The following is an excerpt from Fr. Bill's 30 August 2019 e-mail to Church of the Resurrection:
The Rule of St. Benedict is a practical guide to a closer walk with Jesus. Christians are very quick to pick up the latest book that shows them how to follow Jesus more closely. And that is good. Anything that draws our attention back to God is good. But in the Rule of St. Benedict, which was written 1500 years ago and is still being used today, we have a proven method for how to live the Gospel in our daily lives. It is the foundational rule for every western monastic order. And when the Church has been healthy, it was following that rule. When the Church strayed from the principles of the Rule, it suffered. The Church is suffering today. It is time to consider following the discipline of the Rule of St. Benedict. But how can we do that? We aren’t monks and nuns. What does that Rule say to those of us who live in the world?
I am offering you a way to read and meditate on the Rule of St. Benedict and to apply it to your life. You don’t have to become a monk or nun. You don’t need to join the Fellowship of Saint Benedict. What I am offering is a daily reading from the Rule followed by a brief meditation on that reading. In the Fellowship, we read through the Rule three times a year. We will begin a new cycle of reading beginning this coming Sunday, September 1. I will post the daily reading with the meditation on my blog. I have written a preface which was posted today, and an introduction explaining how it works will be posted tomorrow. Then on Sunday and each day following through the end of the year there will be a daily reading and short meditation. My hope is that you will follow these readings. I believe that we can all both enjoy and benefit from the discipline of reading the Rule and applying the teachings of St. Benedict to the Christian life we are all trying to live in this crazy world.