Humble Pie: St. Benedict's Ladder of Humility

by Carol Bonomo

Take a quick look around - politicians, entertainers, sports figures, and even our own circles of family and friends: Humble pie is not on the menu. It's a me-first society that turns pride into a virtue and humility into a vice. But Christians - especially those who follow the Rule of St. Benedict - are encouraged to embrace humility as a virtue that leads them closer to Christ. And in this upside-down Benedictine world, we reach humility not by descending to the depths but by climbing, joyfully, to the top of a ladder. In this honest, funny, touching book, Carol Bonomo, a Benedictine oblate - a person vowed to live according to the fourth-century Rule - reconciles the conflict between the world's call and Benedict's more gentle admonition as she examines the twelve rungs on Benedict's ladder against the backdrop of the liturgical year. From the first rung, obedience, during Advent, to the twelfth, constancy, during the feast of All Saints, Bonomo studies what it means for a contemporary Christian to climb the ladder of humility that leads to perfect, fearless love. Bonomo, with a light hand and a sense of humor, takes readers along on her down-to-earth spiritual adventure.

243 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Rachel Kopel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again Carol laughs at herself and I got to laugh along as she learns humility, from both the Rule of St Benedict AND learning to play the ukulele. Since humility remains a challenge for me as well, I really enjoyed her journey along that path, as I have also enjoyed her uke playing in person. Another good read.

[Kevin Orth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author is a convert to Roman Catholicism. Coming into this read I was concerned where converts, from and to any program, tend to be especially strident and strictly adherent to the program converted to. Fortunately, the author fully and completely embraces the depth and wealth of Catholicism without being stringent and excessive in her sincere and thorough adherence to the Roman Church.
Truly, humility in its proper application, is mostly about transcendence above and beyond that which we would conceive left to our own devices. The author captures this awareness, shares deeply personal perspectives, and thoroughly provides the reader an understanding of optimal and thoroughly explains the concept of humility as shared by St Benedict in his Rule.

[Sir Raymond of Ivanhoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book immensely. The author’s writing style is relaxed and humorous. Plus, she makes St. Benedict’s Rules easy to understand and follow. And I learned something new: there are Benedictine Oblates.

[Aggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of a benedictine oblate and her personal struggle with following the benedictine path.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an engaging account of one woman's encounter with St Benedict's ladder of humility.
I re-read it every few months and gain something new from it each time!

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been meaning to read this book for about a couple of years, but each time I went to find a copy, I hesitated. I don't quite know what I pictured when I thought about this book, but I suspect it was a rather dry if edifying discussion on the virtues of humility- good for me, but not necessarily scintillating.

What I found in this book, rather unexpectedly, is a funny, but profound personal reflection on how Benedict's teaching on humility, along with a tint of 12 Step spirituality, has helped the author to find her way spiritually. Mixed in are stories about marriage, kids, ukuleles, moving, work and all sorts of things you wouldn't normally associate with humility, but which make sense here. This book is the result of reflection and prayer, which one can see on each page. It is no wonder that it is in the bibliographies of most books on Benedictine spirituality. That makes sense to me because Ms. Bonono's quest in this book is finding God (and humility!) in the everyday bustle of life- a hallmark of the Benedictine approach to life.

This book is well worth picking up and reading (and I suspect, re-reading).