Today people find the monastic life exceptionally compelling. The Rule of St Benedict is studied and applied far beyond the confines of the monastery. Following the huge success of the BBC TV series The Monastery, the monastic life has been seen as a means of healing, of disciplined living and of people coming to terms with themselves and their own personal truths. The age old wisdom of monastic life has a strong message of hope for our turbulent and often confused modern world. The contributors to Touched by God give deeply personal and honest accounts of what the monastic life is really like and how it brings them closer to God.