“The Lord did not create suffering. Pain and death came into the world with the fall of man. But after man had chosen suffering in preference to the joys of union with God, the Lord turned suffering itself into a way by which man could come to the perfect knowledge of God.”

American Trappist monk, Catholic priest, theologian, mystic, poet, and writer

Thomas Merton was an American Trappist monk, Catholic priest, theologian, mystic, poet, and writer. He was a professed member of the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani near Bardstown, Kentucky, and lived there from 1941 until his death. He is best known for his religious writing and for work that reflects his life as a monk, priest, and theologian. His poems and books grow out of contemplation, faith, and the discipline of monastic life, and his reputation rests on the range of roles he held within the Catholic tradition.