The word "oblate" comes from the Latin oblatus
-an offering, someone or something that is given -
and in
Benedict's day young children
were offered to Benedictine
communities
where they were educated,
and where they
experienced monastic life;
they were called oblates.
Over
time, adults asked
to be associated with a monastic
community;
they were also called oblates
even though they
continued
to live their lives outside monastic walls.
So
oblates have a long history.
