Prayer and Community: The Benedictine Tradition / The Way of Simplicity: The Cistercain Tradition

Prayer and Community: The Benedictine Tradition. By Columba Stewart, O.S.B. Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series. Maryknoll, NY. Orbis Books, 1998. 136 pp. $13.00 (paper).

The Way of Simplicity: The Cistercian Tradition. By Esther De Vaal. Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1998. 173 pp. $14.00 (paper).

"Prefer nothing to the love of Christ," the Rule of Saint Benedict admonishes, and lays down practical recommendations for living the Gospel and reaching in Christ life everlasting. Both these books present the spirituality of the Benedictine monastic tradition, for both Benedictines and Cistercians live according to that same Rule. Both traditions focus on Scriptural meditation and prayer in common, both look beyond the Rule to the monastic teachings of Cassian, Basil, and the desert, and both learn from the experience of countless generations of men and women who have lived according to its teaching. Each took on a distinctive coloration during the Latin Middle Ages-the Benedictines in the ninth and tenth centuries, the Cistercians in the late eleventh and twelfth.

Originally one of many Rules in circulation, Benedict's became, by deliberate choice, the sole monastic code in the western Church. The Cistercians, reacting against agglomerated customs, set out to follow the Rule in radical simplicity-exegeting it in a way not unlike the one Columba Stewart uses in this post-Vatican II presentation of Benedictine life. The titles of the two books could be interchanged. The similarities and differences in the traditions they describe manifest the rich variety of Benedictine experience.

Many persons living "in the world" have been drawn to incorporate Benedictine teaching into their lives and in recent years the discernment for which the Rule is famous has been explored in a number of books-by such authors as Kathleen Norris and Esther De Waal-specifically for Christians living outside the cloister. Both books therefore should find a broad audience among those looking for a way of living their faith. As the Introduction to Prayer and Community points out: "The Rule means little ... unless it is lived."

Columba Stewart writes as an "insider"-a Roman Catholic Benedictine monk from a large community and a scholar and teacher of monastic tradition. He relies on his experience of community and on the insights gained by others over fifteen hundred years to sketch monastic history and Benedict's place within it, to describe Benedictine ways of prayer and reflection, to describe the formative rhythm of the liturgical and monastic year, to emphasize the value of the constant mindfulness of God's presence and the recognition of that presence in other persons, and to stress the need for obedience and humility within communities of not always congenial fellow-travelers.

Esther De Waal writes as an "outsider"-an Anglican lay woman who has studied and written on the Rule, introduced it to others in "Benedictine Experiences," and visited both Benedictine and Cistercian communities. She looks especially for applications of Benedictine-Cistercian spirituality to those outside the cloister; Stewart, by describing the dynamic of monastic community, opens to others the door of experience gained within the cloister.

In an age in which -spirituality" is sometimes contrasted with theology, De Waal asserts, and Stewart demonstrates, that "A solid contemplative life requires a real theological foundation," even as both touch on the important differences between the reflective monastic and the analytical scholastic ways of theologizing. Among the several threads of the monastic tapestry which both discuss is lectio divina, the monastic prayer which is rooted in Scripture and combines reading, meditating, and praying. De Waal goes on to offer selected passages from Cistercian writings for reflection. Another thread is the active conviction of the essential dignity of each human person and the need to simplify a life lived in response to Christ's invitation.

Stewart invites readers into his monastic world. in describing the balance of personal and liturgical prayer, reflection and theology, personal responsibility and mutual obedience, and pointing out subtle and persistent dangers to community, he does not idealize, but affirms essentials born of long experience-his own and that of countless generations of monks before him.

De waal distills from the Cistercian tradition what she finds of value for those in the world. She studies the Cistercian tradition not "in order to acquire information as much as wisdom and practical help." In the midst of a busy life, she looks appreciatively at the simplicity and silence of monasticism and encourages readers to appreciate and to share what monasteries-both Cistercian and Benedictine-are, increasingly offering to share with outsiders.

Stewart deftly uses the Rule and an impressive array of monastic sources to undergird his narrative. His notes will lead readers to abundant resources to fuel their further journey. De \Vaal relies almost entirely on secondary sources and, despite the availability of English translations of many of the works she cites, quotes twelfth-century writers through modern authors, obliging readers who want to learn more to a circuitous search.