A Good Life: Benedict's Guide to Everyday Joy
What is a "good life" in a world of worry and hurry? Perceptive spirituality writer Benson offers readers "a sixth-century guide for life in the twenty-first century" with this short primer based on the Rule of Saint Benedict. Benson once prepared to enter a monastery but soon realized he was not called to be a monk. Now a husband, father, and busy writer and retreat leader, he seeks to live the Rule internally, applying its direction about four major issues—prayer, rest, community and work—to his own life. Each chapter of the book begins with Benedict’s guidance about one of those four topics, followed by Benson’s personal and theological musings on the Rule’s contemporary application. Readers will begin to imagine how they can order their lives around the discipline of fixed-hour prayer, connecting themselves "to the whole community of Christ for all time past and for all time to come." They will also be moved to ponder the value of silence and solitude, seek greater humility in their relationships with others and prevent work from dominating life. Ultimately, says Benson, we live not by the Rule of Saint Benedict but by "the rule of Saint Whatever Our Name Is," applying the abbot’s teachings to our individual situations.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.