monastic and religious life

In 1327, finding his sensitive mission at an Italian abbey further complicated by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William of Baskerville turns detective.

Presents a guide to living a meaningful spiritual life in the center of the chaos of the twenty-first century, based on the ancient Rule of Benedict developed by Benedict of Nursia, the sixth-century founder of communal monasticism in the Western world.

Sister Joan Chittister writes from the perspective of decades of deep involvement in religious life. She writes about religious life in the here and now, not about the value of its past nor about the possible shape of its future, asking a simple question: What, if anything, constitutes the spirituality of contemporary religious life? What is the work of religious life now? What are the virtues demanded of religious now that take character and test commitment, that make the world closer to the reign of God and bring a person closer to the Truth of life?.

With a view of religious life as a radical call to live the gospel, Azevedo develops a theology of poverty, chastity, and obedience rooted in the evangelical mission of the Church.

Thirty-three Roman Catholic orders and nine Anglican/Episcopal communities are represented.

Why would a married woman with a thoroughly Protestant background and often more doubt than faith be drawn to the ancient practice of monasticism, to a community of celebate men whose days are centered around a regid schedule of prayer, work, and scripture? This is the question that Kathleen Norris herself asks as, somewhat to her own surprise, she found herself on two extended residencies at a Benedictine monastery. Yet upon leaving the monastery, she began to feel herself transformed, and the daily events of her life on the Great Plains - from her morning walk to her going to sleep at night - gradually took on new meaning.