Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict

by Esther de Waal

Bestseller!

For over fifteen hundred years St. Benedict's Rule has been a source of guidance, support, inspiration, challenge, comfort and discomfort for men and women. It has helped both those living under monastic vows and those living outside the cloister in all the mess and muddle of ordinary, busy lives in the world. Esther de Waal's Seeking God serves as an introduction to this life-giving way and encourages people to discover for themselves the gift that St. Benedict can bring to individuals, to the Church, and to the world, now and in the years to come.

Through this definitive classic Esther de Waal has become known as an authority for the lay person on the Rule of St. Benedict. Her ability to communicate clearly the principal values of the Rule when applied to lay people is the ultimate strength of this book. She follows each chapter with a page or two of thoughts and prayers, contributing to its meditative quality.

Esther de Waal is an Anglican lay woman, married with four sons and a number of grandchildren. She lives on the Welsh Borders where she grew up and spends her time gardening, writing, traveling, and taking retreats. She became interested in Benedictine monasticism as a result of living for ten years in Canterbury and has written several books on the Rule of St. Benedict including a life-Giving Way, published by The Liturgical Press, 1995. She holds a PhD. from Cambridge and was given an honorary doctorate from St. John's University for her contribution to Benedictine studies and for her ecumenical work. She was awarded the Templeton Prize for having started the Benedictine Experience weeks which are now widely held throughout America and England.

Genres: Spirituality, Christian, Nonfiction, Christianity, Religion, Theology, Christian Living

163 pages, Paperback

First published February 16, 1984

Reviews

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical and spiritual, this book is a wonderful introduction to incorporating some of St. Benedict's practices into our ordinary lives. Completely uplifting without a smidgen of legalism or guilt. Wonderful. This was my first book by Esther de Waal but not my last.

(Thanks, Joy)

[ladydusk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this off and on over the course of nearly a year. There were many thoughtful ideas and passages about living a Christian life intentionally. I thought the structure was intriguing - after the first two, introductory chapters, it was almost chiasm - listening and prayer, stability and authority, change and people, and balance and material things all work together.

I really loved the chapters stability-change-balance and the progression between them. I contemplated that knowing, not knowing, and pulling together quite a lot. The chapter on prayer was also quite helpful to me in learning about praying continually.

I'm very glad I read this and will likely go back to different places at different times.

[Brother Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better with BNH

[Jaime T · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It is true that there is too much writing on the spiritual life which is a debilitating substitute for actual prayer and practice but this book is an exception." -Robert Runcie

What a fabulous book. Dare I say one of the best books I've read of all time. I was studying it alongside The Rule of St Benedict with BNH. When I started reading, it was meh. I didn't understand why Benedict did what he did, and wasn't compelled by Esther's discussions. However, as I continued to read and think about its content, I started to realize not only Benedict's but Esther's brilliance. Esther made the Rule applicable to modern life and its busyness by providing alternative practices, while also showcasing the genius of Benedict's highly intentional and thoughtful way of life - what I would have previously considered "outdated" and "irrelevant."

Over time, my appreciation for the Rule and Esther's thoughts skyrocketed. And by the time I read the last chapter, I literally just wanted to scream because of how good and powerful each sentence was. My annotations were just a bunch of "sheeeesh!," "too good," "fire," "!!!," "beautiful."

I'm 100% re-reading this one, and then I'm gonna keep re-reading Seeking God for a few years at the very least. Spiritual formation through the roof. Also going to be highly influential for future Barak Project discipleship programs.

Highly recommend Seeking God. What an underrated book. This will change your life if you give it a chance.

"St Benedict is giving us the chance to stand where, if we are truly seeking God, we know that we shall be found by him."

[Nick W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book with some Christian brothers. It is such a profound read. So much so that my soul and feelings were deeply invested (and I think that would do well to honour De Waal's analyses on the Benedictine holisticism). It did not seem a very powerful book, nor does it try to present itself that way, but a few chapters in my ways of living and intention of living were already being challenged. De Waal has written a beautiful and humble work that pleasantly mixes a plethora of wonderful St Benedict analyses, adding her own deep-cutting introspection for flavour. And I have to admit that it is mainly how well De Waal connects sixth-century concepts to my 21st-century hasty life that I found this book so life-challenging and worth paying attention to. I am just a novice reader and I think that others may rate this book 4- stars conventionally, but there is only one thing I would change about it. It is too short for a book so dense with wisdom and lengthy connections (both temporally and in stringing arguments). I only wish that it would be longer and have more filler words so that I would be able to chew on and marinate in the profound wisdom and reflection that made my heart race so many times. My oh my, the final paragraph was so strong.

