throughout ALL of my interactions as an Oblate. I am a Protestant, raised in the American Baptist tradition in the 1960s and 70s, and a member of a Presbyterian USA congregation here in northern Illinois for the last 23 years. Thankfully my family of origin, never forbid me from making friends with classmates who were Catholic. However, I was aware of what I perceived as a fundamental difference, a brokenness that existed with the Church universal and which manifested as a distrust between those who professed a Catholic faith and we Baptists. This spiritual division troubled me, even as a girl growing up in a small rural town in central Illinois. Later, in college, one of my closest friends was a very devout Catholic and I would sometimes attend Mass with her at St. John’s Chapel on our university campus. I loved the liturgy and the ritual but did feel a strong regret whenever I could not approach the altar to receive the blessed sacrament as my friend Bonnie could. For me, the most moving example of the Sisters’ open welcome and regard for me occurred at the end of my very first Oblate Day. Shortly before we gathered to process into the beautiful monastery chapel, Sister Mary invited me to join Deena in carrying in the Communion vessels to be received at the altar. I can remember how honored yet humbled I was to be so chosen, and my face was alight with glow of this ordinary but grace-filled moment. Although I could not partake of the sacrament, I nevertheless felt uplifted, in a profoundly moving way, to receive the priest’s blessing that afternoon in the company of the Sisters and the gathered Oblates.
Sister Mary, Sister Ruth and others have always made it abundantly clear to me that they, as God does also, value me as a true child of God. I know that I will always be welcomed within the walls of St. Mary Monastery, a place where my searching heart will always be nurtured and my body supported and refreshed.
WHAT IN THE RULE HAS HELPED MY TO BE FAITHFUL TO THE PROMISE I MADE AT OBLATION?
It is difficult for me to single out one prescription or encouragement offered to us by St. Benedict that has been the most significant to me. I take very seriously my promise of on-going life reformation and my dedication to God’s service and to humankind; this I avowed during my rite of Final Oblation. In reflection, I believe that it is the compelling example of “living sacrifices” ; St. Benedict, St. Scholastica and especially the witness of thousands upon thousands of Benedictines and Oblates through the centuries that has most inspired me. A prominent theme throughout my life has been to “seek and create community” wherever I find myself. Having lived and worked in Africa and Europe in addition to moving to different locales within Illinois, I have felt that each time that I have been called to relocate, that God went ahead of me and my family to help us to settle in and grow new connections. I now find myself within this special monastic community of St. Mary Monastery; through our common devotion to Christ and allegiance to the ways of St. Benedict, I have been and will continue to be encouraged, challenged, nurtured and expected to continue to grow in faith and service through all the years of my affiliation. Until the end of my days, I shall happily embrace that call!