“Although God lives in the souls of men who are unconscious of Him, how can I say that I have found Him and found myself in Him if I never know Him or think of Him, never take and interest in Him or seek Him or desire His presence in my soul? What good does it do to say a few formal prayers to him and then turn away and give all my mind and all my will to created things, desiring only ends that fall far short of Him?”

Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation. Introduction by Sue Monk Kidd. New York: New Directions Books, 2007, ©1961, p. 43.