The Roman Breviary
Oblates of the Guild
The Third Order of the Guild is comprised of oblates of either
sex who seek to assist the Guild in its work to preserve and
restore the traditional Catholic faith and liturgical worship.
Oblates bind themselves to observe the Rule, only insofar as it
pertains to and is in conformity with their state and duties of
life. Oblates are meant to regard the Rule as a spiritual
guideline, and are not bound by any vow or other commitment to
its strict observance. Membership of the Third Order is
not restricted to lay people, but is also open to priests or
religious who are not members of the First and Second Order,
neither wish to be bound to the observance of those paragraphs
of the Rule which pertain to the First and Second Order.
and worship to
the Church.
The
Oblates of the Guild assist the Guild in its work to preserve and
restore the traditional Catholic faith and liturgical worship.
They follow the Guild Rule, but have the ability to adapt it to their
own state and duties of life, using the Rule as a guideline to reform
their life to the extent they are able, while reaping the benefits the
Guild has to offer.
If you want to become a part of the movement to restore the
Church, you can help us by joining the Guild as an Oblate. At
the link below you will find a registration form, which you can submit
electronically. In return for a small fee to cover our costs,
you will receive by mail a copy of the Guild Handbook for Oblates and
a Guild Medal, which you are asked to wear at Mass and Divine Office
on certain days of the year prescribed by the Rule.
Once you've received your Guild Handbook for
Oblates, the next obvious step is to read it. Become familiar
above all with the Rule of the Guild, especially the section that
pertains to the Oblates. In it, you will find a blueprint for a
way of life, that, if you follow it, will lead you to a closer
relationship with God. As you read, you should start determining
how much of the Rule you are able to observe, according to your state
of life and current duties of life. The two mistakes you can
make here are by either biting off more than you chew, or failing to
take on the spiritual challenge that God inspires you to accept.
One of the precepts of the Rule that must be followed is the adoption
of some form of liturgical prayer. The Divine Office as contained
in the Roman Breviary is the most perfect form of liturgical prayer
after the Mass itself. We therefore storngly recommend that
Oblates recite either the whole or a part of the Divine Office. We
have made this very easy for lay people to do by providing the Office in
an easy-to-read format online. No previous knowledge of Latin or
Rubrics is needed. Oblates may learn more about the Breviary
elsewhere on this website, and may even view an online demo of our site.
If you think you would like to say any of the Roman Breviary as part of
your duties as an Oblate, you should now subscribe to our Breviary
Online website.
After reviewing the Breviary Online, if you decide you would prefer one
of the alternative forms of liturgical prayer suggested in the Rule,
you should then review the other options so you are in a position to
make an informed decision. After the Roman Breviary, the other
form of liturgy approved by the Church is the Little Office of Our
Lady.
For those who prefer a complete form of liturgical prayer, but don't
have time for anything other than an abbreviated format, the Guild
provides two Offices of different length, the Little Office, and the
Short Office of St. Peter ad Vincula.
If, after a time, you genuinely feel you need to
change the type of Office you are saying, or wish to add a little
more, or say a little less, you may do so without any permission from
the Guild.