Starting November 22nd, Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB, will be leading Exodus men through the final ten days of our current season, Battles in Autumn, focused on Forming Leaders. This last segment will provide practical takeaways as the culmination of our focus on the spiritual battle of our time and how we, as men, need to respond.
The Battles in Autumn exercise has focused on how to lead in the face of the challenges of the surrounding culture. Using 1 Maccabees has brought out how men need to rally together and stand up to challenges to honor God and protect others.
For the last ten days, we are shifting gears, led by Fr. Boniface, reflecting on the Gospels and how Jesus teaches us to lead. In calling his disciples, Jesus founded the Church around a fraternity of men, supporting one another in faithfulness and mission.
This leadership content will help Exodus Men to serve other men within their fraternity. Just like Jesus’s disciples, we must live out our mission with the help of other men. We don’t always know the best way to do this, and Fr. Boniface’s reflections will help us offer this support more intentionally to others. Inviting men, helping them to learn how to pray and overcome their challenges, being there for them–these are the things that will change lives.
Fr. Boniface is also the spiritual guide for Exodus 90, starting January 1st. What he related about the accompaniment that he will offer during those ninety days applies equally to the leader formation of Battles of Autumn:
“In the Benedictine, monastic tradition, there is a strong emphasis on accompaniment. Monks learn to be monks from other monks. This only works when monks are willing to be vulnerable and expose their interior lives to their spiritual fathers. The spiritual fathers, in turn, have to learn how to receive those vulnerable places in the heart with reverence and love. This foundational relationship dynamic also extends to the brothers in the monastery, as much as possible, such that St. Benedict exhorts his monks to grow in a fraternal vulnerability and reverent trustworthiness with each other.
“I am so pleased to have this opportunity to share some insights and guidance on accompaniment with you through Exodus 90. Vulnerable, committed, deep relationships are the necessary, vital matrix in which spiritual growth happens. St. Benedict understood this 1500 years ago as he simply lived out the teaching of Jesus as found in Christ’s words and deeds in the Gospels. In my upcoming series of ten reflections, I will teach the central dynamics of accompaniment by expounding on various passages in the Gospels. By reading and applying these reflections to your life, you can learn from this ancient art how better to support the brothers in your fraternity, and also how to live all your relationships more deeply in a more Christ-like way.”
Join us for the final 10 days of Battles of Autumn to receive Fr. Boniface’s guidance on leadership.
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