This short book is about another book -- the Rule of St. Benedict. The Rule of Saint Benedict has been used by for 15 centuries, and thus St. Benedict is sometimes considered the founder of Christian monasticism. In it Benedict sets forth his instructions for leading a Christian life in community.
Author Esther de Waal distills the details of the Rule into a number of short chapters:
*Invitation
*Listening
*Stability
*Change
*Balance
*Material Things
*People
*Authority
* Prayer
In each chapter, she discusses what this topic meant to St. Benedict, and how we can implement his ideas into our own lives. The Rule is not meant to be oppressive, rather it is "a handbook on the practice of loving." It focuses on balance, attentiveness, the presence of Christ, and the search for God is all things. We are to accepting "each activity of the day in its own right without encouraging extremism, competition, overactivity, workaholism." At the end of every section there are some Christian quotations, Scripture verses, and prayers.
VERDICT: 5 STARS. An easy, but important read. I loved it!
For more about St. Benedict see these posts:
A (belated) Valentine's Day Thought
The Spacious Path by Tamara Hill Murphy — Book Review
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