Benedict Books

Benedict's Dharma is a rare find--a book on spirituality that is lovingly burnished by practice. Benedict's Rule was above all a work for practical application; what few understand is how well the Rule translates into Eastern practice.

Rarely have I enjoyed a book as thoroughly as this one; I regretted reaching its final page, for the journey it provided was such a delight. Yet the greater truth is that this book is meant to be a passageway, pointing the way to greater spiritual understanding and greater self-knowledge. The truths it uncovers are applicable to anyone who is serious about leading an authentic spiritual life.

This book is an exceptional treasure, offering significant and practical insights on every page.

"There is fire in the Rule of Saint Benedict" (p. 121) David Steindl-Rast, OSB, writes in the Afterward to this collection of Buddhist reflections on that Rule. Written in the sixth century, Saint Benedict's Rule is a set of guidelines governing Christian monastic life. This 137-page book is the result of a two-week "Encounter" between Buddhists and Christians, in which Norman Fischer, Joseph Goldstein, Judith Simmer-Brown, and Yifa were participants. Their "fresh take" (p. xiv) on Saint Benedict's Rule is followed by a new, 80-page translation of that Rule by Patrick Henry, OSB.

The Rule was written to practice "Christ's way." Christ said, "Whoever perseveres to the very end will be saved" (p. 97). For Buddhists, Benedict's Rule is about "walking the path to spiritual awakening" (p. 105). That is, both the Rule and Buddhist dharma offer "general guidelines for an inner journey" (p. 1). Judith Simmer-Brown notes that the Rule offers us insight into living a contemplative life amidst the demands of everyday life, or "anyplace you find yourself" (p. 3). From a Buddhist perspective, Benedict's Rule is about learning to live life "so it gets into your bones, under your skin" (p. 34), and about living with "a love of true life and a longing for days of real fulfillment" (p. 36), for this was "Christ's way."

It is evident from this book that "the monastery wall is always permeable" (p. 81). Benedictine monasticism is designed to lead one to spiritual riches on the path of humility (p. 95). It is possible, we're told, to practice a contemplative life outside the monastery walls. "The world is vast and wide," Norman Fischer writes. "Why put on your robe and go to the meditation hall when the bell rings?" (p. 89). Daily practice is "the common ground" for monastics of East and West (p. 124), and in his excellent Afterward, David Steindl-Rast, OSB, concludes that "lay practitioners are running away with the monastic ball" (p. 126). "Step out into the dark night," he writes, "raise your eyes to the starry sky, and you will experience what contemplation was before it had a name" (p. 126).

We find Buddhists and Christians travelling the same "ladders and bridges" in this harmonious book. Buddhist or Christian, this book will appeal to to that monk or nun cloistered in each of us, who is interested in "a life spent seeking the truth."

G. Merritt

Benedict developed his methods of leading during the time Rome was falling apart around 450 A.D.

His approach reflects a structured system of what worked within a community/business. It is a simple, honest, easy to understand method for leading an organization. It is also an easy read.

It is thought that over 40,000 organizations have used this approach over the last 1500 years. It has passed the test of time.

Don't mistake this for a religious book. The monks were more independent entrepreneurial businessmen than elements of the church. It is clearly a book about leadership that provides the essense of what it takes to be successful.

The method can be used as a model and is as applicable today as it was 1500 years ago.

Fantastic little book on Leadership. Examines the world's oldest management system, and why it has been so successful. Great applications to the modern corporation. Perfect book for those tired of military analogies for business, or "tough-guy" leadership. Neat ideas on corporate rituals, ethical foundations, employee formation, and how to build a cohesive work group. If more modern corporations followed these "rules", we would have fewer scandals and higher profits. An easy read.

This short book is told from the perspective of a young girl. It is a very simple but powerful and touching story. The historical background is done very well (I think the author actually lived through the time that she is writing about here). Great book!

I really enjoyed this book. I felt like I was experiencing the story first hand. I read this with my 8 year old son and he really enjoyed it as well. I highly recommend it.

The insight which guides and shapes this book is that any discussion of human sexuality must be illumined by a prior analysis of what it means for us to be created out of love and fashioned in the image and likeness of God. The book is less a stidy of issues in sexual ethics, and more a comprehensive look at what human beings are called by God to be and how we ought to live in order to achieve the full flowering of our personhood in Christ. In short, the author contends that Christian sexual ethics must always be viewedin the larger context of a Christian theological anthropology.

