SOURCE: "Personal Prayer in the Rule of Benedict," The American Benedictine Review, Vol. 40, No. 3, September, 1989, pp. 291-303.

In the following essay, Theisen focuses on the methods of prayer and sacred reading contained in the Rule of St. Benedict.

The monk in Benedict's monastery leads a rather simple and balanced life: public prayer with the community; private reading, study, and prayer; manual labor; public reading; refection; and sleep. In this paper I propose to look at 1) features of personal or private prayer in the Rule of Benedict, 2) notions of listening to the word of God, 3) values of sacred reading, and 4) methods of listening and praying. My purpose is to suggest how people of today can use the Benedictine experience for their prayer life, an experience that has stood the test of time since the appearance of the Rule of Benedict in the middle of the sixth century.

Simple and Heartfelt Prayer