Listen With the Ear of Your Heart: A Collection of Notes from a Monastery

By Silas Henderson

From their introduction, Abbey Press’s Notes from a Monastery series of booklets tried to convey Saint Benedict’s rich insights, common sense, reverence for the divine in the most ordinary things of life, and appreciation for the timeless virtues of humility, obedience, and community in a way that would speak to women and men of faith, regardless of their faith tradition. Recognizing that God is present everywhere and in all the circumstances of daily life, this new eBook offers readers inspiration in their search for God, guided by the spirit of Saint Benedict of Nursia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Aug 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781497681897

Book preview

A Message from the Editor

From their introduction, Abbey Press’ Notes from a Monastery series of booklets have conveyed Saint Benedict’s rich insights, common sense, reverence for the divine in the most ordinary things of life, and appreciation for the timeless virtues of humility, obedience, and community in a way that speaks to women and men of faith, regardless of their faith tradition.

Recognizing that God is present everywhere and in all the circumstances of our daily lives, we hope that this book, Listen With the Ear of Your Heart: A Collection of Notes from a Monastery will inspire you in your search for God, guided by the spirit of Saint Benedict of Nursia.

Silas Henderson

THE WISDOM OF BENEDICT

SEEKING GOD IN THE RHYTHMS OF LIFE

by Rt. Rev. Justin DuVall, O.S.B.

"THESE, THEN, ARE THE TOOLS

OF THE SPIRITUAL CRAFT."

— Rule of St. Benedict, Ch. 4:75

While many of us think of childhood as a time of innocence, it is also a time when imagination is hard at work preparing us for the coming years of adulthood. Boys identify with their heroes, in times past from comic books and television, but now from the big screen. For girls, a favorite teacher’s encouragement supports a budding confidence that will set them on a career path perhaps not otherwise considered. Instinctively, children look for those larger-than-life figures who will plant in their little hearts seeds of hope that will later yield a harvest of courage when they face complicated choices in life.

In time the child gives way to the rebellious teenager and then to the searching young adult, and eventually to the settled middle-aged man or woman with a career, a family, civic duties, and a fairly familiar routine in life. Children grow up, of course, and the heroes of childhood fade as responsibilities of adulthood take over. But the hope behind the heroes planted in those early years still whispers to the heart, and so it is often not until later in life that the unsatisfied yearning for something more refuses to be silenced any longer. The adult has reached a point of decision that can make a difference for the future.

Long before comic books or school systems, St. Benedict recognized the need for a way of life that responds to those deeper desires of the human heart. He says in his Rule, Seeking his workman in a multitude of people, the Lord calls out to him and lifts his voice again, ‘Is there anyone here who yearns for life and desires to see good days?’ … What, dear brothers, is more delightful than this voice of the Lord calling to us? See how the Lord in His love shows us the way of life (Prologue, 14-15, 19-20). St. Benedict could not have foreseen just how extensive this multitude of people would be.

Although his Rule was written for monks living together in a monastery, Christian men and women from many walks of life have come to find in his little Rule for beginners a way of wisdom and peace to guide their own search. These