Book Review: "The Monastery of the Heart"

The Monastery of the Heart: An Invitation to a Meaningful Life
by Joan Chittister
Bluebridge Press, 2011

"The Monastery of the Heart" by Sr. Joan Chittister is intended as a how-to manual for those who want to live by the Benedictine Rule while out in the world. "For Benedict of Nursia, the spiritual life lay in simply living this life, our daily life, well. All of it. Every simple, single action of it." Sr. Joan invites those of us out in the world who seek to live a more spiritual existence to incorporate Benedictine spirituality in our daily lives.

To do so, one must begin with the Word of God itself. "As monastics of the heart we must read the scriptures day in and day out, till they ring in our ears, and fill our hearts, and become the very breath we breathe." The Rule then asks for participants to be constant at prayer and to perform the work of God. It invites us to measure our words and embrace the gifts of silence. It calls us to love simplicity rather than the amassing of material goods, to value our work and offer it to God, to welcome the stranger, and to live humbly.

"Monastery of the Heart" is an unusual text in that it is written in prose verse which gives it a lyrical quality. The passages are full of wisdom and will inspire thought and conversion of heart.

The highlight of the book is the chapter on humility. "In Benedictine spirituality, there is a twelve-runged ladder that leads to God. This ladder that reaches between us and God is called 'the steps of humility.'" If one follows these twelve steps, one cannot help but grow closer to God.

Sr. Joan has certainly been a controversial figure in her life. She has said much I do not agree with. However, her most recent books have been exemplary and entirely in keeping with Church teaching. "Monastery of the Heart" offers a practical guide for those searching for "something more" in their spiritual lives. It is a blueprint for living as a monastic out in the world.