Wisdom: The Good Life

Irene Nowell, OSB, is a Benedictine of Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas, where she has lived for almost sixty years. An accomplished theologian and biblical scholar, Nowell is a past president of the Catholic Biblical Association and the author of Numbers (of the New Collegeville Bible Commentary); Sing a New Song: The Psalms in the Sunday Lectionary; Women in the Old Testament; and Pleading, Cursing, Praising; all published by Liturgical Press. She is also a member of the editorial board of Give Us This Day (Liturgical Press).

• Contents  Foreword - Abbot John Klassen, OSB Preface: What Is Wisdom? Who Is Wisdom?1. Fear of the Lord: Beginning of Wisdom2. Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? The Mystery of Suffering3. Wisdom and Creation4. Wisdom in the Daily, Part 1: Eating and Drinking; Possessions5. Listening: The Way to Wisdom6. Wisdom in the Daily, Part 2: Relationships and Reconciliation7. Wisdom and Joy8. Christ: Wisdom of God; Center of Our LivesBibliography

"The topic of wisdom is uniquely suited to Irene Nowell. She has lived for years under St. Benedict's Rule, which is a kind of Wisdom literature, as it insists that the holy is to be found in our everyday experiences and everyday encounters with other people. Nowell is also a Hebrew scholar and brings a treasure house of biblical knowledge to bear on the subject of what it means to be wise and to seek the wisdom that allows us to live a richer, more holy, and more loving life."Kathleen Norris, author of Dakota and The Cloister Walk