Brother Paul Quenon, who was inspired to write by his mentor Thomas Merton, says “the purpose of the monastic life in the modern world is to show that we don’t need a purpose. The purpose of life is life.”

"I see the future going in this direction, that more and more people will realize how important interreligious dialogue is."

"Is there anyone here who yearns for life and desires to see good days?" Those stirring words come at the beginning of one of the most durable spiritual guides of all time, the Rule of St. Benedict.

"She was a great reader of theology," says Flannery O'Connor biographer Brad Gooch. "She said reading theology made her fiction bolder."

"Is there anyone here who yearns for life and desires to see good days?" Those stirring words come at the beginning of one of the most durable spiritual guides of all time, the Rule of St. Benedict.

Sunrise at the Abbey of Gethsemani in the misty hills south of Louisville, Kentucky. The 55 Trappist monks who live here awake at 3:00 a.m. to begin their daily regimen of prayer and work — in silence.

Read more of Judy Valente’s interview about Thomas Merton with Paul Pearson, director and archivist at Bellarmine University’s Thomas Merton Center in Louisville, Kentucky.

Read more of Judy Valente’s interview about Thomas Merton with Brother Paul Quenon at Gethsemani Abbey.

Read excerpts from THOMAS MERTON: A LIFE IN LETTERS: The Essential Collection edited by Willam H. Shannon and Christian M. Bochen

View a slideshow of Thomas Merton images.