From the Tools of Good Works to the Heart of Humility

"Sister Aquinata Böckmann is among the foremost contemporary exegetes of the Rule of Saint Benedict. This latest part of her magisterial commentary to be translated covers the chapters that deal most directly with the Rule's spiritual teaching: good works, obedience, silence, and humility. As such, it will be a useful and delightful tool for any who seriously want to penetrate the meaning of the text and to learn a methodology both for understanding what Saint Benedict wrote and for appreciating the personal qualities of the author. A book for any serious reader of the Rule of Saint Benedict."Michael Casey, Tarrawarra Abbey, Australia, Author of Seventy-Four Tools for Good Living
"In this fourth volume of her commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict, Aquinata Böckmann takes us into a richly sustained analysis of the spiritual wisdom at the heart of the Rule. Once again, the reader is exposed to a thoroughgoing exegesis, this time of chapters 4–7, with Aquinata's usual adept use of patristic and scriptural material. Her emphasis on the personal challenges and pastoral implications which these texts examine when correctly interpreted in the light of today's social, political, and ethical questions confirms the continuing relevance of the Rule of St. Benedict in the twenty-first century."Carmel Posa, SGS, Co-editor of Tjurunga: An Australasian Benedictine Review