Saint Benedict's Wisdom

Luigi Gioia, OSB, is a research associate at the Von Hügel Institute for Critical Catholic Inquiry at Cambridge University and a professor of systematic theology at the Pontifical University of Sant’Anselmo in Rome. In great demand as a retreat leader all over the world, he is the author several books, including Say It to God: In Search of Prayer (the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book 2018) and Touched by God: The Way to Contemplative Prayer.

• ContentsIntroduction    1Chapter I: The Monastic Vocation: Wisdom or Folly?   9A promise not always kept   9The school built by Wisdom   12A taste for the things of God   15Self-knowledge   17God’s patience   20Chapter II: The Secret of Christian Action   25Becoming children of God   27Acting as God   29Bypassing the desert   32Saved by failure   33Poverty in spirit   35Embracing the desert   36Chapter III: Eager for Trials   39Ongoing testing   41Trials and verification   45Anger never lies   46Regression   49Being in motion   53Discovering our other cheek   55Winning over others   57Chapter IV: Leadership   61“It shall not be so among you”   63Vision and strength   66Heroes and martyrs   68Conflict   69A shared decision   71Compassion   71Chapter V: Forgiving   75Neither hyperbole nor rule   76Meeting the Father’s eyes   77A shared endeavor   80Chapter VI: Chastity   83Life   84Celibate but not chaste   86Turmoil   88Negotiation   89A story   90Chapter VII: Simplicity and Prayer   93In private   94Spontaneous and genuine   96Pure prayer   97Short but frequent   99Not in many words   100Compunction and tears   101The intention of the heart   103Chapter VIII: Experiencing God   107Interiority and experience   108Knowing oneself by knowing God   111The necessary mediations   113No spirituality without theology   115No spirituality without community   116Chapter IX: The Word of God and Monasticism   119The renewal of Benedictine monasticism   120Potential shortcomings   122Strange persistence   125Monastic life as action   126In the direction of the resurrection   128No gradations of calling   130Resisting individualism   132The monastic task   134Solidarity with nonbelievers   135Only relying on God’s mercy   136Chapter X: Listening   139Holding fast   142Delighting and meditating   144A community created by the Word   146Seeking God as Father   149Not just officials   150Frivolousness   151Therapy   151Prophecy   153Chapter XI: Reform   157Making life complicated   157A moment of grace   160The present crisis   163The right motivation   165What is the Gospel?   166Monasteries and evangelization   168Not just cosmetics   170Vicious circle and virtuous circle   172From self-defense to trust   173Handling dissent   176Reconciled diversity   178Chapter XII: Monastic Wisdom   181The liberating power of faith   182A church proclaiming the freedom of God   187A church not afraid of history   192A church not afraid of humanity   195Fullness of meaning only at the end   197Refusing polarization   198Monasticism and sapiential theology   201Postmodernism   201Sapiential aspects of monastic life   206Peace   208Conclusion: A Spirituality for the Church   213Embracing everything and everyone   214The real work   215All together   217Communion as mission   220

"An inviting, accessible, and above all wise investigation into what the Rule of St. Benedict, that treasure house of Christian spirituality, can teach us about wisdom. This subtle book is meant not simply for the monk or even the Benedictine aficionado but all Christians seeking the path to Wisdom, which is to say to God."James Martin, SJ, author of In All Seasons, For All Reasons: Praying Throughout the Year