CHAPTER 73 | This Rule only a Beginning of Perfection
humbly nonetheless. He may quietly present the reasons for his difficulty in performing the task to the superior but is expected to do his best if the superior determines he can.
CHAPTER 69 | The Presumption of Defending Another Monk
IMPOSSIBLE TASKS
No monk may defend another in the monastery.
If a brother is assigned CHAPTER 70 | The Presumption of Striking another Monk at Will
No monk may strike or excommunicate another unless authorized a task he cannot do, by the abbot. he should accept it CHAPTER 71 | Mutual Obedience humbly nonetheless.
Obedience is a virtue to be proffered to all, not just the abbot.
Juniors, however, are expected to respect and obey seniors. er O.6
CHAPTER 72 | The Good Zeal of Monks Benedict warns of a "wicked zeal" which separates from God and a "good zeal" that separates from evil. Each is to support his brother patiently and with understanding regardless of weaknesses. No one seeks solely what is best for himself but instead addresses the needs of others. "Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ."
CHAPTER 73 | This Rule only a Beginning of Perfection In this chapter, Benedict calls his rule, "this little rule that we have written for beginners." For further edification, he recommends the Old and New Testaments, Conferences and Institutes of the Fathers (Cassian), the writings of other Church Fathers as well as the Rule of Basil. For those "hastening toward your heavenly home," this Rule and these other writings show the way. **
COME TO THE MOUNTAIN | 145
146 | ST. BENEDICT'S MONASTERY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOYD, THEOPHANE
Sundays at the Magic Monastery. New York: Lantern Books, 2002.
Homilies of Theophane Boyd: Homilies from the Trappists of St. Benedict's Abbey. New York: Lantern Books, 2012.
KEATING, THOMAS
The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience. Amity, NY:
Amity House, 1987.
Intimacy with God: An Introduction to Centering Prayer. New York:
Crossroad, 1994.
Contemplative Prayer: Traditional Christian Meditations for Opening to Divine Union. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 1995.
Invitation to Love: The Way of Christian Contemplation. New York:
Continuum, 199s.
Centering Prayer in Daily Life and Ministry. London: Continuum, 1997.
The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation. New York:
Paulist. Press, 1900.
The Better Part: Stages of Contemplative Living. New York: Continuum, 2000.
Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit. New York: Lantern Books, 2000.
St. Thérese of Lisieux: A Transformation in Christ. New York: Lantern Books, 2001.
COME TO THE MOUNTAIN
| 147
The Daily Reader for Contemplative Living: Excerpts from the Works of Father Thomas Keating, OSCO: Sacred Scripture, and Other Spiritual
Writings. New York: Continuum, 2003.
Manifesting God. New York: Lantern Books, 2005.
Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel.
New York: Continuum, 2006.
Divine Therapy & Addiction: Centering Prayer and the Twelve Steps.
New York: Lantern Books, 2009.
The Thomas Keating Reader: Selected Writings from the Contemplative Outreach Newsletter. New York: Lantern Books, 2012.
Homilies of Thomas Keating. New York: Lantern Books, 2012.
World Without End. London: Bloomsbury, 2017.
MENINGER, WILLIAM A.
The Loving Search for God: Contemplative Prayer and the Cloud of Unknowing. New York: Continuum, 1994.
The Process of Forgiveness. New York: Continuum, 1996.
The Temple of the Lord and Other Stories. New York: Continuum, 1997.
Bringing the Imitation of Christ into the Twenty-First Century. New York: Continuum, 1998.
The Committed Life: An Adaptation of the Introduction to the Devout
148 | ST. BENEDICT'S MONASTERY
Life by St. Francis de Sales. New York: Continuum, 2000.
Sundays at the Magic Monastery: Homilies from the Trappists of St.
Benedict's Monastery. New York: Lantern Books, 2002.
The Way of Forgiveness. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 2002.
1012 Monastery Road: A Spiritual Journey. New York: Lantern Books, 2005.
St. Benedict's Monastery: Snowmass, Colorado. New York: Lantern Books, 2005.
A Joyful Noise:
A Monastic Approach to the Psalms. New York: Paulist Press, 2010.
