This conversation encompasses a wide range of what it means to be human and life’s universal questions from very different perspectives. Valente responds to Trappist monk Brother Quenon’s question, “Does this bring you closer to God?” by saying “I think that's the question we have to ask ourselves all the time in our work. Is this bringing me closer to the Divine Presence? Judith Valente is a former staff writer for the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal and is a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in journalism. Valente contributes to the US Catholic magazine and National Catholic Reporter. Besides her life as a journalist, she’s a poet, retreat leader, TV & Radio Producer, and Benedictine lay Associate. Judith Valente and Brother Paul Quenon, OCSO are co-authors of : How to Be: A Monk and a Journalist Reflect on Living & Dying, Purpose & Prayer, Forgiveness & Friendship (Hampton Roads 2021) 

Interview Date: 4/8/2022   Tags: Judith Valente, Paul Quenon, Thomas Merton, Haiku, Rule of St. Benedict, deep listening, meditation, discontent, surrender, prayer, friendship, Saint Aelred of Rievaulx, Poetry, Letter Writing, Spirituality, Meditation