How does fixed hour prayer impact you on a daily basis — and in a more long-term way?
PT: You know, I am frequently asked that question, and I always stumble on it. I stumble, I think, because I cringe at the notion that anyone would ever begin this Benedictine-style life in the hope of some kind of gain or result. That’s not the reason for taking up what the Church has always had, any more than observing the Sabbath or sharing in communion should be done — even can be done — in terms of some end result or benefit. Praying within the communion of shared times and shared words is a great gift and a great privilege, one to be received with a kind of stunned gratitude and almost naked humility before the wonder of such a thing. I think I stumble as well because my own life as lived and as observed by other people must never, ever, be seen by anybody as some sort of proof text for what keeping the hours produces. I would rather die, quite literally, right now than have such a juxtaposing occur. I can only cringe to imagine, on the other hand, what my life might have pre
