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A GUIDE TO THE TRUTH
– Saint Benedict’s Teaching on Humility

by Michael Casey OCSO
Liguori/Triumph Press; 1999

In this book, Michael Casey reflects on Benedict’s chapter on humility, Chapter 7 of the Rule. 

This is a particularly difficult chapter for us as the concept of humility has fallen out of favour to a large extent in the modern world. 

Michael Casey is a monk of Tarrawarra Abbey, Melbourne, and he focuses upon the application of the teachings on humility to life in a monastery.  His intention, however, is to provide a stimulus to our own meditation on the text and he invites us to apply it in our own particular circumstances

He begins with a reflection on the meaning of humility and the understanding that it is total self-acceptance. 

Humble people are down to earth and content to be who they are.  They do not inflate their own importance in order to support their self-esteem.  They work with what they have and do not envy others with different qualities. 

Casey contends that humility brings a fundamental happiness that is able to cope with external difficulties and sorrows. 

He is, however, quite open about the difficulties of understanding this chapter on humility.  Reservations such as the seeming promotion of passivity, low self-esteem, institutionalism, patriarchy and compliance are discussed.

He traces the development of Benedict’s teaching from the text of John Cassian (360-435) and the Rule of the Master and refers to writings of Bernard of Clairvaux. 

He reflects on Chapter 7 and interprets it as an account of the way a monk’s spiritual life develops during the course of a lifetime. 

He sees humility as an attitude that enhances both human life and spiritual endeavour and that it is essentially the translation of Gospel values into the practical realities of daily monastic life. 

He suggests to us that this teaching has application beyond the monastic setting and that Benedict, speaking of the deep realities of spiritual development from a different cultural perspective, may have something to offer us today.

 

 

Kay Herse – Executive Officer Good Samaritan Education Council



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Resource of the Month is a regular feature on the Good Samaritan Website. Its purpose is to introduce new resources relevant to Good Samaritan Benedictine spirituality and way of life to our readers. If you would like to recommend a book, article, film or website please forward a 250 word review to Sr Bernardina Sontrop bsontrop@goodsams.org.au  

archives - Book Reviews

FRIENDSHIP LIKE NO OTHER
Experiencing God’s Amazing Embrace
William A. Barry, SJ
Loyola Press, Chicago, USA; 2008
-Click Here

FRIEND OF THE SOUL: A Benedictine Spirituality of Work
Norvene Vest
Cowley Publications, USA; 1997
-Click Here

THE OBLATE LIFE
Gervase Holdaway OSB
Canterbury Press, Norwich, UK; 2008
- Click Here

MAKING ALL THINGS NEW
by Henri Nouwen
Gill and Macmillan, UK; 1981
- Click Here

THE WAY TO PARADOX -Spiritual Life as Taught by Meister Eckhart
by Cyprian Smith OSB
Darton Longman and Todd, UK; 2004
- Click Here

SAINT BENEDICT FOR THE LAITY
by Eric Dean
The Liturgical Press, USA; 1989
- Click Here

MAN OF BLESSING
by Carmen Acevedo Butcher
Paraclete Press, USA; 2006
- Click Here

HEART WHISPERS - Benedictine Wisdom for Today
by Elizabeth Canham
- Click Here

THE CRY OF THE PROPHET - A Call to Fullness of Life.
by Joan Chittister OSB
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PEACE
The annual Benedictine Spirituality Lecture Series
- Click Here

40-Day Journey with Joan Chittister
Beverly Lanzetta, editor.
- Click Here

25 Windows into the Soul – Praying with the Psalms
Joan Chittister OSB, 2007, Benetvision USA.
- Click Here

Esther De Waal, Lost in Wonder, Rediscovering the Spiritual Art of Attentiveness
- Click Here

Norvene Vest, Gathered in the Word: Praying the Scripture in Small Groups
- Click Here

FINDING SANCTUARY - Monastic Steps for Every day Life by Christopher Jamison, Abbot of Worth Abbey. 2006, Weidenfield and Nicolson. UK.
- Click Here

 

Resource and Reading List

The Rule of St Benedict
Fry, T., RB80 In Latin and English, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1981

General Commentaries
Chittister, J., Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, San Francisco: Harper, 1991
- The Rule Of St Benedict: Insight for the Ages, New York: Crossroads, 1997
-In the Heart of the Temple, New York: Bluebridge, 2005
- 25 Windows into the Soul. Praying with the Psalms Benetvision 2007
De Waal, E., Seeking God: The Way of St Benedict, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1984, 2001
- A Life Giving Way, London: Geoffry Chapman, 1995
Drumm, D., Cherish Christ Above All, New York: Paulist Press, 1996
Holyhead, V., The Gift of St Benedict, Melbourne: John Garrett, 1995
Marrett-Crosby, A.,The Benedictine Handbook, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2002
Norris, K., The Cloister Walk, New York: Riverhead Books, 1997
Swan, Laura Engaging Benedict. What the Rule can Teach us Today Indiana, Ave Maria Press 2005
Swan, Laura (ed) The Benedictine Tradition. Spirituality in History. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press 2007
Tomaine, J., St Bendict’s Toolbox: The Nuts and Bolts of Everyday Benedictine Living, USA: Morehouse, 2005
Vest, N., Preferring Christ: A Devotional Commentary on Rule of St Benedict, USA: Morehouse, 2004

On Prayer
Casey, M., The Art of Sacred Reading, Melbourne: Harper Collins, 1995
Merton, T., Seven Story Mountain, Harcourt- Brace, Javanovich, 1978
- New Seeds of Contemplation, New Directions, 1972
More Information on Thomas Merton is available at www.merton.org
Pennington, B., Lectio Divina: Reviewing the Ancient Practice of Praying the Scriptures, New York: Crossroads, 1998

On The Sisters of the Good Samaritan
Walsh, M., The Good Sams: The Sisters of the Good Samaritan, 1857-1969, Melbourne: John Garratt, 2001
Heininger, J (ed)., Journey to the Heart: Mater Dei, 50 Years and 50 Stories, Sydney: Sisters of the Good Samaritan, 2007

PRAYER SITES
http://www.taize.fr/en
http://www.ChristianMystics.com
http://www.pray.com.au
http://www.clubi.ie/shalom/lectio
http://www.wellsprings.org.uk
http://prayerwindows.com
http://www.humilitymatters.com
http://churchresources.info/pray
http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org

BENEDICTINE MONASTERIES
http://www.christdesert.org
http://www.bedegriffiths.com
http://www.benetvision.org
http://www.osb.org
http://www.stgertrudes.org/index.htm
http://www.thedome.org
http://www.jamberooabbey.org.au
http://www.benedictinesisters.org
http://www.walburga.org
http://www.eriebenedictines.org
http://www.usccb.org