Two spiritual seekers—one a Trappist monk and the other a journalist—ponder the universal questions about the meant of life through death, concluding “The amount we love is perhaps the only true measure of a life well-lived.”

About the Author & Text

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Judith Valente is a former religion reporter for PBS-TV and staff writer for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. She is also a poet and author How to Live: What The Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning and Community and vice president of the International Thomas Merton Society.  Paul Quenon was a novice under Thomas Merton and has been a monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani for more than 60 years. He is the author of nine books of poetry and “In Praise of the Useless Life: A Monk’s Memoir.”  He is co-author with Judith Valente of “The Art of Pausing: Meditations for the Overworked and Overwhelmed.”