Tim Oberholzer

Tim Oberholzer is Executive Director of the Center for Benedictine Life. In addition to managing the operations of the CBL, Tim facilitates in-person retreats and on-line programs. Tim also accompanies others as a spiritual director.

Tim spent five and a half years as a Trappist monk at New Melleray Abbey in Peosta, Iowa.  Deep prayer and reflection led him to leave the community prior to making solemn profession. He moved to Idaho to be closer to his parents, discovering the Monastery of St. Gertrude through a job posting for the innkeeper position at the Inn at St. Gertrude.

Tim earned a business degree from the University of Notre Dame, studied philosophy and theology at the University of St. Thomas, and completed the Stewards of the Mystery spiritual direction training program.

Tim is a remarried widower, a committed runner, and an avid reader.

Upcoming Programs by Tim Oberholzer

Diffusions - Playing with Words: Benedict’s Little Rule for Beginners

February 25, 2025
St. Benedict's "little rule written for beginners" invites us to grow in virtue through intentional living in the ordinariness of life. The text contains numerous themes to inspire and direct individuals and communities in the way of perfection. During these Zoom sessions, we will ponder the Rule of St. Benedict by "playing" with recurring words and themes.  Each month we will examine Benedict's weaving of a different word or theme through the Rule to gain an understanding of his intention and our application.

Looking Forward to Easter

February 28 - March 2, 2025
Does your life need a reset? A nudge to get everything back in balance? Where "everything" means physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. In Looking Forward to Easter we will use Chapter 49: The Observance of Lent from the Rule of St. Benedict as a guide for self-reflection and transformation. We will consider what should be washed away, what should be added, and what should be offered as we "look forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing."

Diffusions :: The Mystics Would Like a Word

March 6 - April 10, 2025
This book discussion will follow Shannon K. Evans' book The Mystics Would Like a Word: Six Women Who Met God and Found a Spirituality for Today mystic-by-mystic. In this 6-week journey, our group will meet via 1 1/2 hour Zoom sessions, Thursdays, 6-7:30 pm (Pacific) 9-10:30 pm (Eastern), to share thoughts and impressions of each chapter.

Journaling: The Sanctuary of the Heart

Also With Cheryl Johnson

May 19 - 23, 2025
The Center for Benedictine Life at the Monastery of St. Gertrude welcomes the monastery of your heart.  Here, the quest within and the world without join hands.  Prompts of the Spirit and their counterparts in key moments, find a voice in the sanctuary of your journal, the sanctuary of the heart.  Journaling, Joan Chittister says, is an “x-ray of your soul.”  It gets beneath our facades to the bone, blood, tissue, and the spiritual depths they house.  Journals are intimate explorings of the pain and beauty hidden in our exterior and interior landscapes.