In reading Father Guevin's book one cannot help but be impressed by his gracious realism. On the on hand, he wants to uphold the utmost beauty and meaning of our sexuality by showing how it can be a means of holiness and an expression of our truly supernatural life in God; but, on the other hand, his acknowledgement of our sinfulness, human weaknesses, and frailty accepts that growth to a mature and integrated sexuality is always partial and incomplete, sometimes marked more by missteps and mistakes than genuine love. This is why, Father Guevin insists, any theology of sexuality must be characterized by compassion, understanding, humility, and an acceptance of human weakness, and patience.
This book is an extraordinary accomplishment. Journeying through its chapters is not only an opportunity to encounter the richest sources of the Catholic theological tradition, but a reminder that God who created us from love wants us to know the fullness of life and love with one another and with God. God, as Father Guevin so often affirms, wants out flourishing and our happiness, and has been ingeniously prodigious in offering a multitude of ways to make this possible. Whether it is through the natural law, through our capacity for virtue, through the regenerative powers of grace, through our re-creation in Christ, or through the constant assistance offered us in the sacraments, God desires that everything about us contribute to a life of intimate communion with Him.
Nothing more helpful and promising can be said about human sexuality, and we are indebted to Father Guevin for reminding us of this in such an eloquent and gracious way. Paul J. Wadell

I had just finished writing "The Christian Family Toolbox" the day the earthquake hit. We don't take earthquakes casually in our coastal village. Our beach town is highly vulnerable to earthquakes and tidal waves. Our beachfront grade school is located just a few feet above sea level, and has the distinction of being the most vulnerable school in the nation to the threat of a tsunami. My children grew up in that school.

The day the earthquake hit, one son was in Middle School (10 miles away), one in High School (12 miles away) and one in college (90 miles away). My wife called to discuss what we should do. "They're in God's hands", I said, trying to sound reassuring. We've always believed our children belonged to God first. I found myself fighting away feelings of fear, wondering what we would do if it were a real emergency, with a 30-foot wave crashing into our village resulting from an offshore earthquake.

I've always been amazed at how many thoughts can crash through our brains in a few short moments: Have we adequately prepared our children for facing emergencies? Have we spent enough time with them? Did we love them enough? Have we successfully given them a solid foundation of faith in Jesus Christ? What could we have done better as parents?

The only waves to break over our coastal village that day were waves of panic and then relief when we heard the "all clear!" signal on the emergency loudspeakers in town. The earthquake was an inland quake, centered 100 miles away. Though the earthquake did cost over $2 billion dollars in damage to buildings and property in the northwest, no tsunami hit our town that day.

That night at dinner, our family joined hands in a circle and prayed together, thanking God for protecting us and watching over our lives even when the earth shook under our feet. Then we talked practically about what we would do in the event of a major earthquake and tsunami.

"The Christian Family Toolbox" provides parents with the type of guidance and encouragement we discussed at our family dinner the night of that earthquake: spiritual foundations and practical tools for building stronger families, families equipped to face times when the foundations begin to shake.

Like any home gardener who loves caring for growing things in the yard, parenting is all about nurturing growth in our kids. Just as a gardener employs a wide variety of tools in the garden, even so, wise parents employ a wide variety of tools to grow their kids up in wisdom, grace and love. "The Christian Family Toolbox" offers parents a whole year's worth of "tools" to nurture growth in your home among your children.

While not the most original work in the field of Dogmatics and Catechetical work, this is a concise and approachable book that would serve nicely as a reference guide for those who find the official Catechism too dry or difficult to read. What is nice about this volume is that there is Catechism reference numbers that correspond to the subjects Pennock addresses at a given point in the book for those who wish to research further.

Having looked at many "Introductions to Catholicism" in order to better recommend books to those inquiring about a simple reference book to better understand their faith, I have found that this works well as both an introduction to Catholic faith and as an introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The simple Question and Answer format allows for this book to be "taken it at your own pace".

"Meditation for the Day" books, in my life, usually only make it to mid-February. Ten years ago I easily and readily followed this one all the way to December 31. I highly recommend it now not only for that purpose, but as a fine introduction to the theological insight of the new pope.

It cannot be stressed enough, of course, that Papa Ratzi is, was, and shall always be an intellectual. He will not be everybody's cup of tea, but if in doubt, try him -- he is worth the effort. These excerpts are very carefully chosen to highlight some of his best and most evocative writing. As much of his writing appeared only in obscure theological journals, this was obviously no small feat. The German nun who put this together deserves great credit. Each nugget is perfectly rounded off at either end, most no longer than a page. And each is, indeed, a thought -- not an ecstasy, rant, or podge of pietistic mumbling -- elegant and clear. And indeed food for a following day's thought, something that will stick with you.

