The Isle of Monte Cristo

Book excerpt: This book of spiritual reflections is grounded in the life and work of Robert Lax, poet, seeker, and friend and contemporary monk of Thomas Merton. These meditations continue to explore his understanding of the divine Presence in everyday life. Drawing from a wide range of scholastic and creative experiences that highlight his faith journey Georgiou imparts how life is an inner pilgrimage that ultimately leads to the treasure of the Christ, hidden in our hearts. Georgiou's interior trek began on Patmos where St. John experienced the Revelation. There Georgiou serendipitously met Lax, (1915-2000), the much-beloved poet and hermit, who became his mentor. In this book a circle of love completes itself. As Br. Patrick Hart, last secretary to Thomas Merton, makes evident: "Like his mentor, Georgiou is now a teacher whose lesson-plan focuses on agape--the highest and purest form of love."