One day on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, I went to sit in the sick pew during the morning mass. It was the first time in my life that I saw the morning mass from this angle and I gained a new perspective on the community – and on God's providence. Then it struck me with greater force than ever before that God surely did not bring any of us here for no reason – especially not me. I saw this small handful of priests and thought about our poverty… And the thought that I wanted to withdraw from here by my own choice terrified me.
(Thomas Merton /1915–1968/, journal entry from July 20, 1949)
