Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 36:4 (Dec 1993)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

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JETS 36:4 (December 1993) p. 531

Book Reviews

The Monastic Way. By M. Basil Pennington. New York: Crossroad, 1990, 144 pp., $19.95.

A refreshing, pious and, for the most part, traditionalist exposition of Cistercian monasticism, the volume under review is accompanied by black-and-white photographs, which perfectly fit the mood of what is being described. While Pennington is most noted for his works on the centering prayer, very little of that questionable practice is found in this work.

Emphasizing the radical break with the world that monasticism entails, the author perceptively analyzes the reason for the break— namely, in order to more fully serve and commune with mankind on a higher plane. Indeed the monastery is called “a school of love” (p. 118).

The volume is characterized by balance. For instance, speaking of both the ideal and the real Pennington writes: “The danger is that either we cling to the ideal, not accepting the real … or we let go of the ideal and settle for the present ‘real,’ going nowhere… The exciting challenge is to cling to the ideal, letting it ever call us forth, even as we embrace the real and bring it lovingly and gently toward the ideal” (p. 17).

Love, obedience, worship, prayer and work are presented as the central part of the monastic life. All of them aid the monk in bringing himself closer to “the rhythms of nature” (p. 39) and uniting him to a “vast assembly that reaches from their humble monastic church up into the highest heavens” (p. 44). Additionally, through the worship service sacred history, and especially the mysteries of Christ, are recapitulated in the life of the monk.

The virtue and necessity of silence, especially for monastics, is recognized. Describing a statue of St. Benedict, Pennington writes: “The holy Legislator holds a finger to his lips, inviting us to abide in a continual silence. Hearts filled with worship need to pray continually” (p. 47). But again this is not a silence that retreats from a very real responsibility to their brothers in the world. “As his prayer reaches for heaven, he takes all with him… The monk is leaven… The monk’s time in the cell has cosmic import” (p. 56).

A problem does, however, arise in Pennington’s explanation of how the monk achieves this. “The purer he is, the more empty he is, the more the mercy of God can flow through him to this needy world” (p. 56). While a monk is to empty himself of all sin and misplaced passion, the call to totally empty himself seems to be almost a denial of his unique personhood. Monks are called to fulfill their personhood in a manner unique to each of them, as are we all. To deny the importance of the humanity of the Christian is to deny the importance of the hu...

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