Writing a book was nowhere on my radar when I thought about life in my 40s. Being a husband, father, and full-time professional lay minister, and a part-time musician, filled my heart and gave my life focus. I shared with a friend that the journey to writing a book is like learning the piano all over again!  My friend responded by sharing a quote attributed to Thomas Merton:

If you write for God you will reach many men and bring them joy.

So why not? Life is filled with fear, violence, and uncertainty. Let’s do something that brings people joy – write a book!

What moved me to write a book? It was only a few years ago I began thinking seriously about the Rule of Saint Benedict. I was first introduced to the Rule as a text in an introductory philosophy course at San Francisco State University. I didn’t take it to heart at the time. I was introduced to the Rule in 2006, as I lived on the same hilltop with the Benedictine monks of Mount Angel. Day in and day out, I lived a life of study and prayer governed by the psalms chanted by the monks five times a day. I never thought too deeply about the impact of the Benedictines in my life. Yet, the monks were a steady presence as I navigated through life … making the hilltop home.

Many years passed. As a husband, father, and working professional, I paused one day and realized something unexpected: without me even looking for it, the Rule of Saint Benedict had found me. I was at a point in life where I was no longer focused on expending a lot of energy; I wanted to save energy, be quiet, and listen more intently to the movements of my own heart. I wanted to reconsider my faith and dig a little deeper. This led me to find an old copy of the Rule on my shelf. I picked it up and read it slowly. During the pandemic, my online faith community welcomed the idea of reading the Rule together … little by little and in an unrushed fashion. Through this process my heart opened to a reawakening of a presence that was there all along – the gift of the Benedictines. So we returned to the Rule each year. Little by little, I took my notebook and wrote down ideas as we made our way through this guide for life that has shaped monastic life since the fourth century.

This rediscovery of monastic life, and its relevance to my own contemporary life as a husband and father, moved my heart to become a Benedictine Oblate three years ago.

In 2025, my family and I went to Mount Angel for the Saint Benedict Festival. At that festival, Abbot Jeremy shared the news of an upcoming Jubilee in 2029. That year the whole Benedictine world will celebrate the 1500th birthday of the Rule. As I heard the abbot speak, I felt the gentle call deep in my heart to take all my small and modest notes and finally organize them into a book, not for fame or notoriety, but in thanksgiving for how the Benedictine charism formed my heart, allowing me to be patient with myself in life’s many restarts and beginnings.  

Meditations on an ancient Rule may not appeal to a general readership. And this intimate portrait is a testament that time, silence, and patience is needed for its values to take root in life. It took me 20 years!

So why buy the book? This book invites us into stillness and silence, and to see what real, lasting community looks like in any season of life. All we have to do is be attuned to the gentle invitation and, when we are ready … respond. Silence, stillness, and community are something we all hunger for in this digital age.

Tomorrow, I will share more about this writing journey, the lessons I found, and what we can discover together.

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