Book Review: “Life Lessons from the Monastery: Love, Prayer, Calling, and Commitment,” by Abbot Jerome Kodell, OSB. The Word Among Us Press (Ijamsville, 2010) 128 pp., $10.95.
Abbot Jerome Kodell, OSB, is a man for all seasons. While he lives in a monastic community, he clearly understands the longings and stresses of those in a non-monastic setting.
His most recent book, small and affordable like most of his publishings, is a series of 30 short spiritual reflections. These brief essays were written at the request of the publishing house, as opposed to his printing in another recent book of essays already published in The Abbey Message, the monthly newsletter of the abbey in Subiaco.
He divides the essays into five topics: Divine Love and Presence, Prayer, Calling and Commitment, The Christian Life and The End and Beyond. Each topic — indeed, each essay — is a matter of import for those seeking to begin or deepen a relationship with God.
In his section on love, he offers the reminder that Jesus did not promise to solve all problems or make of Earth a heaven; instead, he promised to be present … always. In another essay in that section, he reveals his literary appreciation by quoting poet George Herbert’s “Love.” His focus is on “quick-ey’d Love”; God is always alert to us and to our needs, instantly recognizing the “slightest indication of uncertainty, confusion or need.”
In his section on prayer, he says that two minutes of prayer per day, every day, is satisfactory. While he does not say so, perhaps he knows that anyone who commits to time with God every day, unfailingly, will find himself desiring more time with the Presence.
Abbot Kodell’s delight in God’s ways is clear in his essay “God and Square Pegs,” in which he speaks of God’s seemingly “haphazard” methodology in selecting messengers — trying to fit square pegs into round holes. He speaks of God’s selection of Moses, for instance, who complained he did not even know God’s name! He also speaks of Amos, who was a shepherd with no connection to the prophets; Amos complained that he was too young. God is, seemingly, inefficient, Abbot Kodell says, tongue in cheek.
One of Abbot Kodell’s many strengths is his ability to fit texts from long ago side by side with contemporary spirituality. He even uses Latin expressions in an era when many consider anything Latin as obsolete and regressive. This book affectionately folds together Latin expressions with centuries old writers and contemporary thought. For instance, Abbot Kodell speaks of “Opus Dei” (the phrase Benedict used to refer to the Divine Office), “Ora et Labora” (pray and work), and “Vacate et videte, quoniam ergo sum Deus” (the reminder from Scripture to “Be still and know that I am God”). He also speaks of St. John Cassian, St. John Climacus, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, Father Jean Pierre de Caussade and Caryll Houselander, as well as St. Benedict, of course, and other writers. All of these citations can benefit those living in today’s complex society.
It is this mix of scholarliness, practicality for the average Catholic, and joy in sharing the faith that makes every book of Abbot Kodell a treasure. This is a book for the erudite, the insecure, the pious, the doubter and anyone else who has an interest in a relationship with God.
Charlotte Miller writes from Little Rock.
