Beginning Again: Benedictine Wisdom for Living with Illness

by Mary C. Earle

A practical and spiritual guide to find God during times of health crisis or chronic disease. In 1995 Mary Earle was hospitalized with acute pancreatitis. When she was able to return home, she still faced a long recovery. She had to stay in bed most of the time, and eating was difficult some days. The busy life she had always known was gone, and she had to begin again. Like others who suffer from serious or chronic conditions, Mary Earle found that living with illness can require major adjustments in life.

Using St. Benedict's ancient Rule--his way of ordering the life and days of religious communities-- Beginning Again teaches readers how to discern a rule of life that helps them with changes in resting and activity levels, with food restrictions, and requirements for medicine or medical treatment. The ancient Benedictine concepts of stability, obedience, and conversion can help anyone living with illness, even those who are dying.
Beginning Again is a practical resource, written for those who know little about St. Benedict and his Rule of Life, with exercises to help readers discover how to live with God at the center of their lives and illnesses. It is useful for those living with illness, and for clergy, counselors, and spiritual directors who care for them.

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because I wanted to learn more about the Benedictine Order’s rules of stability, obedience, and continuing conversion (prayer). Instead, I found the organization of ideas to be a bit formulaic, and the book mostly contains anecdotes about different people living with serious illnesses. There is some useful information here, mostly about coming to terms with how things really are during a time of crisis and being open to discovering God while being immersed in that process.

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earle's greatest gift is that she writes with a voice of deep gracefulness and care. Simply reading the book feels prayerful and refreshing. While she very specifically writes from a white middle-class background, and reflects some of the assumptions of that, she also makes efforts to reach past that. Here she gives a variety of accessible insights into a Benedictine approach to faithful living with illness.