Customer Reviews

Listen My Son: St. Benedict for Fathers

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
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As any who have read an ancient work in translation will tell you, any commentary that is included can be a blinding distraction, or the most illuminating aspect of the literature. In this case, Longenecker's accompanying prose is surely the latter. Benedict's Rule is related to the work of a father with practiced ease and grace. The work is profoundly instructive.
In fact, my only gripe is with the slightly unwieldy, slightly overlong introduction. Though it should by no means be skipped, I remember feeling a little anxious to get on to St. Benedict. Very high marks though, I thoroughly recommend this book to any father, or mother for that matter.

As a mother, I was intrigued by the title of this book, and now wish that I had read it long ago, when my children were younger. The advice is age-old and not just for fathers, rather, it is inspiring for all adults, but especially parents trying to keep a family together in these chaotic days.

Dr. Longenecker's meditations on the rule of St. Benedict are both inpirational and pragmatic. This book offer a useful re-tooling and reapplication of these essentially monastic directives for use in family life. It makes me want to work more dilligently at being a better father and person.

The key insight of this book is that the Rule of St. Benedict, written 1500 years ago for use in keeping a well-ordered monastery, is also applicable to modern day families, especially focusing on the role of the father as head of the family. Various aspects of monastic life are covered by Benedict, including the types of monks, the character of the abbot, the balance of prayer and work (Benedict is famous for the "ora et labora" concept of "prayer and work" being blended together), the importance of obedience and humility (virtues sorely lacking in our day), and many other practical concerns. These writings are skillfully applied to contemporary domestic life by Father Longenecker, a Catholic priest who, as a former Anglican minister, has a family himself. He does not use personal examples but his experience comes through.

The book takes Benedict's Rule and divides it up into daily meditations over four months. Each passage from Benedict is followed by an explanation or application to today's family by the author. Each day's reading is two or three pages, which can easily be read in five or ten minutes. The author even recommends days to start: January 1, May 2, or September 1. Each reading has a calendar day so it is easy to keep track if you fall behind. Since the readings are short, it is also easy to catch up to the current day.

This commentary gives wonderful insight into how to apply the Rule of St. Benedict to our everyday family lives. I've facilitated a Benedictine community for the past five years and this book gave us practical ways to live a more balanced, Benedictine life. As mentioned in other reviews, this book is very much applicable to mothers as well as fathers. Highly recommend it.

This book is the truth and does not sit well alongside post-modern culture; this is why it is so good! I know the truths here provide hope to save our introspective society from consuming itself by sharing how good community works.

The tools are all available between the covers of this excellent book. Will we take note and more importantly take action?

Don't let the title scare you mothers away. "Listen My Son: St. Benedict for Fathers" brings the reader through the Rule of Saint Benedict, (RSB), by way of a brief daily reading that explains each section as it would be applicable in any parent's life today. The entire RSB is read within one year's time.

It is often said that child birth comes without any instruction manual. "Listen My Son: St. Benedict for Fathers" can be that manual.

This would make an excellent gift for a new parent.

My mother gave this book to all her sons (including me) for Christmas a year ago. This was my first exposure to Saint Benedict and his Rule. At that time I had very little exposure to the monastic life. As I read this book I could really begin to appreciate the devout nature of Benedict and his followers. It is clear that these men who give up their lives for Christ, these monks, truely have a calling to this vocation.

I really liked the interpretation that went along after each rule by Dr. Longenecker. This was especially valuable as I had not been experienced these teachings before. I highly reccommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about the contemplative life.