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Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today
by Joan Chittister
Product Group: Book
Publisher: HarperOne (1991-05-10)
ISBN: 0060613998
EAN: 9780060613990
Dewy Decimal #: 255.106
Paperback: 224 pages
Release Date: 1991-05-10
SKU: 08080123
Condition: Like New As issued n
Comments: Paperback. Like new condition with remainder mark on bottom edge. No creases to spine or cover. Very slight wear to cover. Near fine copy.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Wise and enduring spiritual guidelines for everyday living –– as relevant today as when The Rule was originally conceived by St. Benedict in fifth century Rome.
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Customer Reviews
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Living the rule of St. Benedict Today
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-11-27
Spirituality can be a somewhat ambiguous word that is difficult to put into simple words or phrases. However, this book, based on the ancient decrees of St. Benedict written over fifteen hundred years ago, accomplishes this task by providing a clear and concise description of the components of what spirituality should entail. Chittister highlights all of the significant topics of a healthy spiritual life including prayer, obedience, humility and praxis. She is able to convey, through a seemingly antiquated way of life, a compelling and thought provoking challenge - to live a life with meaning and purpose, just as God had intended for us all. As I was reading this book, there were times when I thought she was describing a situation that had little relevance to today's society. Then she would succinctly tie Benedictine spirituality into the ways of our current lives, whether you were married with children, single, grounded in faith or exploring faith for the first time. She periodically interjects what can be best described as monastic parables to make her point. These parables are highly informative and quite entertaining at the same time. Much to my delight, Chittister grounds many of her thoughts in scripture, calling us to put on the mind of Christ and encouraging us to live our lives in light of the Gospel. Most importantly, by reading this book I was able to shed many of my preconceived ideas of ancient, highly structured religious dogmas as being irrelevant. This book has challenged me to reconsider my presuppositions that all early church doctrine is irrelevant in today's spirituality, what I originally wanted to resist I eventually embraced. I found myself acknowledging content of the book as being beneficial for a heightened spirituality through practical application with respect to Christian Ethics, pastoral care and evangelizing. I hope and pray others who read this book will be enlightened by the people of faith who have dedicated their total being to the Rule of St. Benedict and have the stories of changed lives to show for their faithfulness.
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relevant and enjoyable
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-11-03
In "Wisdom Distilled From The Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today", Sister Joan Chittister writes about how the Rule of Saint Benedict (aka the Rule) is still a relevant and potent guide to Christian spirituality for the common person of today, as it has been for many people since the 4th century. From her over 50 years as a nun in the Order of Saint Benedict, she writes in an accessible manner about her understanding and experience with the Rule to show that community, listening, prayer, and stability are required elements to spirituality. She contends that a Gospel life is measured both through the self and one's impact on those around us. Chittister addresses present day misconceptions on humility, hospitality, obedience, work, leisure and charges that they have caused many of our problems today. Though Chittister clearly believes the Rule of St. Benedict is a path to Christian spirituality, she does not believe it is necessarily the only one. She acknowledges that the Rule "is simply a guide to the Gospels" and presents the Benedictine monastic belief and way through stories and examples to make her arguments and from which the "everyday" person can reflect and use to develop their own spirituality. For someone investigating Christian spirituality, Chittister's book offers many insights from a Rule that has been practiced, tested, and lasted for approximately 1500 years.
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Book Review
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-10-31
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
In the last chapter of her book, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, Joan Chittister describes the glass doors leading into her monastery's chapel and their affect on the worshiper. She says, "From the altar...the foyer is a clear view. From the foyer, the altar makes a magnetic center. Each is to the other a necessity. " This picture sums up the Rule of St. Benedict, a way of life that positions everyday people like you and me in a place of attentiveness to the Holy Spirit, even as we live in the real world, outside the doors of the chapel. The way of life Chittister describes is a response to the heavy sigh of generations, translated so well by songwriter Bruce Cockburn in a line that says, "Sometimes the best map will not guide you. " The Benedictine way of life is not a formula for better living. Rather, it is the product of a life lived together by early Benedictine monks, and reflects a posturing of the heart that is still needed for life lived together today. Some of the Benedictine practices Chittister describes include regular prayer and Scripture reading, with the chief aim of encountering God and being changed in His presence; cultivating balance between rest and work; developing a heart that obediently listens to God and humbly listens to people; and stability, that "willingness to grow where I am " even when relationships get hard and commitment is no longer romantic. These practices will not provide a quick fix, but for those willing to engage with the Lord through Chittister's literary offering, the "Rule of Benedict...takes the dust and clay of everyday and turns it into beauty."
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Quality book
Rating (4)
Date: 2008-10-18
In her book, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, Joan Chittister attempts to reframe the sometimes nebulous concept of Christian spirituality in a way that is both relevant and accessible to individuals living out every day life. Using the ancient Rule of St. Benedict as a springboard, Chittister brings the idea of a spiritual life into the contemporary world. Each chapter addresses a different principle found in the Rule of St. Benedict such as prayer, community life, hospitality, obedience, and peace, among others. Her goal is to show that the spiritual life is not above and beyond all but the most pious religious individuals. Spirituality can be practiced every day by everyone in every situation. To Chittister, Christian spirituality is more than prayer and Bible reading. It is hard work and deep rest. It is awareness of others and mindfulness of self. It is the search for peace in a world at war and the gentle care of the planet.
A common element throughout the book is life in community. In most every chapter, Chittister spends some time reminding the reader of the importance of living not in an individualistic manner as is common especially in the United States, but in community with each other. This is both a great strength to the book as well as an area of critique. At times there seems to be a slight disconnect between the principle set forth in the beginning of the chapter (i.e. Obedience) and the content of the chapter itself (i.e. life in community). However, this disconnect does not ultimately harm Chittister's message. It merely shows just how important she considers life in community to be.
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Day by day...
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-12-13
`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.
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