Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today

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.

As a member of Sr. Joan's community, readers often ask, "Is that really true? Is she really describing, accurately, life in your community?" Well, yes, I have to say, she really is. Life at its best, of course! I hope that our over 700 yearly visitors could verify that when they leave us after their usual weekend or week long stay. Perhaps Joan's greatest gift is being able to find the beauty, the inspirational, the grace in every day events, places, etc...even in a Benedictine monastery..or ESPECIALLY in a Benedictine monastery. Equally challenging is to take a 1500 year old spiritual document and try to make sense of it at this time in history, in this culture, for us. Joan does a wonderful job, but after all she was a Benedictine prioress for 12 years, so she should know the life and be able to interpret it. And she does.