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Essential Monastic Wisdom: Writings on the Contemplative Life, edited and translated by Hugh Feiss, is the Benedictine version of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Feiss assimilates a broad range of arcane material and makes it accessible to the general reader without rendering the tough parts of monasticism toothless. His book begins with a concise history of monasticism; then it provides hundreds of quotations describing three essential concerns of Benedictine life: "Ordering Time and Place," "Character," and "The Good Desired and Possessed." Concrete expressions of each concern are further organized into collections of quotations with headings such as "Hospitality," "Discernment," "Longing," and "Love," making Essential Monastic Wisdom an extremely useful resource for readers seeking inspiration and guidance in many essential aspects of spiritual life. In addition to the oft-heard voices in the monastic chorus--such as St. Anthony, Thomas Merton, and Hildegarde--this book introduces readers to a number of characters whose wisdom is more seldom heard. Among these are Amma Syncletica, a fifth-century nun who describes the suffering of women in childbirth, offering the still-valid observation that "towards women generally there is great hostility in the world"; and Peter of Celle, a 12th-century monk and biblical commentator who describes a room that contains nothing to read as "a hell without consolation ... a tomb without ventilation."

National Catholic Reporter
"...an excellent guide to the literature of monasticism."

Nice monastic quotebook, June 17, 2001 Reviewer from Tulsa, OK
The "wisdom" here is mostly Benedictine (except for Thomas Merton and a few others), which left me wishing that the editor of this volume would have included more from a wider range of monastic traditions. Nevertheless, there are a lot of good seeds for contemplation and action here, and, after all, Benedict is the one who codified the life of the monastic to begin with. This is definitely a good volume to have on hand.

Wisdom for the Home, July 12, 2000 Reviewer: A reader from Cannon Beach Oregon
Hugh Feiss has opened the doors of the cloister and let us wander through the various "rooms" of Benedictine living, including: Prayer, Reading, Work, Hospitality, Silence, Humility, Simplicity, Stability, Obedience and Love. What Feiss offers to the general non-monastic reader, David Robinson brings to parents in the newly published book, THE FAMILY CLOISTER: BENEDICTINE WISDOM FOR THE HOME (New York, NY: Crossroad, April 2000; 192 pp). Drawing upon "The Rule of St. Benedict", Robinson (like Feiss) guides parents into the ancient wisdom of the cloister to deepen and strengthen parents in their holy calling of raising children.

Wonderful, readable, and insightful, July 9, 1999 Reviewer: from Boise, Idaho
This book is a wonderful and readable review of monastic life. As a "normal" person (not a monastic) my assumption is that monastic life is overwhelmingly complicated and difficult to life. This book does a wonderful job of explaining the ideas behind monastic life in an easy way that is not the least bit overwhelming. This book includes much spirituality that I enjoyed thinking about and comparing to my own spirituality. If you are interested in religious studies, you'll really enjoy this book.

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The Monastery Of The Ascension Jerome, Idaho E-mail: hughf@magiclink.com