63 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Context is everything, September 24, 2000
This review is from: The Rule of Saint Benedict (Paperback)
With all respect to our contemporary viewpoint, Benedict actually wrote this Rule of community life with an eye to moderation, not stricture. At the time Benedict hid himself away from the world, much of monasticism was not community-based but was lived by hermit-monks in self-contained cells or huts hidden in the desert or made from caves. Many of these hermits led lives of astounding rigor -- living years on crusts of bread, or going decades without leaving their small cell or room, or daily self-flagellation, or, like the Stylites, living years at the top of a pillar.
Benedict recognized that this kind of lifestyle would not work in a community. When the monks who had clustered around him began to try to work out life together, they needed new rules. Benedict gave them this masterwork. In it, for the first time, the monastic day is divided into measured portions of nearly equal amount -- time for work, time for sleep, time for prayer. This balance, clearly necessary in community, was nevertheless innovative and far easier to live than the rules that had come before.
I wear Benedict's medal to remind myself -- in an era in which more of the day is devoted to work than Benedict would have allowed -- that balance is critical to community. Reading the Rule in that light might add to your enjoyment of it in the 21st century.
As a side note, any fan of the Cadfael mysteries simply must read this Rule to properly understand the complexities of the life portrayed in those novels!
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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Listening for the spirit..., June 10, 2004
This review is from: The Rule of Saint Benedict (Paperback)
The Rule of St. Benedict is a fairly short book, usually printed in fewer than 100 pages, with its 73 chapters of a few paragraphs in length at most. Here the entirety of the Rule is contained in 70 pages. It is a good example of the statement, 'good things come in small packages'.
This particular volume comes from the Vintage Spiritual Classics series, and there is no doubt that the Rule of Benedict, standing solid in community for 1500 years, qualifies. Countless people have based their lives and spiritual practices on the words contained herein.
Thomas Moore, noted author of such texts as 'Care of the Soul' and 'Meditations', provides an introduction to the series. Moore's sensibilities lend themselves to the practice of a rule -- discipline and community are important to him, and as such he finds a natural bond with Benedictine practices.
Father Timothy Fry, OSB (which stands for 'Order of St. Benedict', and is used by monastics and oblates), provides a brief introduction and a timeline of monastic development from before the Christian era to after the time of Benedict.
Benedict was fully aware of human frailty, as true 1500 years ago as it is today. This frailty requires much to be done to give the person strength, and so Benedict's Rule is designed for an ever-increasing self-discipline which is supported by community worship and practice.
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).
Hundreds of thousands of pages have been written over the last millenium and a half on the Rule of St. Benedict, but it all comes down to this brief collection, which can be read easily in an hour, yet takes a lifetime (or perhaps more!) to master.
There is a useful section for guidance for further reading at the end. Open it for yourself to see what riches it may hold for you.
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A rule or a measure?, October 24, 2001
This review is from: The Rule of Saint Benedict (Paperback)
This edition starts with a helpful introduction of Lectio Divina reading (read, meditate, rest in God, govern one's actions) by the editors. Thomas Moore (Care for the Soul) then presents the "rule" not as an edict but as a measure for spiritual progress. He states monks have a sense of humor, but his Franciscan past is probably more open than Benedict's "only a fool raises his voice in laughter". According to the "rule" a lot depends upon the abbot, and the monk must accept the abbot's ruling, fair or not, as an exercise in obedience and prayer.
I think the rule has relevance even to a modern, non-monastic Christian life, by offering a model of rhythm and simplicity. In this time of shaken confidence, the twelve steps of humility is a refreshing thought. The rule presents a challenge to the modern to "Renounce yourself in order to follow Christ".
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