Commentary on the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict

Cardinal Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster stands out among contemporary Benedictine Order giants as a theologian, cardinal, and saint—one who thoroughly studied monasticism and liturgy and, despite being promoted to the archbishopric of Milan, maintained the heart of a friar whose childlike faith, monastic self-denial, and all-encompassing charity were identified in his beatification. Schuster's commentary on St Benedict of Nursia's Holy Rule (first released in Italian at the end of WWII and now accessible in English for the very first time time) varies from learned discourses of monastic and liturgical history to insightful lessons in spiritual doctrine, and is laced with comforting anecdotes and sound guidance from a veteran of the monastic life who happened to know many of the exemplary figures of the great nineteenth-century Benedictine revival.

Many otherwise obscure sections of the Rule are illuminated by his extensive knowledge of patristic, canonical, and papal sources, putting its subtle brilliance into stark perspective. Despite all the minutiae of ancient, mediaeval, and contemporary history that populate the book, Schuster never loses sight of the Rule's essential goal: to guide souls seeking God to the lofty fatherland of divine union via compassion. The current version includes the Latin text of the Rule, as well as a new and rather literal English translation that aims to express its "feel"—unpolished, at times brusque, but shining with tranquil certainty.