My most recent review is of the newly-translated book on monastic rules by the Italian political philosopher Giorgio Agamben.

Here’s the beginning:

From sites like Fr. Richard Rohr’s Center for Contemplation and Action, to popular books on observing the hours, to pope Francis I, who has recently spoken out about contemporary relevance of his medieval namesake, the 21^st century is re-encountering the beauty and power of monasticism. Yet at times the contrasts between modernity and the pre-modern world can become conflicts, reminding us just how different our two eras are. While its communitarian lifestyle might seem charming enough to us, monasticism’s regulations, austerity, and poverty can seem excessively harsh, backward, and even bizarre, as if monasticism was not just from another time but from a different world altogether.

 

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