Fr. Michal Lewon, an ordained priest of the Chicago Archdiocese, was looking for a way to deepen his spiritual life and vocation. He found his answer in the Benedictine Oblates at St. Scholastica Monastery.

“Before I read the Benedictine Rule, the idea of listening was very important to me,” reflected Michal. “So, when I started to look at the Benedictines more seriously, I was amazed by the first idea of the Rule: Listen. That’s the place where I find the experience of G-d*, myself, and other people. It is the listening that leads me to action.”

Michal is the third priest to have enrolled or become a Benedictine Oblate with our monastery. The step to becoming an Oblate does not negate a priest’s ordination, but enhances his spiritual journey and allows him to deepen his own calling.

Michal, currently the Priest Chaplain at the University of Illinois, Chicago, made his enrollment to become an Oblate candidate on March 20th, along with a fellow enrollee, Mary Cunningham.

When asked how he decided to make this step in his spiritual journey, he responded, “At some point people have to stop thinking about doing something and just do it. For me, contacting Sister Benita was a turning point in my life.”

Welcome, Michal, as a Benedictine Oblate Candidate of St. Scholastica Monastery!

*Michal says: "I learned to write G-d’s name this way from the Jewish Orthodox people. It is done out of reverence to His name. This name should be respected and since we do not know what will happen with the paper (or digital file) that this name is being written on, it is better not to write it fully."