The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages (Crossroad Spiritual Legacy) [Paperback]

Sister Joan Chittister OSB (Author)

Book Description

Series: Crossroad Spiritual Legacy | Publication Date: December 1, 1992

Benedictine Sister and prominent author and speaker Joan Chittister contends that Benedictine spirituality is the most effective way to address the core issues of the 21st century: stewardship, relationships, authority, community, balance, work, simplicity, prayer, and spiritual and psychological development.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The Benedictine Way, the author contends, is the spirituality of the twenty-first century because it deals with issues facing us now stewardship, relationships, and spiritual and psychological development.

About the Author

Joan Chittister is the executive director of the company Benetvision, which serves as a resource and research center for contemporary spirituality; a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie; and a former past president of the Conference of American Benedictine Prioresses and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. She writes "From Where I Stand," a weekly column in the National Catholic Reporter, and is the author of many books, including The Friendship of Women, The Gift of Years, In Search of Belief, In the Heart of the Temple, and Wisdom Distilled from the Daily. She lives in Erie, Pennsylvania.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: The Crossroad Publishing Company (December 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824525035
• ISBN-13: 978-0824525033
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Congregations & Orders
  • #82 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Catholicism > Saints

More About the Author

Joan Chittister, OSB (1936- ) is a Benedictine Sister of Erie, PA. She is the author of over 40 books--ten of which have won Catholic Press Association Awards (the latest 2011: God's Tender Mercy). Her book, The Monastery of the Heart: an invitation to a meaningful life, is prelude to a movement for all seekers: Monasteries of the Heart, recently begun by her Benedictine community. Sister Joan is an international speaker who inspires both her audiences and readers with her passion for justice, for equality and for peace, especially for women in both society and the church. Her PhD is from Penn State University in Speech-Communication Theory. She serves as Executive Director of Benetvision, a research and resource center for contemporary spirituality.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages, March 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages (Crossroad Spiritual Legacy) (Paperback)

As a Benedictine of 41 years, this is the first commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict which I have read (and I have ready MANY) that has made the Gospel lifestyle contemporary and relevant. Chittister has taken the experiences of a lifetime and correlated them with the Rule. Not an easy task, but she has achieved it remarkably well. This book is at once homey and scholarly. Common sense pervades this easy to read guide. It is the only commentary which I have read more than twice. It is the only commentary which seems to have captured the essence of St. Benedict's Rule and subsequently, the Gospels.

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes the Rule accessible to beginners, June 16, 2001

By 

marared (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages (Crossroad Spiritual Legacy) (Paperback)

I am relatively new to Benedictine spirituality, and have found this commentary to be extremely helpful in thinking about how the Rule applies to my life as a person in a secular setting in the 21st century. The text is divided into small chunks with commentary between, with dates for when to read each piece. It's helpful to have the dates so that if you are connected to a monastic community you are reading in sync with the rest of the community. I have also found that reading small portions in the way it is set out here is helpful to pace my reading so I take the time to consider the text and the insights offered.

Chittister does an excellent job of providing reflections on the Rule that are understandable and applicable to people in a broad variety of life situations. Often when I first read a section of the text I think, "How can this possibly be relevant to me? What does it mean in my situation?" (e.g. sections on the content of particular prayers or where the monks should sleep, etc). Chittister describes and explains these texts in ways that give me a lot to think about and make them relevant to me personally. She tends to extract and explain some of the underlying issues (e.g. what would Benedict have been thinking to write this? What would it have meant in the original context) and then makes ties to the modern world. All in all an excellent commentary for both beginners and more experienced monastics.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A way of life, March 30, 2005

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages (Crossroad Spiritual Legacy) (Paperback)

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).

Joan Chittister's commentary is brilliant, as always with her writing. This relates the timeless rule to the timeliness of the world today. This is an excellent resource, and an excellent guide.