No Higher Duty
Henri Nouwen, the great spiritual writer was going to a monastery for a
retreat. The monks observed vows of silence and the retreat was to be
meditative and prayerful. Nouwen was delayed and was late getting to the
monastery on that miserable, rainy night. He rang the bell, well after
bedtime, and was met at the door by one of the brothers. The brother warmly
greeted him, took his wet coat, brought him to the kitchen and made him a
cup of tea. They chatted in the late night hours and Nouwen began to relax
and feel ready for the retreat. But he knew this monk was supposed to
observe silence, so he finally asked him,
...