Today is the Feast day for St. Benedict of Nursia, whose monastic rule is the basis for virtually all monastic communities since the 500s. It offers a practical, not overly harsh, system for life in community and features balanced time for work, prayer, reading and sleep.
One of my first grad school papers was about Benedictine spirituality in the suburban missional church. For some reason it never got posted here, so I’ll upload it later today when I get home and can look through the archives.
A few interesting books about the Benedictine way for those of you who are interested in reading more:
“The Cloister Walk” (Kathleen Norris)
“Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today” (Joan Chittister)
“Radical Hospitality: Benedict’s Way Of Love” (Daniel O. S. B. Homan, Lonni Collins Pratt)
pat loughery 
Leave a comment