November 2011

Strangers to the City: Reflections on the Beliefs and Values of the Rule of St Benedict,  by Michael Casey OCSO, Paraclete Press USA, 2005

Reviewed by Marie Lynch (Oblate, Sisters of the Good Samaritan)

As I reached for this book I looked forward to meeting with Fr Casey again. From my reading of some of his earlier books – The Undivided Heart and Fully Human, Fully Divine – just to mention two, I knew that I had a treat ahead of me. I was looking forward to a wonderfully insightful study on the Rule of St Benedict and I was not disappointed.

Chapter by chapter, Fr Casey reflects on how the Rule of St Benedict applies to us, even in this day and age. While sharing with us how the Rule applies not just to the monastery, but also in our everyday life, he sets the reader up for some straight talking.

However, his gentle coaxing way takes away any pretence that a life lived in community with the Rule is easy. By sharing stories of monastery life, we can be shown how the Rule, down through the ages, is most definitely relevant today.

Fr Casey uses wry humour to show us the foibles and oddities that happen in the monastery. Of course families are no different. Perhaps shining the light of the Rule on our every day activities would reward us with a method of applying the wisdom to our own lives “with the Gospel as our guide”.

By giving us examples from the community, Fr Casey invites us to hold a mirror up to our own lives and experience. This is not meant to show and dwell on our failures, but to encourage us to look deeply into the meaning and relevance of the Rule.

In this book I felt a strong sense of encouragement. Everyday living is examined and there is a sense of gentle revelation and joy as we are taken by Fr Casey on a clear-sighted and fulfilling journey. This is one book that I will pick up time and time again.