It was supposed to only be a book about outdated text! right? LOL

Ideally, one would read Benedict's Rule first. It is a challenge for me realistically, so this book should be read in tandem with his Rule of life, along as cited by De Waal. Then, it should be reread, first the Rule, then De Waal.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, readable, practical guide to Benedictine principles for everyday layfolk. I enjoyed each chapter ending with "Thoughts and Prayers" from Scripture, the Benedictine tradition, and the prayer book. This would make a nice accompaniment to Domestic Monastery by Ronald Rolheiser.

[Elizabeth Cottrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I write this, I am about 2/3 of the way through -- I read a few pages as part of my "quiet time" in the mornings. This was one of the books our Rector recommended during the Lenten study, and a friend urged me to read it too. It is a companion to St. Benedict’s “Rule” which I found on the Internet. Since St. Benedict was writing directly for his fellow monks, our rector suggested that as we read The Rule, to think of the monastery as the church and the monks as Christians. In that way, The Rule really applies to us all. This book can be read even without reading The Rule because it quotes liberally, but I enjoyed having them both side-by-side.

As with all the books that mean most to me spiritually, this one addresses real, everyday living and walking with God wherever you are—not running off to seek Him in far-away places. The simplicity is powerful.

Even our most ordinary manual labor “is to be a constant reminder of the reality of the Incarnation.” “God does not demand the unusual, spectacular, the heroic…[He demands only:] that I do the most ordinary, often dreary and humdrum things…with a loving openness that will allow them to become my own immediate way to God.”

[John Defrog: global citizen, local gadfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the book for this year’s Lent study, so I can’t say it’s something I would have picked up on my own. But it’s regarded as something of a classic, so there’s that. The book is essentially a reflection on the "Rules of St Benedict" by Esther de Waal, a layperson who was inspired by the ancient Benedictine church buildings in England where she grew up to read the Rules, and found them so meaningful that she wrote this book to explain how they can also apply to modern Christian living without having to actually join a Benedictine monastery.

This is key because Benedict (who was also a layperson) wrote them mainly as a rulebook for the order, which means many of them are specific to monastery life and operations. But the rules themselves can be broken down to cover various pillars of monastic life, from worship, work and study to devotion, authority and wealth. In other words, it’s not the specific rules that matter so much as the practical and spiritual intentions behind them. De Waal focuses on these, and then explains how they’re still relevant to us today.

I confess I didn’t get much out of it in terms of practical application, although I did learn a lot about Benedict and the Benedictine order. I won’t say reading the Rules of St Benedict is a prerequisite, but it might help, since de Waal writes as though you have at least skimmed over them. She also writes in a reflective and somewhat meandering manner, so it’s probably as well we spent five weeks on it in the study group, because it takes a while for everything to gel – at least for me. But that could well be my problem. In fact, it probably is.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seeking God” was beautifully written with a couple pages given to ”Prayers and Thoughts” and unique notes after each chapter which gives the reader a bit of time to just ruminate on each section. There are 10 chapters using the essence of the principal values of the Rules. Esther shows how to apply St Benedict Rules to our daily life. Just 70 years after Rome fell in 410, St Benedict was born and he lived 67 years,. St Benedict had started ”12 small monasteries, scattered on the hillside, each with about a dozen monks.” He needed to have a Godly plan to help each abbot and inductee into the work of loving sanctification and the work of the Holy Spirit. It amazes me to see how successful he was.

I’ve read just the St Benedict’s Rules a few years ago and it seemed rather dry but now I can have more understanding how important these rules could have been then and also today.

This is definitely going to be a reread for me.

One quote from the book:
He insists that things should be done in such a way as to cause minimum irritation or inconvenience to others because he recognizes the demands of privacy, the rights of the individual, and at a more profound theological level that ”the only person who has rights over the inner life of another person is God Himself… growth is not something which can be manipulated by human rules or ideologies; maturity cannot be mass produced.” The way of St Benedict simply makes space for the individual seeking God to find him in his or her own way.” Pages 116 - 117

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a wonderful little book! De Waal captures the practicality and flexibility of the Benedictine Rule as she translates it into guidelines for modern life, managing to challenge us with the utter dedication to God we find in the Rule while also encouraging us that we can meet the challenge (even when we repeatedly fall short). I’m going to be recommending this book!

