The Rule of Benedict for Beginners: Spirituality for Daily Life

by Wil Derkse

Book Overview

Benedictine spirituality is simple and down to earth. Not only does the Benedictine lifestyle fit well within the walls of the monastery, its interpretation of life is also suitable to other forms of society. In The Rule of Benedict for Beginners, Wil Derkse reveals how elements from Benedictine spirituality and the Benedictine lifestyle may be fruitful outside the monastery to strengthen the quality of societal living and working.

The...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814628028
• ISBN13: 9780814628027
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

The Rule of Benedict for Beginners.

This is a brief, well written and organized book on the application of the Rule of Benedict to everyday life and work. It is a perfect book for "beginners," by which it is meant serious practicing religious and spiritual laypersons that "begin" at each moment, here and now and, practice attending to every activity with the same degree of gratitude and devotion. This is a book that can and must be read more than once and has applications for individual practice as well as group study. I recommend it highly to helping professionals.

Not just for Catholics and wannabe Benedictines

While this book obviously has a role as a guide for Catholics wanting to develop a Benedictine spirituality in their life, there is a tremendous amount here that would be useful for anyone looking for new ways to overcome the petty distractions in life, and to get more out of both work and play. The foundation of the book may be the lives of Benedictine monks, but what they've learned over the centuries can be useful to all of us. The book does a great job of illustrating the principles with real life examples, and doesn't paper over the challenges involved.

Living the Rule apart from a monastery

Of all the books about living the Rule of St. Benedict as a lay person, I think this one is the best. Though not lengthy, it takes time to read and to ponder. If you're wondering about whether Western monastic principles might help you live your own life, outside a monastery, this gem is for you.

Listen!

Wil Derkse's book on the Rule of Benedict for beginners is a wonderful introduction to this subject. The Rule of St. Benedict itself is a fairly short book, usually printed in fewer than 100 pages, with its 73 chapters of a few paragraphs in length at most. However, often a simple reading of the Rule leaves modern readers dis-satisfied; it is a rule in many ways of and for a different world, just as the biblical texts can be so characterised. However, it is also, like the Bible, a text that speaks to us today, and has application and inspiration for modern followers.Benedict's Rule for life includes worship, work, study, prayer, and relaxation. Benedict's Rule requires community -- even for those who become hermits or solitaries, there is a link to the community through worship and through the Rule. No one is alone. This is an important part of the relationship of God to the world, so it is an integral part of the Rule. Benedict's Rule was set out first in a world that was torn with warfare, economic and political upheaval, and a generally harsh physical environment. This Rule was set out to bring order to a general chaos in which people lived. This is still true today, and men and women all over the world use Benedict's 'little rule for beginners' as a basic structure for their lives.The first word of the rule is Listen. This is perhaps the best advice for anyone looking for any guidance or rule of life. While Benedict's Rule is decidedly Christocentric and hierarchical (though not as hierarchical as much popular ideas about monastic practice would have one think), it nonetheless can give value to any reader who is looking to construct a practice for oneself. Benedict's establishment of a monastery was in fact the establishment of a school for spirituality. In his prologue to the Rule, Benedict even states this as his intention. In drawing up its regulations, he intends to set down 'nothing harsh, nothing burdensome.' He sets forth in this brief rule a guide to individual life within community that will bring one ever closer to the divine.Benedict explores the issues of charity, personality, integrity, and spirituality in all of his rules. From the clothing to the prayer cycle to the reception of guests, all have a purpose that fits into a larger whole, and all have positive charges and negative warnings. Benedict is especially mindful of the sin of pride, be it pride of possession, pride of person, pride of place -- he strives for equality in the community (as a recognition that all are equal before God). Derkse's book is not a handbook on Benedictine spirituality per se, but rather an introduction to those parts of the Benedictine practice that can be useful and adapted to life outside the monastery. Derkse is himself an oblate member of a Benedictine order - oblates are those who live outside the monastic community, but have ties to the community materially and spiritually, and adapt the Rule of Benedict to fit a secular life, with due reve

something to chew on

I often read 1 or 2 pages of this book before heading out in the morning and I think about it during the day. This is not academic or difficult reading, although such reading surely has its place. This book is more down to earth, though not simplistic. The principles of Benedictine living -- remaining with that to which one is committed, working to imrpove oneself, and careful attention -- are discussed in ways that pave the way for a reader to consider new possibilities for how they can be applied in one's life. This is not, as perhaps the title could imply, a recitation of the rule, but rather an exploration of it. Without being rigid or overly prescriptive, this book succeeds in giving the reader some ways of making the practice of spirituality concrete in day to day life. A big task and, as the title suggests, the book gives some real help to beginners.