The Benedictine Way is a mentality, an attitude characteristic of the monastic life. It consists of certain elements that are essential to the life: continual prayer, lectio divina, community life, the opus Dei, work, separation from the world, and the specifically Benedictine vows of obedience, stability and conversatio morum. These elements are necessary means for monks and nuns on their road to union with God. While the book was intended originally as a basis for the formation of novices and juniors in monasteries, it also provides material for renewal and re-formation for older monks and nuns. It can also be used by Benedictine oblates or by any lay Christian who is hungering for prayer and wants instruction on how to pray. Benedictine prayer is simple and direct, and anyone who wants to return to the sources of Christian spirituality will easily appreciate The Benedictine Way. --From the Introduction