IN THE SPIRIT OF HAPPINESS

The beloved Cambridge, N.Y., monks, authors of How to Be Your Dog’s Best Friend (1978) and The Art of Raising a Puppy (not reviewed), invite their audience to experience the monastic life. The monks of New Skete intersperse their discussions of mercy and good works, love and prayer, with interludes about the history of monasticism. Throughout, we meet delightful characters, such as Father Laurence, who reminds us that spiritual practice needs to happen within a community; Brother Barnabas, who explains why candles and icons can help put us in touch with God; and Brother Marc, who urges us to think about the role of beauty in the spiritual life. Especially helpful is the chapter on lectio divina, “spiritual reading.” A centuries-old form of prayer, lectio involves reading a passage of the Bible meditatively and allowing God to speak to you through the text. Lectio is notoriously difficult to practice if you do not know your Bible, and the monks of New Skete should have provided a list of themes and attendant Scripture passages. (Readers would do well to supplement the monks’ discussion of lectio with the theme-and-Scripture list from Thelma Hall’s Too Deep for Words or Martin Smith’s The Word Is Very Near You. (14 line drawings)