Julian of Norwich: A Mystic for Today. Great Barrington, MA:
Lindisfarne Books, 2010.
All Manner of Things: Lectio Divina with Julian of Norwich. Pecos, NM: Dove Publications, 2012.
COMER Ont HE MOUN TALN. | 140
PuHotTrocRaAaPHyY Crepits _ Jill Sabella: v, 1, 11, 12, 13, 14, 24, 28, 39, 40, 42, 43, 45, 46, 48, 50, 54,
63, 64, 73,74, 75, 80, 87, 88, 105, 108, 109, III, 114, IIs, 117, Tey MUO, LAS e
12S, WAS WA
John Ruzicka: OCSo: ix, x1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, THAN, PAO, DA, AS, Bll Shy Ale Ay 52, 56, 59, 60, 62, 66, 69, 70, 76, 81, 82, 84, 88, 91, 106, 107 (Fr. William),
MIG WHO5 113"?
St. Benedict's Monastery: 61, 65, 77, 94, 97, 98, IOI, 102, 117 (Br. Aaron) David Hiser: 17, 23, 26, 41, 78 | Br. Aaron Cotter: 51, 92
Paul Green: 13, 34 | Markwell Images: 12 (meadowlark), 57 Ferenc Berko: viii | Fr. Joseph Boyle: vi | Trish Gates: 72
Book Dssicgn & Maps'
Curt Carpenter: 99, 100 CoLtopHoNn _ This book is set in Bembo, a modern font based on a design by the Italian punchcutter Francesco Griffo (1450-1518) and named for the Venetian poet and priest Pietro Bembo (1470-1547).
The display font is Cloister, a contemporary typeface based on Jenson, a font cut in 1475 by French printer and type designer Nicolas Jenson
(1420-1480).
PRINTED BY VERSA PREss
| EAST PEORIA, ILLINOIS
I§O | SI, IUEINGE
ID ING AS) MAMOMINWAN'S)
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They aspire through the daily life of their Cistercian community to be transformed in mind and heart by embodying Christ Jesus in ways appropriate to our times.
THE AUTHOR
Fr, William Meninger I N 1963 FR. WILLIAM entered St.
Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. While there he developed, along with Fr. Basil Pennington and Fr.
Thomas Keating, a contemplative prayer method called Centering Prayer, based on the 14th Century classic treatise The Cloud of Unknowing.
Fr. William moved from St. Joseph's Abbey to St. Benedict's Monastery in 1979, where he has served as prior and novice director.
His books include works on various religious themes, including a commentary on the Cloud of Unknowing.
Fr. William gives retreats, lectures and workshops on centering prayer, forgiveness, and the enneagram in the United States and abroad. +
St. BENEDICT'S MONASTERY
1012 MONASTERY ROAD
SNOWMASS, COLORADO 81654
St. BENEDICT'S MONASTERY
Come to the Mountain a HE MONKS OF ST. BENEDICT'S MONASTERY are living a spiritual practice begun nearly two thousand years ago—seeking, as their fellow Trappist Thomas Merton said, "their own true self, in Christ," and to reject "the false, formal self, fabricated under social compulsion in the world." For me they have offered a refuge in times of deepest distress. Anyone seeking a path toward spiritual life, whether Christian,
Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or agnostic—and perhaps especially those not affiliated with any religious tradition— can find here a disciplined, openhearted practice leading to renewed energy, hope, and joy.
—ELAINE H. PAGELS
Author of The Gnostic Gospels, The Origin of Satan, and Adam, Eve and the Serpent
Professor of Religion | Princeton University | Princeton, New Jersey F YOU ARE LOOKING FOR AN OASIS, a place where you can quench your thirst and steady your life,
| St. Benedict's Monastery is that place. You will find here a group of very unassuming monks, whose lives, through their writings and personal contact, have deeply touched many lives, including my own. This is the place where I go to reground myself in faith and prayer, and to be fed, nurtured, and humored by a wonderful group of men who know the meaning of both spirituality and of friendship.
—RoNnN ROLHEISER, OMI
Author of The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality and Sacred Fire
President | Oblate School of Theology | San Antonio, Texas -
St. BENEDICT'S MONASTERY
Monastery Roap
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