[Tom Canuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting and compelling book. De Waal helps us to attempt to find ways to bring western monasticism and the way of St. Benedict into our daily lives, especially for those who may never become monks. It is a very easy to read book, and I love how De Waal includes prayers at the end of each chapter! Would recommend this for any Catholic or Christian looking to find how they can bring God even deeper into their lives.

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this book slowly. It's worth chewing on a chapter or half-chapter at a time. Great insights into Benedictine spirituality.

[Rachel B · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some good points in this, but I felt they were obscured by unnecessary academic/formal language. It's also a bit long-winded/repetitive.

While most of the book is written in a vague, objective way, there are random personal comments here and there relating some random points of the author's life as a wife and mother. These just didn't meld with the rest of the book, and since she didn't give examples of other life situations, I couldn't relate.

This is about the Benedictine tradition within Catholicism, so naturally, there are a few references to Catholic ideas/scriptures with which I disagree.

I appreciate that it seemed like Benedict was ultimately focused on Christ, but I guess I don't understand why there's so much focus on his "Rule" instead of just the Bible. I understand seeking out wisdom and clarification here and there from extra-Biblical sources; I don't understand fixating on one particular extra-Biblical text and treating it almost like the sacred text itself, molding a life around this rule instead of the Gospel more directly.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful little book that illuminates the Rule of St. Benedict. Each chapter identifies a principle of the Rule, describes what it means and what it looks like in monastic life, and tries to connect it to modern life and offer some practical applications.

I would love for a book to focus more on how these principles can be applied in family life, for mothers and fathers, and/or for a homeschool. There is a bit of that here, but I just kept thinking about how I can apply these ideas and principles to my own life.

Each chapter ends with a “Thoughts and Prayers” section with quotes, scripture, and prayers. I especially loved the Celtic prayers (maybe because I’m a good portion of Irish and Scottish) and plan to read a book of those very soon.

Overall I highly recommend this. I read it in the mornings during my quiet time as a devotional.

[Amanda Mary Akgul · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was hard to read my library’s copy of this because I wanted to underline and highlight all the goodness it contains. I’m off to buy my own copy that I can read through again and again, highlighter in hand.

[Circle of Hope Pastors · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an age when the world is falling apart, Benedict of Nursia becomes ever more relevant. His vision for living in faith post-Roman Empire created a moment that still influences the whole world. His basic rule of life is still inspiring people to take themselves seriously and form a life that practically reflects the way of Jesus. Esther de Waal interprets the Benedictine way for people who won't be joining the monastery any time soon.

[Natalie Print · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting learning more about St Benedict, and his rule for life, and helpful to see how the principles can be useful for shaping our Christian lives today.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dry, but a very solid and practical intro to St Benedict and the Rule.

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This marks my first journey through Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict. Like Tozer's The Pursuit of God, this is a book that I will likely return to regularly, perhaps on an annual basis. I was grateful to be gifted a copy during my first visit to Nashotah House Theological Seminary.

I absolutely loved Anglican Esther de Waal's analysis of The Rule of St. Benedict and what living as a Benedictine truly means. One of the best books I've read on Benedictine monasticism. Though the book is just over 150 pages, I found myself at times unable to read over 5 or 8 pages before bed, because it is a very deep book and not an easy read. Quite rewarding however. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Benedictine spirituality.

[Diane Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the books that I love!

[Harry Allagree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read this refreshing summary of the essence of Benedict's Rule sometime in the late 1980's, it was even more rewarding to come back and reread it again. It also reminded me of a serendipitous visit I had with Esther de Waal in February 1991, not long after I'd read it. We spent part of a sunny afternoon sitting & conversing on the lawn in back of the Guesthouse at the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, CA. She was in the process of writing "A Seven Day Journey with Thomas Merton", a sort of personal retreat guide, which was published the next year. She was quite amazed at the time that an evangelical publisher (Servant Publications) was interested in her writing a book on Merton!

Reading the book again reminded me of how well Benedict's Rule expresses what genuine human life and, specifically, Christian religion is really all about: keeping God ever before one's eyes and striving to be a loving person. de Waal traces, in ten short chapters, how the principles which Benedict wrote to guide a 6th century monastic community of men are still valid today. She speaks with the great wisdom & experience of her own rich life. At the end of each chapter she includes short quotes, poems, wise sayings, etc. on the particular chapter theme, and at the end of the book, several pages of suggestions for further reading.

A quote at the end, from Dom Dominic Gaisford's "A Touch of God", sums up a lot of what Esther de Waal so simply & wonderfully writes about: "I think, Lord, that what you give me and everyone in prayer is a new vision, or a new dimension. The people I am fond of and love, the things I like doing, the places I like, are in some tangible way different, added to, increased by you...The people and places and activities which I love and like become different in you...Lord, I may be being heretical or untheological, but I don't mind and you know what I mean, when I say that your abiding presence -- yes, that's it Lord, prayer is your abiding presence made real."

[Ronald Schoedel III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to visit many ancient abbeys and priories around the UK and elsewhere. I never really knew much about the Benedictine rule, but was always impressed by the devotion of those ancients (and moderns!) who choose the monastic life. I happened to stumble upon a second hand copy of this little book last summer in a tiny parish church in Cornwall and was intrigued by the idea of a modern laywoman applying the Rule of St Benedict to modern life.

This is a very uplifting book, that anyone of any Christian background can find inspiration within. Benedict’s rule (which in the original meaning of rule or regulate means “pattern” moreso than “law”), by which the monasteries were governed, is a template for increasing one’s application of Christlike qualities within day to day life. Benedict’s insight into what many would recognize as modern-day psychological best practices was many centuries ahead of his time.

Living a purposeful, charitable, and kind life in harmony with others (as in a monastic environment or in a modern day church or neighborhood or workplace) takes serious intentional effort, and an understanding that there is no difference between the sacred and the secular: all is one, and everything belongs. Benedict’s rule taught monks how to value the divine as well as the day to day mundanity, and to find God in each moment. But there’s no reason we who are not monks cannot do the same. The Intellectual, spiritual, and physical aspects of life and work are all important, and all belong as part of one great whole.

Such a good little book, and one I suspect I will go back to in future.

[Faith Flaherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esther de Waal's book, Seeking God is a description of the life of Benedictine monks. She ties the monastic life to our everyday life. Through this book, anyone can apply the attitudes of a monk. It will help people get through their secular life.

Personally, I'm not at all surprised. After all, as a Lay Dominican, I live, or try to live, as an Active Contemplative. All Dominicans (members of the Order of Preachers) do the same, depending on whether they're friars, nuns, sisters, or lay persons. St. Dominic organized his religious order around the prayer life of monastics. But we go out and work. We balance if we can or just do the best that you can.

If we can do it, so can Esther de Waal's readers. She describes monastic life as ordered, prayerful, and fulfilling. So, it is.

[Tim Chesterton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant little book distilling the wisdom of the Rule of St. Benedict and unpacking it for the benefit of ordinary Christians who don't live in monasteries. Each chapter takes a different theme ('Listening', 'Stability', 'Material Things', 'Prayer' etc.), exploring what the Rule and the Benedictine tradition have to say, and making connections with non-monastic life.

I read this book through once very quickly, and now plan to read it again much more slowly, thinking and praying over the insights it offers. I highly recommend it.

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is easy to read and beautifully and thoughtfully written. I found it to be an excellent guide, whether at first read/basic level or at second read and much deeper levels, to understanding some of the depth of the Benedictine Rule. Recommended for anyone interested in the Rule, or anyone interested in deepening faith, no matter what religious background. Obviously, it's written from a Christian perspective. However, the author discusses the Rule somewhat in terms of universal truths, which I fould heartening.

[Aaron White · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully simple and relatively brief reflection upon the Rule of St Benedict, which still manages to plumb the depths of the holistic human existence - much like the Rule itself. De Waal examines stability, change, listening, balance, invitation, material things, people, and prayer - really the gamut of human existence. The Rule is a simple guide to healthy and happy human living, and I need to pay heed.

[Barbara Osten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This small book shows that the wisdom of St. Benedict is for everyone, even in modern times. She includes chapters entitled Listening, Stability, Change, Balance, Material Things, People, Authority and Praying. At the end of each chapter she provides Thoughts and Prayers to contemplate. Definitely a book to reread several times.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could say so much about this deeply moving and profound book. I hope this quote sums it up - "The goal of my changing life is not self-fulfillment, even though so much of the personal growth movement popular today seems to suggest that that is so. St Benedict is quite ruthless about the sort of self-fulfillment which is self-seeking. My goal is Christ."

[Sophie Jessup · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I found this to be quite challenging to read but then after a while I got into the book's flow, choosing to read a chapter a night and ending with the prayer. I found this book very inspiring and throughout I would often find myself pausing to set reminders for myself at how I too could follow the Benedict rule (spoiler alert - it doesn't come easily)

[Matt Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleased with this short book. The author takes elements of The Rule of St. Benedict and applies them to everyday Christian life. Some of her applications were especially direct and can be directed to family life, church life, and the outside work place.