Trained by Benedictine monks during seminary, the Rev. Ray Deisch has come full circle in retirement.

Deisch, a retired diocesan priest, often can be found celebrating daily and Sunday Mass for the local Benedictine community at St. Martin Monastery, and he'll serve as spiritual director of the monastery's annual oblate retreat on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

"I was trained by Benedictines at St. John's Seminary in Collegeville, Minn.," Deisch said. Always drawn to the traditions and rhythms of monastic life, Deisch said he initially considered joining an order instead of a diocese. "I considered the Franciscans and the Benedictines, but I felt a call to serve within a diocese." A native of western South Dakota, Deisch loves the region and chose to return to serve people here.

Over the years, he has developed lifelong friendships with Benedictines, including Abbott Thomas Hillenbrand, head of the Blue Cloud Abbey near Marvin, and Sister Marmion Howe, the director of the Benedictine oblate program at St. Martin.

Benedictine oblates are lay people affiliated with a monastery who live secular lives of jobs, marriage and children, but who also profess a vow to follow the Rule of St. Benedict in the world outside the monastery.

Retreat participants do not have to be oblates to attend. A silent retreat, except for conferences and other designated periods, it is open to the public and to people of all denominations.

"Being silent in a beautiful natural setting with no agenda and nowhere to go are key ingredients for making audible the voice of God and disposing oneself to pray," Sister Marmion said.

This year's retreat will focus on the major themes found in the letters of St. Paul. "This year in the Catholic Church is dedicated by the pope to St. Paul," Deisch said. Among the themes he will be exploring at this retreat: Paul's understanding of the body of Christ, with Christ as its head and the faithful as its members; St. Paul's approach to morality as the outward expression of the internal - that humans are the temple of the Holy Spirit; and St. Paul's overwhelming conversion experience and his consciousness of living in Christ.

Deisch is also a practitioner of centering prayer, a form of contemplative prayer practiced in many Benedictine monasteries that has been popularized by Trappist monk Father Thomas Keating and his book, "Open Mind, Open Heart," a primer for centering prayer. Deisch was certified as an instructor through Contemplative Outreach, an organization that promotes centering prayer.

"Spirituality comes in multiple forms, and if an individual finds a particular form that is meaningful to them - that relates to them - then that's the Lord calling them in that direction," Deisch said.

He said the idea of secular people dedicating their work as a form of prayer and service to God is another way of living out the Benedictine motto of monasticism "Oro et Labora" - prayer and work. "The oblate program appeals to some, and it's a beautiful way of becoming close to the Lord."

If you go

What: Benedictine Oblate Retreat

When: 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, through 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1

Where: St. Martin Monastery

Cost: $55; includes meals and lodging. To pre-register, call 343-2688 before Oct. 28 or register at the door on Oct. 31.

On the Web: www.blackhillsbenedictine.com