How lay people are finding spiritual belonging with monastic communities

By Julie Ferraro | FāVS News Columnist

A Long Tradition of Lay People Joining Religious Communities

The concept of lay people entering into an association with communities of Catholics who are religiously vowed is nothing new. Benedictines have welcomed oblates for centuries. The early version of this association being older people or retirees moving into accommodations offered by the Benedictines to live out their later years by joining in the prayer of the community.

More recently, Benedictine oblates are Christians who form a close relationship with a particular community of monks or sisters, spending anywhere from one to three years learning about the community — a formation program — before making their oblation, which is a promise to integrate the Rule of St. Benedict into their lives. Traditionally, oblates of a monastery had an oblate director who was a vowed member of the community. As the number of vowed monks and sisters has declined, however, many monasteries have opted to create a leadership team of lay oblates to handle their own organizational, formation and communications needs.

St. Francis of Assisi ventured into new territory during the early 13th century — shunning ownership of property, living the gospel values literally and sharing the news of God’s unconditional love for all creation on his travels throughout Italy and beyond. Doing so, he not only attracted other men to this radical lifestyle, but women — beginning with St. Clare — as well as lay people who found in his uncluttered approach to following in Jesus’ footsteps something very appealing.

This latter group became known as the Brothers and Sisters of Penance and, later, the Third Order. Like Benedictine oblates, they made a public promise to abide by the rule St. Francis had written for them and follow Jesus by showing love to all. In the latter half of the 20th century, their title was changed to the Secular Franciscan Order.

Secular Franciscans create their own communities — called fraternities — and usually have a spiritual director for each group, a religious of a Franciscan vowed community.

These are but two examples of associations lay people can pursue with the religiously vowed. Some communities have created their own form of associates, called Sojourners, Cojourners, Partners and so forth. The premise is basically the same: lay people seeking to emulate the example of a respective rule or charism of the community — that is, the special spirituality — enter into a relationship where the values and ministries are shared.

Choosing Between Benedictine and Franciscan Paths

At a recent Benedictine oblate inquiry session that I attended, I was amazed that those curious about this association already had close ties to various Franciscan communities. Among their questions were: what is the difference between Benedictine oblates and secular Franciscans? Why should I choose one or the other? And, how does the process work?

As someone who is a Benedictine oblate but has studied Franciscan spirituality for decades, I was able to answer some of those questions because they are answers I’ve sought myself. 

What I found most appealing about Benedictine spirituality: St. Benedict integrated into his Rule an inherent balance, a directive toward moderation and mutual respect among the community. This mutual respect included advising the younger members to respect their elders, and the elders to be open to the wisdom offered by the younger members. These ideals are readily integrated into a person’s life, whether he or she lives in a vowed community, or as a lay person raising a family and holding a 9-to-5 job.

From the Franciscan perspective, St. Francis highlighted how a consumerist mindset — yes, something prevalent 800 years ago! — can blind human beings to the beauty of God’s creation, and the love due to each other. The simplicity involved in traveling from town to town, preaching this love to all who would listen or retiring to a hermitage for encounters with the divine through intense prayer, is far more vital than acquiring a lot of “stuff” (as George Carlin humorously pointed out many years ago).

This influence on my life has led to the point where everything I own fits into a single rolling suitcase.

Not many will be able to go that far, but it’s not required. Lay people who discern to associate themselves with vowed religious communities will discover the gems their soul is seeking, according to their unique circumstances. As a result, they enrich their personal spiritual journey so they can then share with others through their daily interactions the actions of God in their lives.