Several decades ago, I met a neighbor, a slightly older man, who had studied to become a Trappist monk and spent years in study, prayer, fasting and living the simple life.
My friend, Frank, left the monastery after a few years, deciding it wasn’t the life for him, but I was intrigued, nevertheless.
As I look back, I wonder whether I would have lasted as a Trappist. At the time, in my early teens, I considered life as a monk. To me, monks were men who contemplated, followed scholarly pursuits, prayed and sought union with God.