When I was a very young monk, just 23 and in the monastery for only a year, a reading from Thomas Merton at our midday office created a great deal of inner turmoil. I can’t recall what the reading said, but when the office was over I knew I had to leave.
I was very angry because I thought all those years of believing I had a monastic vocation had been a lie. So I went up to my room to pack.
Thomas Merton Asks a Question
When I arrived at my room in what was called the "the snorers dorm," I became very sleepy and laid down for a nap before I packed. How I could be so agitated and angry and still feel an overwhelming desire to sleep was something I was wondering about even as my head hit the pillow.
