I am a 46-year-old Lutheran priest and dean in the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, as well as an army chaplain in the Estonian Defence Forces. I am a husband to my wife and a father to two boys. I discovered Christian meditation in 2020. Meditation and contemplative spirituality were not entirely unfamiliar to me before that, but the pandemic gave me both the opportunity and motivation to seek renewal in my spiritual life.
I googled the word meditation together with Christian and found the website of the World Community for Christian Meditation (wccm.org) When I read that the community had oblates, I fell in love instantly. I had felt a deep interest in monastic spirituality for at least 20 years before that, so I contacted the community quickly.
Before long, I became a novice and was assigned Jim Green as my mentor. My novitiate lasted over two years, and it was quite an intense time—full of ups and downs, balancing between confidence and doubt.
Jim was a great support. Many times, when I was ready to quit the oblate path, a one-hour Skype conversation with Jim would turn things around, giving me a fresh beginning and spiritual renewal. I think the main reason for my doubt was a sense of unworthiness. Can I really vow to live according to The Rule? I felt too lazy and unstable in my commitments.
But then I realized that, as a Lutheran minister, I had forgotten the core teaching of my own tradition—salvation by grace alone. Slowly, I began to understand how
contemplative monastic spirituality and the practice of meditation were deepening my awareness of grace and helping me live more fully in it. It began
to feel like a natural part of my spiritual life.
In October 2024, I visited Bonnevaux with my mentor Jim and made my Final
Oblation there. It was a very special full moon Sunday in a very special place, and I
received much encouragement to live the oblate life within my context. I currently serve as the national coordinator for WCCM in Estonia. We have one meditation group in my home parish. There isn’t much to coordinate yet—but that’s okay, because I still have a lot of work to do on my own spiritual journey.
I truly enjoy being part of WCCM events, especially Benedict’s Well on Monday mornings, and I also enjoy listening to lectures. These days, I prefer to meditate using the Benedictine Daily Prayer book during Lauds and Vespers and try to draw daily inspiration from The
Rule.
Recently, a part of The Rule struck me deeply: “The eighth degree of humility
is that a monk do nothing except what is commended by the common Rule of the monastery and the example of the elders.” With some exceptions, the monk does nothing—and that’s good news. You don’t need to be exceptionally productive, sacrificial, or creative to live a contemplative life. For me, this means be more and do less, listen more and talk less, see more and express less. The
Benedictine spirituality is more about being then doing and its so liberating. The Oblate Path is challenging and teaching a lot but doable and relaxing as well. And that’s why itmakes you happy.
'The Call to Be Real'
Quarterly Newsletter
Tauno’s story is part of the latest Quarterly Newsletter – you can continue reading stories like Tauno and other updates from WCCM community.
