The Rule of Saint Benedict

“This advice is from a spiritual father who loves you and gives you the sort of counsel that will shape your whole life.” “Listen, my child. I want you to put the ear of your heart to the solid ground of the master’s wisdom (what I received, I’m passing on to you). It’s advice from a spiritual father who loves you – the sort of counsel you receive by letting it shape your whole life.” So begins the famous opening paragraph of Benedict’s Rule in Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove’s vital, new, contemporary paraphrase. The entire text of the Rule is here plus a lengthy introduction from Jonathan, and detailed explanatory notes throughout that explain difficult passages. The result is a classic re-introduced that will enliven any 21st-century expression of religious community.