SOLEMN VOWS
We are pleased to make available to those who wish to make a vow for this cause and to those served by this cause, a certificate of Oblation. The certificate would come to you on a parchment type paper suitable for framing. Please contact us for additional information.
Email Father Christopher:
fatherchristopher@saintpatricksmonastery.com
God called forth a people; and we responded to His call.
Our community is seen as an expression of the mixed life that embraces both the contemplative and the apostolic in the context of a shared vision and vocation. Historically, Irish Christian monasticism was noted for its combining of monastery and mission. Ordinary Christian people found ways of weaving disciplines of prayer into the activities of their daily lives. We are truly being drawn into a monastic way not all that different from that of the early church. This is not a new form of monasticism. In the early centuries of the church in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England the Irish monks established a monastery in each village rather than building on a diocesan concept as was done on the European mainland. Each monastery had its own Abbot-Bishop. And, from morning to evening and evening to morning the lives of the villagers revolved around the observance of the Divine Office. Each chore, whether milking, tending a fire, washing of clothes, cooking a meal had its own prayer which was said before the start of the chore and upon the completion of the chore. This manner of monasticism was not all that different from the manner in which the early church operated. In the early church all hings were held in common ownership.
Money was pooled, the individual claimed ownership to nothing. Widows, poor, infirm and those who otherwise could not care for themselves were cared for from the common pool. Those who were able to work did so. No one took more than was necessary for his/her immediate needs.
The deacons of the early church were responsible for maintaining records, warehousing and distribution of goods. The Apostles were responsible for preaching the gospel and carrying it out to the rest of the known world through missionary journeys. We ask that all who would follow in the footsteps of St. Patrick do so with intentional vulnerability and availability. This means availability to God in the cell of our own hearts as well as to being available for hospitality, intercession and mission to others. They are expressed through being teachable in the discipline of prayer, saturation in the scriptures and being accountable to one another, very often as soul friends, being receptive to constructive criticism, realizing that relationship matter much more than reputation, and living opening among people as a 'church without walls.'
Certainly something which is not be entered into lightly.