St. Benedict’s rule has guided Christian communities for over 1,500 years. The rule recognizes that living together as Christians involves common everyday faithfulness. Rowan William argues:

[U]nless you have got yourself accustomed to the ‘toolbox’ of daily attention to the awkward reality of human others, the search for deeper intimacy with God will lead to destructive illusion. (4–5)

William’s book on Benedict’s rule is a collection of essays and studies very loosely organized into two parts. The first part is a miscellany of perspectives on the lasting influence of St. Benedict. The second part contains two specific essays on the theological ideas of the Burgundian abbey of Cluny and Abbot Cuthbert Butler.

This book is intended not as an introduction to Benedictine spirituality but “simply as an invitation to look at various current questions through the lens of the Rule and to reflect on aspects of Benedictine history that might have something to say to us” (9). Unfortunately, the focus is so scattered and highly specific that it’s difficult to understand who this volume might appeal to beyond Benedictine scholars and curious second-hand bookstore shoppers!

Williams, Rowan. The Way of St. Benedict. Bloomsbury, 2020.