To Prefer Nothing to Christ: The Monastic Mission of the English Benedictine Congregation

The first theology of Benedictine life published in the 21st century, this English Benedictine Statement of monastic and missionary identity considers that the life of a Benedictine monk, and nun, requires a continual return, under the impulse of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of the Church, to the Gospel, which is the source and chief guide of all Christian life, and also to the original inspiration of monastic life, which is summed up in the Rule of St Benedict. It offers a framework for reflection and for renewal in evangelical and monastic fervour for each monastery of the Congregation, and at the same time is offered to each individual monk and nun. It provides a substantial theological foundation to the work of those tasked with the promotion of the English Benedictine monastic vocation, and will be of interest to other clergy, religious and interested lay people. ‘Monasticism can constitute for all the forms of religious life and consecrated life a remembrance of what is essential and has primacy in the life of every baptized person: to seek Christ and put nothing before his love’ (Pope Benedict XVI)