For today's feast of St Benedict we turn to Irish Anglican priest Patrick Comerford who has written a very succinct and useful summary of the ways in which Anglicanism is informed by Benedict and his Rule. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Benedictine spirituality is not a spirituality of escape.  Benedictine spirituality is a spirituality that fills time with an awareness of the presence of God.  Benedictine spirituality is a way of life that helps a person to seek God and his will daily.  It encourages a life balance between corporate worship, spiritual reading and work in the context of community.

People are seen as an integrated whole:  body, mind, and spirit.

The core values in Benedictine spirituality are stability, obedience (to God), personal transformation, humility, hospitality, care of the ill, building a lifestyle of love centered in Christ and listening for God in all of life...

The guiding principles of Benedictine practice are found in the Rule of St Benedict...

The primary concern of the Rule is to confront those who live by it as forcefully as possible with the Gospel and its demands.  The major themes of community, prayer, hospitality, study, work, humility, stability, peace, and listening find their expression in this rule.