Monastic Reading List

The Holy Rule

RB 1980: The Rule of Saint Benedict in English
Timothy Fry, OSB, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1981

Benedict’s Rule: A Translation and Commentary
Terrence, Kardong, OSB, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1996

A Life Giving Way: A Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict
Esther De Waal, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1995

Benedictine Spirituality 

The Love of Learning and the Desire for God: A Study of Monastic Culture
Jean LeClerq, OSB, New York: Fordham University Press, 1961

Christ the Ideal of the Monk
Marmion Columba, OSB, St. Louis: Herder, 1926

Prayer and Community: The Benedictine Tradition
Columba Stewart, OSB, London: Darton, Longman, and Todd, 1998

Pax: The Benedictine Way
Ambrose Tinsley, OSB, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1996

A Guide to Living in the Truth: Saint Benedict’s Teaching on Humility
Michael Casey, OCSO, Petersham: St. Bede’s Publications, 1999

Strangers to the City
Michael Casey, OCSO, Brewster: Paraclete Press, 2005

Living with Contradiction: Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict
Esther De Waal, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989

Monastic Practices
Charles Cummings, OCSO, Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1986

The Wisdom of the Benedictine Elders
Mark W. McGinnis, New York: BlueBridge, 2005

Thoughts Matter: The Practice of Spiritual Life
Mary Margaret Funk, OSB, New York: Continuum, 1998The Passion of the Lamb: The Self-Giving Love of Jesus
Thomas Acklin, OSB.; Forward by Scott Hahn

Vocation and Vows 

The Intentional Life: The Making of a Spiritual Vocation
Cardinal Basil Hume, OSB, Brewster: Paraclete Press, 2003

The Monastic Journey
Thomas Merton, Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1992

Centered on Christ
Augustine Roberts, OCSO, Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 2005

Vita Consecrata
John Paul II, Washington, D.C.: USCCB Publishing, 1996

Lectio Divina 

Sacred Reading: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina
Michael Casey, OCSO, Liguori: Triumph, 1996

Praying the Bible: An Introduction to Lectio Divina
Mariano Magrassi, OSB, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1998

Liturgical Year 

The Liturgical Year
Adrien Nocent, OSB, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1977

Seasons of Celebration
Thomas Merton, New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 1977

Liturgy of the Hours 

The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West: The Origins of the Divine Office and Its Meaning for Today
Robert Taft, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1993

The School of Prayer: An Introduction to the Divine Office for All Christians
John Brook, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1991

By or About Monks of Saint Meinrad 

Promising and the Good
Guy Mansini, OSB, Naples: Sapienta Press of Ave Maria University, 2005

Praying with Benedictines: A Window on the Cloister
Guerric DeBona, OSB, New York: Paulist, 2007

Conversations in the Abbey
Ruth Engs, editor, Booklocker.com, Inc., 2007

To Prefer Nothing to Christ
Cyprian Davis, OSB, editor, St. Meinrad: Abbey Press, 2004 

The Tradition of Catholic Prayer
The Monks of Saint Meinrad, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2007

**Taken from St. Meinrad Archabbey