Oblates take part in an annual retreat at our monastery.
Our monastery is blessed to have a group of like-minded individuals who collaborate in our charism and mission of promoting devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ. The Oblates of the Passion (or Passionist Oblates as they are also called), an Association of Christ’s Faithful, was formed by the inspiration of Tom and Debbie Carter in 1997. From a core group of 12 people, the Oblates have grown continually in membership, currently including over 40 active members: lay faithful from all walks of life, two priests, and one permanent deacon. The Oblates attend monthly meetings here at our monastery and have committed to life-long spiritual formation. They are formed according to the "Oblate Companion," a Passionist Oblate rule of life. After completion of an initial formation period, they make their Act of Oblation, a gift of themselves to God through Mary’s hands, during a special Mass of Oblation. At that time, they receive their Passion Sign and make the particular Passionist promise to promote devotion to the Passion of Jesus and to strive for holiness according to the obligations of their state in life.
Oblate formation deepens their prayer and liturgical life.
The Nuns and Oblates have a reciprocal relationship. While the Nuns provide the meeting space, formational conferences, liturgical celebrations, and offer Masses and other good works to benefit the Oblates, the Oblates in turn take care of organizing and serving at all our religious profession and jubilee receptions as well as volunteering their special gifts in many other ways to the benefit of our community of Nuns. The most important sharing, though, is that of sharing our spiritual goods — developing a deeper prayer life with a focus on meditating on the Passion of Jesus and the Sorrows of Mary and praying for those who suffer in our day. As the years go on, we all strive to pray the Paschal Mystery and live the Paschal mystery more intensely for our own sanctification, for the salvation of souls, and for the glory of our heavenly Father.
The Passionist Oblates celebrated their 20-year anniversary in 2017, and we look forward to sharing many more years with them, striving to bring alive the Passionist charism in our everyday lives. New Oblate formation classes are offered only every 5 to 10 years, and at this time we are not accepting new inquirers into the Oblate formation program. Should a formation class be planned in the future, we will post a notice here on our website.
We know that every Mass is worth as much as the sacrifice of our Lord’s life, suffering and death, and so we too are invited, even empty handed and hungry to sit down and eat not only with the Lord, but of the Lord. He is our Good Shepherd who provides abundantly and leads us by safe paths to be with Him all the days of our lives.