St. Francis
Retreat Center

January 2021
Online Offerings
"The spiritual life does not remove us from the world
but leads us deeper into it." Henri J.M. Nouwen

A FREE ONLINE RETREAT
IN HONOR OF
THE DAGGY & SHANNON FELLOWS
OF THE INTERNATIONAL
THOMAS MERTON SOCIETY & THOMAS MERTON’S 106TH BIRTHDAY


With Douglas Hertler, Judith Valente
& Brother Paul Quenon, OCSO

Jan. 31, 2021, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST
Sponsored by Mepkin Abbey
The retreat is free, but you must register.
There is no cost for the retreat.
If you wish to make a freewill donation,
all proceeds will be used to support
the Daggy and Shannon Fellows programs assisting a new generation of Merton scholars.
Meet the Presenters
Douglas Hertler, aka Doug Lory, is a New York-based actor, tour guide, retreat leader, and creator of the popular one-man play, Merton & Me - A Living Trinity. He is a member of the New York chapter of the International Thomas 
Merton Society and was recently invited to serve on the board of the American Teilhard Association.
Judith Valente is a former religion reporter for PBS-TV and staff writer for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. She is also a poet and author most recently of How to Live: What The Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning and Community and a member of the ITMS board.
Paul Quenon was a novice under Thomas Merton and has been a monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani for more than 60 years. He is the author of nine books of poetry and “In Praise of the Useless Life: A Monk’s Memoir” and is co-author with Judith Valente of “The Art of Pausing: Meditations for the Overworked and Overwhelmed.”
Here is information about
the programs this Merton event benefits: