A Blessed Life: Benedictine Guidelines for Those Who Long for Good Days

by Wil Derkse, Martin Kessler (Translator)

Numerous laypersons have experienced that the guidelines of Saint Benedict's Rule offer inspiring and realistic ways toward a blessed life, aiming at the growth and flourishing of persons and communities in which they live and work. As in his previous and successful book, The Rule of Benedict for Beginners, Will Derkse in this sequel is searching for those basic attitudes and virtues that characterize Benedictine spirituality, making them available for those living and working outside a monastery. The cultivation of silence and restrained speech; the dedication to work and study; the importance of humility (which is the courage to serve); the cultivation of hospitality, care, and stewardship; mutual respect and taking care of speaking good words these are the book's main topics. All these attitudes are boundary conditions for a life on which God's blessing is resting. Will Derkse is married and a father of two adult daughters. He is an oblate with the Benedictine St. Willibrord's Abbey in Doetinchem, The Netherlands. He has degrees in chemistry and philosophy and has taught at several institutions of secondary and higher education. Since 2001, he is a director responsible for the Soeterbeeck Program for Science, Society, and Worldviews at the Radboud University of Nijmegen, where he also holds the Andreas van Melsen Chair.

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Professor at the Radboud University in Nijmegen and director of the Soeterbeeck Program at the same university.

He is an oblate of the Wilibrord Abbey in Doetinchem.

Reviews

[Marije van der Poel]

Grotendeels een herhaling, of liever: onderstreping van het boekje dat hieraan vooraf gaat: Een levensregel voor beginners. Dat boek, waar ik nog graag in terug blader, heeft een diepe indruk op mij gemaakt. Dit vervolg voegt daar niet veel aan toe (daarom drie sterren, maar och, wat zeggen sterren; de stabilitas valt juist te prijzen), maar is de moeite waard omdat het opnieuw inspireert me op eigen wijze toe te wijden aan de Benedictijnse, heilzame levenswijze en de conversio die daarmee gepaard gaat.

[David]

What Wil Derkse began in his first book on Benedictine spirituality, he brings to completion (or a fuller explication) in this second book. For those of us who live in the world, Derkse unpacks Benedict’s Rule in a way that can be lived outside the cloister.

[Arjanne]

Beetje veel herhaling, maar misschien helpt dat juist wel de boodschap op te nemen.

[Rik Coenen]

Vond de eerste wel beter.

[Jan]

This book is a sequel to Wil Derkse's 'The Rule of Benedict for Beginners: Spirituality for Daily Life.'
It is better to read ´The Rule of Benedict´ first and then, later, maybe after a few years, when you have practiced what is in 'The Rule of Benedict' to read 'A blessed life´ And then,to reread his first book, and then his second book and so on. These books can change your life. Just by doing the day to day things in a slightly different way and with different intentions....

[Sarah]

Uit dit boek straalt een enorme rust. De richtlijnen hadden nog iets praktischer mogen zijn wat mij betreft maar ik ga hier zeker mee aan de slag. Het is knap hoe Wil Derkse het kloosterleven tegelijk in beeld brengt als naar het niet kloosterlijke leven vertaald zonder dat het stichtelijk wordt. Dit is zeker een aanrader voor mensen die aan de ongeduldige en mindere trekjes van hun karakter willen werken.