Benedictine Bibliography: Suggested Readings

"Benedict's Rule: A Translation and Commentary is the first line-by-line exegesis of the entire Rule of Benedict written originally in English. This full commentary - predominately a literary and historical criticism - is based on and includes a new translation and is accompanied by essays on Benedict's spiritual doctrine."

"Fifteen centuries ago, a young monk named Benedict founded the basic monastic system of the Christian world, a spiritual and economic organization that thrives to this very day. In his concise work, now known as The Rule, Benedict presented his leadership secrets and managerial insights."

"Ampleforth Abbey in Yorkshire has recognised the power of the Rule for guiding life and work in the modern world and has been running courses for business people that explore the value of St Benedict's teaching. Managing permanent, rapid change is the ultimate task for business from now on. The Rule has been helping the Benedictines to successfully enable and manage change for over a thousand years. Its stress on realism, vision and perseverance in the context of strong communities provides businesses large and small with a way forward to survival and success."

"'There is no shortage of good days,' writes Annie Dillard. "It is good lives that are hard to come by." Reflecting on what makes a "good life," Robert Benson offers a warmhearted, humorous guide to enriching our lives with the wisdom of Benedict, a 6th century monk. Each chapter is shaped around a Benedictine principle: prayer, rest, community, and work, and reveals the brilliant and infinitely practical ways that Benedictine spirituality can shape our lives today."

"Father Joel Rippinger's account of monastic life in the United States in the last 150 years is as rich and varied as the Benedictine tradition itself. While individual monasteries and convents have left written records of their own history, Father Rippinger's particular contribution lies in weaving those various strands into their religious, social, political, and cultural context."

"A scientist discusses man's relationship with nature and urges individuals to cultivate their positive values to create a meaningful life."

"It seems surprising that a sixth-century monastic text, the Rule of St Benedict, should be a guide for lay Christians living in today's world. But in fact the questions which St Benedict had to face are still relevant today: How do I live with others? With the world? With myself? With God? How do I bring balance into my life? St Benedict speaks to the heart, and this commentary approaches the Rule in a prayerful and reflective way."

"These simple and inviting reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict take as their starting point our search for wholeness in a world that is fragmented and increasingly polarized. Many people today struggle to balance the demands of professional and personal lives, and find little satisfaction or peacefulness in either. Yet the ancient wisdom of St. Benedict offers a clear and helpful pathway that leads directly to healing, transformation and new life."

"The Love of Learning and the Desire for God is composed of a series of lectures given to young monks at the Institute of Monastic Studies at Sant'Anselmo in Rome during the winter of 1955-56."

"Contains wisdom for addressing issues facing us - relationships, authority, community, balance, work, simplicity, prayer, and spiritual and psychological development."

"After living the Rule and studying it for many years, the author introduces it to those who are encountering it for the first time. The relationship of Benedict's Rule to other early monastic legislation is treated thoroughly but the book is designed for those who are seeking a guide for christian living in this `little rule for beginners'"

"For over fifteen hundred years St. Benedict's Rule has been a source of guidance, support, inspiration, challenge, comfort and discomfort for men and women. It has helped both those living under monastic vows and those living outside the cloister in all the mess and muddle of ordinary, busy lives in the world."

"Taking the Rule's balance of prayer, conversion of life, commitment, study, work relationships, and solitude, this practical spiritual guide explores the Rule's application for ordinary people living outside a monastery."

"Middle class work in the West consists in doing little without the aid of complicated machinery and systems. Functions we are designed to perform; digging, building and growing God's earth are relegated to an adjunct of entertainment at the gym and shopping mall. Neither St. Benedict nor Sorg could see this as a useful approach to prayer, our proper work."

"Wise and enduring spiritual guidelines for everyday living –– as relevant today as when The Rule was originally conceived by St. Benedict in fifth century Rome."