"But all of that holy busy-ness seems like a kind of sand-castle building to me now, and the zeal of my answers is a soggy heap of kelp by the tide. There is a prayer that is simply seeing through yourself, seeing your own nothingness the emptiness impervious to self-assertion. A prayer that is the end of the rope. A helplessness, fathomless, and terrifying. No matter how holy or well meaning you were when you start out, no matter how many fine experiences you had along the way, by the time you reach the point of this prayer you want only to get out of it."
"And God? God is that which will not let you out of it."
Quotes from the Monk Downstairs
I have read a book called, The Monk Downstairs, by Tim Farrington. I just realized that this guy wrote a wonderful female character. The book is about a monk named Michael Christopher who has left the monastery and is now renting an in-laws apartment located in the backyard of a single mother named Rebecca. The plot-line is pretty simple, guy and girl, guy and girl endure trouble, guy and girl live happily ever after. The lucid turns this books takes are hilarious. Mike, is struggling to find himself after 20 years in a monastery, find meaning in his life, find the purpose for his journey. Throughout the book there is correspondence with a monk that he used to minister with. This monk, Brother Mark, has taken it upon himself to stay in contact with Mike and help him to "save his soul." As the communication progressed through out the novel, the interaction between Mike and Mark becomes increasingly heated, as Mike becomes increasingly jaded. The language is so beautiful and raw, as Mike tries to explain his new found experiences, new found faith, and found love. The author has done a great job of communicating the doubts, insecurities, and hearts of all of us in ministry at one time or another.
posted by Kat @ 3:25 PM
<< Home