Ratzinger's voice, of course, is post-Vatican 2; the Christian community is a recurring theme. But it is often enough linked to the greater body of pre-existing Catholic teaching on the sacred mysteries that the council was supposed to merely restate in a modern idiom, not alter. Some may tire of a certain scholarly bent, a lack of tough confrontation with either you or the whole bad world. No, he is no Father Corapi -- nor has he the studied largescale dynamics of a Sheen. There is a certain cloistered air to the meditions, for sure. But their strength is in an unaffected grace, beauty in clarity, and certain conviction. If not shouted from the mountaintops, Ratzinger's meditations are quite obviously so part and parcel of him he probably repeats them in his sleep. Simply, this is another of those little books that had unique value whether or not the writer held any high ofice, much less the papacy.

First of all, I give this four stars, not five, but cannot seem to get that changed.

Another page turner from McDevitt. Alex solves another mystery, but it is Chase who stands as the bright and shining angel of our better nature. She may yet outshine Hutch (another series).

Harriet's review concentrated on the failure of a government to tell the truth, but more important is the desire of the Mutes (a telepathic species encountered in the other books in this series, which who humanity has had centuries of conflict) and humans to overcome their fears of each other to achieve peace. How do you do that? Surrender pride and fear, let commonalities rather than differences be held up for all to see. Well, done Jack McDevitt.

Where McDevitt has previously only had limited interaction with the Mutes, Chase and Alex spend more time with them, and we see them fleshed out. It's a difficult task given the telepathic nature of the Mutes.

There are some things which I think are not well tidied up. It is not clear to me that someone like Vicki Greene would choose mindwipe, even with the horror she uncovered. At one point in the story, it is suggested that it was not her choice, which seemed sensible, yet later it seems that she did choose that course.

Another point concerns the destruction of a warship sent out to check on the loss of the people on the asteroid. Surely other ships were sent out to that region, and they would have seen the truth. (It's hard to miss!) So things should have been exposed 33 years earlier.

I thought the final encounter with Wexler was melodramatic, and could have been left out with no loss.

In the far future, famous horror writer Vicki Greene leaves a message of despair with antiquities dealer Alex Benedict. Soon after dispatching her note, Vicki has her memory expunged.

Alex and his pilot companion Chase Kolpath follow a series of clues that take them 36 light years away to the rimway of the galaxy. Apparently Vicki was conducting research there for her next novel. Something or someone panicked her. Soon after arrival at the edge of nowhere Alex and Chase are harangued by officials who want them to leave or else. The pair begins to unravel a pandemic crisis threatening Salud Afar, but are swept aside by government officials and bureaucrats and it seems too late to safely evacuate the residents.

The latest Alex Benedict futuristic science fiction novel (see SEEKER) is a superb action thriller that focuses on how central governments act and react to internal emergency crisis especially concealing critical information. The story line is fast-paced with a deep cautionary message that those in charge will choose to save face not people. With a nod to the Bush response to Katrina, fans will relish this strong exhilarating thriller in which the spin does not just supersede the need, it is the need as far as those in charge are concerned. This is the genre at its extrapolating best.

Harriet Klausner

Britain. Wow, what a place. End to end it's colorful (hence the gray thing in the title, little reference to the weather, you know) it's weird, and it's not afraid to celebrate its peccadilloes. It's so interesting there it makes me wonder, as I always do, why the locals ever felt the need to leave and, oh, I dunno, bug the Irish so much. That said (hey, it was my sworn duty) this seriously is a neat book and I enjoyed it a lot. It's full of stories almost too odd to be real and places that call out to you to visit. From cursed chairs in innocuous pubs, to aliens and crop circles, to festivals that merrily commemorate the droolingly insane side to life---shin-kicking contests and Guy Fawke's Day---this island has it all and this book tells you about it. When and if I go next summer for the first time in nine years, I'm going to check out as many as I can of the freakish locales Benedict le Vay (any relation to Morgan le Fay, I wonder?) writes about. Read this book and come away with more respect than ever for the eccentric-loving people who gave us Eastenders, "classic" literature, and one darn cool flag (quite honestly worn over there as underwear) the Union Jack.

