**5. Conclusions**

This article started with the following main question: which monastic ritual practices do Benedictine oblates in the Netherlands perform, and how do they transfer these to their personal context? After having answered the research questions in the previous paragraphs, ritual prayer, reading and everyday practices can be identified as constitutive ritual practices for Benedictine oblates' spirituality. Although they do experience issues when transferring practices from the monastic context they are affiliated to into their personal context, they still report positively on their ritual form-of-life.

When the first World Conference of Benedictine Oblates took place in 2005 in Rome, the Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation, Dom Notker Wolf OSB, explained his motive for stimulating an exchange about this form-of-life as follows: "The treasures of the Rule of St Benedict should not be hidden inside monasteries. Our societies should be rooted in Christ, again, and become a huge family, in mutual love and respect" (Koller 2009, p. 283). Of course, the research cannot indicate what impact the life of oblates exerts within their own personal context. But in each case, it can be concluded that they are well aware of the task the general superior formulated. The unique ritual character of Benedictine life makes the lay members of the order different from lay members of other Christian orders and congregations. Their liminal form-of-life is in the first place enacted by practices relying on their monastic context and integrated into their personal context, without fully being a part of the social mechanisms the oblates are confronted and obliged with in the world (Quartier 2020).

The self-reports of the Dutch Benedictine oblates have shown that there is a high degree of reflection among the oblates, thus the practices of monastic spirituality outside monastery walls can form an interesting ritual field. Practically, it is hoped that the findings will help people—oblates and others—to reflect on their ritual life as a source for spirituality. For ritual studies, it is also hoped that this article demonstrates that a further exploration of monastic life can be a source for discovering ritual fields related to Christian churches, but which stem from a different tradition, and which can relate to the secular environment in a nuanced way. Because—although all the respondents are Christian—they differ in the way they experience their religion. Oblates, often a forgotten group in research, can help with further reflection on the relevance of monastic practices in a substantial way.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.

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