Rule of Saint Benedict

The Rule of Saint Benedict is presented as a foundational work of Western monasticism and as one of the spiritual texts Douglas Steere encountered during an academic sabbatical at Maria Laach Abbey. The book does not summarize its precepts; its significance here lies in the setting of its reading and in Steere’s consideration of the disciplined monastic life it represented.

Identity and Place in the Book

The Rule enters the narrative as part of a reading life rather than as a subject of doctrinal exposition. At Maria Laach, Steere read it alongside writings by Bernard of Clairvaux, Hildegard of Bingen, and Teresa of Avila. The author identifies the Rule with the foundations of Western monasticism, placing it among works through which Steere encountered Catholic spirituality and the history of contemplative practice.

Steere’s Encounter at Maria Laach

Maria Laach Abbey, founded in Germany in 1093, offered Steere a setting in which study and daily religious observance met. He attended the Divine Offices and heard the monks chant psalms throughout the day. The monastery’s contemplative atmosphere, library, liturgy, devotional practices, and discipline made a deep impression on him. In that environment, reading the Rule belonged to a wider encounter with monastic life: it was accompanied by prayer in the church, meditation in the cloister garden, and conversation with the monks.

A Religious Choice, Not a Conversion to Monasticism

Steere’s experience at the abbey brought a real alternative into focus. Catholicism, especially in its monastic setting, seemed rich in resources for prayer and spiritual growth. But Steere was a professor at a Quaker college, and he valued Quaker silent worship, pacifism, social justice, and mystical heritage. He also respected the faith of his Quaker colleagues. His encounter with the Rule therefore forms part of a discernment between religious traditions, not evidence that he entered a monastery or adopted its rule of life. After wrestling with the choice, he became a convinced Quaker in 1933, influenced by the faith of Rufus Jones.

Significance and Limits of the Reference

The book gives the Rule a specific biographical importance: it represents the monastic tradition Steere studied and found compelling at a decisive moment in his spiritual development. It does not provide the Rule’s contents, describe its individual regulations, or claim that Steere’s later practices derived from it. Elsewhere, the book discusses prayer, psalm-reading, silence, and the cumulative effects of simple spiritual practices, but it does not directly attribute those practices to the Rule. The connection is thus suggestive but bounded: the text helped make monastic spirituality tangible to Steere, while his eventual commitment remained Quaker.