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The Rule of St. Benedict: A Commentary by the Right Rev. Dom Paul Delatte, Abbot of Solesmes and Superior-General of the Congregation of the Benedictines of France
Benedictine spirituality and its perspective on mainstream Christian scripture is neither a wholly revolutionary approach to biblical interpretation nor a mere retelling of a traditional reading. St Benedict would have wanted neither the notoriety nor the acclaim of either, as explained in The Rule of St. A Commentary by the Right Rev. Dom Paul Delatte.
Acclaim sometimes finds even the most modest of men and this has certainly been the case for Reverend Paul Delatte and this book. As one of the crown jewels of Benedictine scholarship and biography, this has found its way into the reading list of a whole range of Catholic novitiates, not only would-be Benedictine monks, despite copies of the manuscript having been often scarce or incomplete.
The Right Reverend Dom. Paul Delatte was, despite his humble disposition, tremendously influential before and during his time as the Abbot of Solesmes. The work encompasses his advice on all aspects of monastic life as well as a wide range of more general spiritual advice, from the most appropriate number of prayers for a monastic community to include in a day to the correct practice of contemplative silence, down to practical matters such as the need to care for very young and very old members of the monastery. Each piece of guidance resonates with the clear philosophical fervour of both St Benedict and the author. He condemns religious cowardice and worldliness whilst taking a realistic and pragmatic approach to the induction of new or struggling members onto a fearless path to God.
Philosophers, Christians and those with any passing interest in the monastic life will be seduced by the clarity and sincerity of this work as well as benefiting from its fascinating theological standpoint.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books.
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. This text has been digitally restored from a historical edition. Some errors may persist, however we consider it worth publishing due to the work's historical value.
The digital edition of all books may be viewed on our website before purchase.
Acclaim sometimes finds even the most modest of men and this has certainly been the case for Reverend Paul Delatte and this book. As one of the crown jewels of Benedictine scholarship and biography, this has found its way into the reading list of a whole range of Catholic novitiates, not only would-be Benedictine monks, despite copies of the manuscript having been often scarce or incomplete.
The Right Reverend Dom. Paul Delatte was, despite his humble disposition, tremendously influential before and during his time as the Abbot of Solesmes. The work encompasses his advice on all aspects of monastic life as well as a wide range of more general spiritual advice, from the most appropriate number of prayers for a monastic community to include in a day to the correct practice of contemplative silence, down to practical matters such as the need to care for very young and very old members of the monastery. Each piece of guidance resonates with the clear philosophical fervour of both St Benedict and the author. He condemns religious cowardice and worldliness whilst taking a realistic and pragmatic approach to the induction of new or struggling members onto a fearless path to God.
Philosophers, Christians and those with any passing interest in the monastic life will be seduced by the clarity and sincerity of this work as well as benefiting from its fascinating theological standpoint.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books.
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. This text has been digitally restored from a historical edition. Some errors may persist, however we consider it worth publishing due to the work's historical value.
The digital edition of all books may be viewed on our website before purchase.
533 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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24 people want to read
About the author
Paul Delatte
25 books1 followerDom Paul Delatte (d. 1937) was the third abbot of the Benedictine monastry of Solesmes.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 20, 2023
I'm not sure how many times I've read this: for the past couple of years, I've read a little each day and start over again when I'm finished. The Rule is amazing, and this is the best commentary of it.
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September 22, 2021Recommended by Senior.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews