I sometimes wonder what drives a person to become a monk or a cloistered nun–people who decide to separate themselves physically from contact with others and spend their life in solitude and prayer.
I presume that it’s the desire to know God better, to experience God more intensely, without the usual distractions of everyday life, to “pray at all times,” as St. Paul advises us.
This drive to know God is in all of us, and it’s more than simple curiosity. We have an inbuilt drive to seek and find God. Perhaps we don’t recognize it as such. Any drive to find beauty, meaning, truth, a well-lived life, a compassionate life is at base a drive to find and experience the all-embracing love of Christ and to share that love with others.
It’s in this context that I think of my photography. I’m not usually thinking of God when I am out photographing, but the attraction to seek order and pattern and beauty and to share that with others is in effect a search for the Spirit which is in all creation–if only we have the eyes to see.
“I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)
spiritphoto 
Hi Fr Perry, it’s Hanna Trumpower formerly Schellpfeffer. We haven’t seen you in so long and my mom and dad have been forwarding me your pictures and reflections. I just love them and I’m so glad you are sharing your gift with all of us. I hope this finds you well and that you are healthy and enjoying being back in Fairfield. Take care!!
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Thanks, Hanna. It’s good to hear from you. I’m happy to be back in Fairfield after 15 years in Boston at BC High. Prep has changed a lot. The campus is much improved, and the spirit here is great. Everybody is happy to be back in person on campus, after almost two years of hybrid learning. I’m glad you enjoy my images and reflections. I’ve been doing them each week for the last four years. I hope that you are well and that our paths will cross again before too long. My best to all in the family!
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