I’m reading How to Be a Monastic and Not Leave Your Day Job by Brother Benet Tvedten. It is a fascinating invitation to the oblate life. Several years ago I read Spirituality for Everyday Living by Brian C. Taylor. Both books in different ways wrestle with how to apply the Rule of St. Benedict to those of us living outside the monastery: in our vocations as workers, family members, and friends.
Three things struck me as significant:
1.) The invitation to structure our lives around the “hours” of prayer (rather than vice-versa)
2.) The encouragement toward moderation in all things
3.) The desirability of work.
It strikes me that all of these practices are remarkably counter-cultural in North America these days. What a wonderful chance to be salt and light!