I'd often heard that Britain had a tolerance for eccentrics, but I never knew to what extent. Some of these people are really, really weird, and they put more effort into bizzare hobbies, old local customs, and freaky sporting events than you would think possible. Wouldn't it be interesting if Americans spent more time going to blood sausage throwing contests than kid's sports tournaments? Together with Bill Bryson's "Notes from a Small Island", you could spend a extremely interesting vacation in Britain without ever going near any of the usual tourist haunts.

People ask why would anyone want to read an encyclical? To me, Benedict XVI is an excellent author and has written a wonderful letter. While reading this I became excited about my faith and anxious to learn more, to understand and share the insights of this marvelous new spiritual leader. As with his previous encyclical, Benedict discusses spirituality in a fresh new way. His insights may clarify challenges some Christians have with Vatican II spirituality.

The Pope begins strongly in the Introduction by referring to Romans 8:24: "in hope we were saved", and follows by explaining that our redemption is not simply given, it is "offered" to us and must be accepted as we lead our lives. I found the entire encyclical spiritually uplifting, but will only focus upon a few of the Pope's teachings:

The performative nature of the gift;
Faith as substance;
Faith leading to our ultimate goal;
The community nature of hope;
Prayer as hope.

Hope does not so much provide information as demand performance. According to Benedict. "hope is life changing". Through the letter we learn that God loves us very much and that we await his eternal love. The Pope refers to Romans 8:38 saying that human beings need unconditional love. Nothing can separate us from God's love. Hope, through such intense love, must be passed to others. Hope in God's overwhelming love must be shared.

Faith with hope is "the substance of things hoped for", It accepts facts and promises that are unseen and not able to be proven by earthly means. Hope infects our soul and allows us to accept the unseen. With hope our "faith gives life a new basis". Our way of acting and living" is the only proof needed. The peace, serenity, and happiness of Christians is the best proof of the value of our faith.

Hope leads to a contradiction. Our hope through Faith leads us to ask if
we actually want eternal life. The Pope suggests we need to decide whether we really want the kingdom of Jesus, or earthly pleasure and success. This world's hope for me differs from my hope through God. Since hope leads us to revising our lives, living for others, and accepting God's eternal love, it clearly leads us to our ultimate goal of eternal life in heaven with our Savior and our God. Living with our hope is our choice.

Benedict says that hope is not individual. Our Christian hope is through community. Focusing upon myself is like a "prison" from which I must escape. We seek God as a community of believers instead of in a "selfish search for salvation which rejects the idea of serving others."

The Pope tells us that we are vessels of the Lord. As vessels our "hearts must be enlarged and then cleansed." We will work hard to attain such growth. We must develop our prayer lives to learn how to communicate with God. We must "learn what is worthy of God". We must ask not for worldly comforts and desires. We must purify our wants and needs.

Spe Salve presents a fresh approach to the teaching of ancient concepts. It is worth more than a quick glance. It needs to be studied and prayed over. I recommend this encyclical.

As always, this work of Pope Benedict XVI strikes the reader as being magnificently united to the greater corpus of his work. In many ways, all of his thought has circled in no small way around the question of what the true nature of hope is and what are its ramifications. From his earliest considerations of Bonaventure's eschatology and experience of the rise of Marxism in the circles of his scholastic contemporaries, Pope Benedict has continually investigated the question of progress, hope, and faith in the Christian sense. For this reason, Spe Salvi serves as a masterful recapitulation of over sixty years of philosophical and theological thought and prayerful living. It is a concise consideration of the nature of faith as the substance of hope and how that substance becomes a sacramental sign in the world, through prayer, suffering, and general life-long conversion. It also confronts the maladies of faith which have arisen in thinkers since the enlightenment and the shift from faith sustained by the grace of the Being which precedes us to - eventually after a path of development - faith in that which is made by us, a faith which led to the disasters of the twentieth century.

Too many words in a review for this succinct, yet profound, encyclical would only dull the radiance of its brilliance. I highly recommend it to all who are interested in knowing the core Catholic understanding of faith and hope.

"Clothed in Grace, we can cross mountains, and climb the hill of our Christian Duty without halting on the way." These words of Saint Jose Maria Escriva can be found in Baur's beautiful work, and they provide a theoretical and foundational platform from which to begin the journey toward Christian perfection. Devotion to the Sacrament of Reconciliation is especially necessary for those who recieve the Eucharist frequently. The two sacraments go hand in hand. If you are looking for a book that will strengthen your belief in Reconciliation, this book is for you.

The book has help me tremendously in my faith and spirituality. It is a must read for all Catholics.

Deacon Anthony LaTerza