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Title: The View from a Monastery by Brother Benet Tvedten ISBN: 1-57322-817-6 Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: 12 June, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.05 (19 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Live, from Blue Cloud!
Comment: This book, 'A View from the Monastery,' written by the witty and compassionate Brother Benet Tvedten, is a wonderful view into a monastic life, despite the title's reversal.
Blue Cloud Abbey is one of the monasteries on Kathleen Norris' list of retreat centres. I have an affinity for this place (even though I've not been there) as they grew up and out of the southern Indiana Catholic community, practically next door (St. Meinrads is a seminary I will most likely take courses from before long). In this book, Brother Benet reflects on his choices, the monastery's choices, the world's choices, and the opportunities we all have for continuing our choices in the world. He shows that a monastic life is not 'unreal' or distant--in recounting the shopping trips and movie nights into the small town near the Abbey, and in the reactions of the visitors and monks to each other, he shows himself (and everyone around him) as remarkably human beings.
'Although Brother Felix had a temper which could be easily aroused, he was quick to make amends. He seldom said, 'I'm sorry,' but atonement was made through little gifts and unsought favours. Ordinarily he was friendly and jovial. Gemutlich. He had friends all over the countryside. Many of them attended his funeral, which was one of the largest ever held in our community.
'In his twilight years, he made several trips back to Germany. The last time he went home, he celebrated his eightieth birthday in the house where he was born. Brother Felix went his own way most of the time, but he never strayed away from us. He also loved his finches and spoke and sang to them all day long. Sometimes he played phonograph records for them of German polkas. They responded with their own kind of music.
'After saying good night to his finches one All Hallows' Eve, he covered their cages and then went to bed himself, and died. So did one of his finches the same night.'
He treats all of his subjects, be they human, animal, principle, whatever, with humour, insight, and a gentleness of spirit which shows many years of growth of feeling. He recounts the story of Patrick Sean O'Mahoney, a homeless drifter who specialised in the kindness of monasteries, with grace and warmth that only someone with a deeply inset hospitality could do (one of the conversions of life Benedict calls for is to be open and hospitable to all, for in many disguises does God come to call).
In retelling the frequent questions he is asked by visitors (especially school tours, where the children are painfully honest in questioning most times), he is able to show insight even when the answer doesn't conform to the way he himself would wish it. 'Are you ever given money?' 'Are you able to buy the things you want?' His honest answer to the later question is no. Once he had been to a museum and wanted to know if he could get a print of a photograph--the clerk explained that he could buy one in a book; he didn't have the money, or a cheque, or a credit card. Truly a disappointment, and to many of us who are blessed with more means than are necessary to procure a greatly-desired book, a frustration. 'But,' Brother Benet reflected, 'even though I may not be able to procure everything I want, I have everything I need.'
Such a wonderful revelation. A great spirit.
Rating: 3
Summary: If church folks only KNEW what I was reading these days...
Comment: ...they'd undoubtedly look at me curiously. This isn't standard reading for Christian folk, but hey, I gotta satisfy my curiosity. My fascination with hermitages and monasteries may be viewed as a strange one, but I find that I'm very drawn to the inner world of prayer, contemplation and simplicity. If but from a distance, I enjoy knowing the workings of the lives of people who live in hermitages and monasteries. This wasn't the best of books, but certainly not the worst. It was written in simple and straight-forward language, but seemed to take nearly the entire length of the book to answer the one question I had: what's an ordinary monastery day like? Finally I had that answer (near the book's end), and I felt satisfied, though I was pretty lost on the doctrine the author adheres to. I also felt a little confused about what called him to the monastery and, admittedly, am a bit suspicious of people who follow the leading of people (dead or alive) as opposed to the leading of God. I read little in this book about this brother feeling called by God Himself. He seemed more impressed and led by Benedictine teaching. It was like, oh yeah, and God just happens to be a part of that, by the way. Overall, though, it gave an insightful look at life in a monastery, and I did find it an interesting read.
Rating: 5
Summary: Warm and fuzzy and yet substantial
Comment: Brother Benet exemplifies the linear life path. While in high school, he saw his first Benedictines and decided that he belonged with them. He showed remarkable maturity as he chose a specific abbey to enter, right out of college, and chose to become a brother rather than a priest.
The author's goal seems to be a modest one. He describes his life in a monastery and how he got to be there. He offers hilarious stories of characters he meets along the way -- not always the easiest men to live with, but definitely a source of spiritual challenge.
Brother Benet can write. Each chapter is a self-contained essay, reminiscent of James Herriot. In fact, one of the most appealing chapters includes a description of "Katie the collie" and the efforts of the brothers to create a properly monastic canine.
Reading between the lines, Brother Benet seems to have the perfect quietly cheerful temperament to live in community. He finds humor in frustrating events and as well as changes in monastic life: don't miss the reference to "liturgical lingerie." In telling his story, he has the advantage of someone who dealt with visitors, and he remains aware of an outsider's perspective. He tells us, without fuss, of his own struggles and also his ownn joys.
Brother Benet also allows a glimpse of life in a contemporary monastery. In some ways, the "confreres" come across as a special fraternity. Watching a television show, they act like any group of males, using less than religious language. Yet there is caring, not only for themselves, for for those whose lives have touched the monastery. When a former postulant lies dying of AIDS, the monastery sends two brothers to be with him. And when two strangers, clad only in sheets, make the monastery a stop on their unique pilgrimage, the monks offer a washing machine as well as a room and meals.
As a career coach, I hear people talk about finding meaning in their lives. Here's someone who has found meaning in a particularly unusual and dedicated way. Reading this book helps define the concept of "vocation" and "calling," although the vast majority of us will not find ourselves called so openly to such an extreme. Brother Benet offes an insightful non-New-Age perspective on spirituality, purpose and yes, abundance.
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Title: Grace Is Everywhere: Reflections of an Aspiring Monk by James Stephen Behrens, Joan Chittister, Dolores Leckey ISBN: 0879461950 Publisher: ACTA Publications Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life by Wayne Teasdale, Ken Wilber ISBN: 1577311817 Publisher: New World Library Pub. Date: May, 2002 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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