I am grateful that people receive the vocation to become Jesuits. Many Jesuits have been very helpful to me all my life. Also I went to their schools for 11 years. Thomas Merton has also been meaningful to me. I read his book 'The Silent Life' in 1957 when it was first published. Since that time I have been interested in monastic spirituality. I did not have a calling to be a monk. However, I am a Benedictine (Camaldolese Benedictine) Oblate of New Camaldoli Hermitage in the Big Sur, California. With vigilance and attention, our desires can awaken us to God's endless wisdom, goodness, beauty. Our journey with the Lord is often one of passages with no clear before or after point for most of us. At age 63 I am finally learning that my life is lived mainly in its interruptions and surprises. The Psalmist tells us, each day creation waits on the threshold to be born again. 'Lord, open my lips, and let my mouth declare Your praise.' Michael