June 2011

St Benedict on the Freeway: A Rule for Life in the 21^st Century, by Corinne Ware, Abingdon Press, USA, 2001.

Reviewed by Bernardina Sontrop SGS

For those who are seeking a deeper relationship with God and a greater awareness of God in daily life, Corinne Ware’s book offers insightful reflections on and suggestions for spiritually formative practices adapted for life in the twenty-first century.

She explores the Rule of St Benedict and other spiritual resources to present a variety of practical ways in which the reader can become more conscious of God in the fast-paced, rapidly changing, pluralistic culture of contemporary society.

The author begins with a reflection on the deep human desire for awareness of the presence of God in daily life and explores this in various religious faith traditions.

After a brief statement about the Rule of St Benedict, Corinne explores those aspects of the Rule that can inform us in how we can live more meaningfully in the twenty-first century.

In the chapter “The Sacramental Day” she reflects on Benedict’s concept of the hours and presents a creative way of adapting the concept to a simple framework of prayer to develop awareness of God’s presence in each day.

The chapter “Anchors” makes readers aware of the common things in daily life that anchor us to God such as our life in the worshipping community and our engagement with the word of God in the Scriptures.

In “Ways to Prayer”, she explores a variety of ways of praying, communicating with God, and in the final chapter, the author encourages her readers to develop a personal ‘rule of life’ to help us connect consciously with God throughout the day.

The book provides its readers with an opportunity to pause and reflect on their personal spiritual journey and explore afresh true and tried ways of becoming more recollected and more deeply aware of God’s presence in daily life.