Desiring Life: Benedict on Wisdom and the Good Life

by Norvene Vest

Publisher:

Cowley Publications

, 2000

In Desiring Life, Norvene Vest brings the insights of Benedict's Rule to the wisdom tradition. Desiring Life is the third book in her series on Benedictine spirituality for people living in the world today. Vest asks questions of pressing concern today, such as: What is the “good life” we seek? How can we learn to live with integrity and compassion, despite the growing gap between public ethics and narrow self-interest? How can we live fully and well? What sort of people should we as Christians try to be?

In sections on wisdom, virtue, and ethics Vest describes these contemporary questions and addresses them through passages from Benedict's Rule. Through the recovery of insights from the past, Vest believes, we can draw closer to the heart of our desire for life in all its fullness—union with God.

Praise for Desiring Life

How refreshing it is to read someone who is convinced about the nobility of virtue. Vest defines it as ‘the capacity to live and act in accord with our deep human desire for wholeness.'

Vest finds within the Benedictine tradition a healthy appreciation for desiring; she sees it as a key to unlocking the Divine dimension of modern life....How refreshing it is to read someone who is convinced about the nobility of virtue. Vest defines it as 'the capacity to live and act in accord with our deep human desire for wholeness.'

. . . the value here lies not in the dazzling brilliance of the presenter's thoughts, but in the structure and space they provide for meditation on one's own life: this is a book to be used, not merely read.

Vest presents our relationship to the world, to ourselves, and to each other in such a manner that in reading her words, one recognizes the ever-embracing love of God at the heart of such relationships. For anyone who desires a deeper experience of life, whether you are a seasoned follower of Benedict or a person turning to him for the first time, this book is an ideal companion for your journey.

Product Details

• Title : Desiring Life: Benedict on Wisdom and the Good Life
• Author: Vest, Norvene
• Publisher: Cowley Publications
• Publication Date: 2000
• ISBN: 9781461624097

About Norvene Vest

Norvene Vest is a spiritual director, author, and workshop leader, especially known for her books on Benedictine spirituality for the common life. She is the author of several books and the editor of two volumes about spiritual direction, Still Listening and Tending the Holy.