Wisdom Distilled from the Daily

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An immensely readable book! - Rated
Sister Joan has written an enthralling book around the Rule of St Benedict. Very few people would disagree with her assessment of the world in which we now live and with what she thinks needs to be done to counteract the influences that threaten to bring further destabilizing forces to society. I am, however, curious as to why she included the following in Chapter 14 - Peace: Sign of the Disarmed Heart.

"We can expect the enemy to see the face of God where there is no violent response". She continues: "And to support this mystery there is a growing body of data".

Unfortunately, Sister Joan gives no detail of the data to which she is referring in order to substantiate what she is asserting as fact. I have to say as well that I really don't believe the enemy is automatically bound to see the face of God where there is no violent response as Sister Joan says! In any case,her very persuasive arguments don't depend on the inclusion of this material.

Don't let my minor criticisms put anyone off reading this really wonderful book. Although clearly written with an American audience in mind, most western societies are similar to each other and the ills which she elequently describes are, I think, common to us all.

A truly inspired work and one that has made me question what I think!

A practical and inspiring guide to living a Christian life. - Rated
This book has helped me a lot. Christianity today is so diversified, and can be confusing. I bought this book wanting something to help me apply my faith to everyday life. St Benedict's rule, as presented here, orders life in such a way that you can keep your mind and heart in touch with God, at the same time as being involved in life fully. The Rule seems to be as relevant today as it was all those hundreds of years ago!

Day by day - Rated
`Daily life is the stuff of which high sanctity can be made.'
Near the beginning of Joan Chittister's wonderful treatment of the Rule of St. Benedict, she makes this statement, something that is agreed upon by most who are serious about the spiritual life. The old phrase 'little things mean a lot' is very true with regard to spirituality. After all, it is not the big crises that cause the most problems in life -- in fact, it is often a crisis that brings people together and deepens spiritual feeling and commitment. It is in the day-to-day struggle to maintain sanity and security that the spirit can be ignore most easily, unless paying attention to spiritual things is made intentional.

This is part of what Benedict was driving at so many centuries ago. Beyond the specific rules for his community, which are variously applicable and irrelevant toward living in today's world, is the overarching idea that some kind of rule, some kind of daily intentionality, some sort of deliberate pattern that puts us in community with each other and with the divine is very necessary for today's people.

`After years of monastic life I have discovered that unlike spiritual fads, which come and go with the teachers or cultures that spawned them, the Rule of Benedict looks at the world through interior eyes and lasts. Here, regardless of who we are or what we are, life and purpose meet.'

Spirituality of this sort is far more than ritual action. It is far more than churchiness or how often one does any particular thing, including prayer. This spirituality calls upon the individual to incorporate a way of life on top of daily life, a defining context of life that puts all things, prayer, church, family, work, play, study, sleep, indeed all parts of life, in connection and community with God.

There are interior practices and exterior reflections of these practices. Listening is described as the key virtue toward spiritual growth. Listening has to be more than a passive hearing of what is being said, but an active incorporation into life.

Prayer is a central practice, but care must be taken that this not become routine in the sense of being done mindlessly, by rote, but an active listening for the will of God should always be part of this. Also connected to prayer is the practice of lectio, a reading that inspires and feeds the soul, a reading that is different from academic study or informational and entertaining reading.

Chittister highlights many monastic practices and shows ways in which these can be incorporated into daily life for anyone. Monastic mindfulness -- the blending of the day together in harmony and balance -- can be a principle applied as easily outside the monastery as within the cloister. Certainly the ideas of obedience (to the will of God, if nothing else), stability (which means more than living in the same place), hospitality, humility, and community all are applicable beyond the monastery walls, and in many ways antithetical to prevailing Western cultural ideas. These have the potential of feeding the soul and enriching the lives of those who practice even without the support of a monastic community. Many have been surprised that their conversion of life, to use Benedictine language, can lead to subtle, and often not-so-subtle, changes in those around them.

The seeker asked, 'How does one seek union with God?'

The Wise One said, 'The harder you seek, the more distance you create between God and you.'

'So what does one do about the distance?' the seeker asked.

The elder replied simply, 'Just understand that it isn't there.'

The Rule of Benedict is not a mystical text. It is not a spiritual catalogue or occult-ic manual. It was intended, and continues to serve, as a simple guide to help make people more conscious of their already present relationship with God. It is realistic, and makes no promises of spiritual gifts accruing to those who follow it. Yet the riches that do become present can be very great to those open to receiving them. And in receiving these gifts, they become a gift themselves to the world.

Perhaps this is the meaning of the strange biblical dictum (which often seems unfair upon straight reading)

For to those who have, more will be given,
and they will have an abundance;
but from those who have nothing,
even what they have will be taken away.
- Matthew 13:12

This is a book that definitely fills a need for those seeking a more wholistic way of life.

Great book for women's study groups! - Rated
My chapter of the Daughters of the King did this book as a 6-month study. Highly recommended! Easy to read!

Have your highlighter ready to mark all the words of wisdom!

Some great quotes that I refer back to every now and then:

"The cross says that we can rise if we can only endure."

"We pray so that when the incense disappears, we can still see the world as holy."

"In community, we work out our connectedness to God, to one another, and to ourselves.... In the security of each other, we can afford to stumble."

Benedict Rules! - Rated
Joan Chittister has written a most beguiling and yet practical reflection on the ancient Rule of Benedict. This charming book, though nearly ten years old, is as fresh as the day it was written. "Wisdom Distilled from the Daily" is a timely and welcome guide for all who seek moments of grace and personal spiritual growth in and from their daily lives. Each of the fifteen short chapters is prefaced by a direct citation from the 1500 year old Rule of St. Benedict. Each begins with a description of some physical characteristic of the Mount St. Benedict Monastery in Erie, Pennsylvania, home of her religious community, to whom Chittister dedicates the book. The author uses each of these concrete realities from in daily life in her monastery as a root metaphor which she breaks open in flowing, nearly-musical prose to reveal the timeless wisdom of Benedict on such topics as Listening, Prayer, Work, Humility, and (my personal favorite) "Holy Leisure". But this is not a book about monasticism. St. Benedict was a layman. While his Rule has been adopted and used by monastic brothers and sisters of various religious orders since the sixth century, it was meant to be a spiritual guide for all -- particularly lay persons. More importantly, its purpose is to help us build our spirituality from the bricks and mortar of the lived experiences of our daily lives. The author reminds us that we can find sanctity in the world around us: "If we are not spiritual where we are and as we are, we are not spiritual at all". This book is a gem! It is an easy read. If you think highly enough of someone to want them to read it also, buy them a copy. Don't lend them yours. This one is a "keeper" you will want to refer to frequently. In "Wisdom Distilled from the Daily", Joan Chittister has remade the timeless sixth century Rule of St. Bendict into a much-needed Rule of Living for the twenty-first century.