I am re-reading John Tettermer’s I Was A Monk. I read it a year or so ago, and am now reading it more closely, preparing a book review that I’ll present at the UU (Unitarian Universalist) Forum on April 15. It’s an autobiography of John Tettermer, formerly Father Ildefonso.
My discussion Sunday will focus on the first two, and the last two, chapters.
This is, in my judgment, the best book I’ve read about Catholicism. It provides a sympathetic, endearing, and profound examination of a Catholic life fully lived in the monastic setting, and then goes on to show how John Tettemer’s belief system became unraveled. He finally, reluctantly, leaves the monastery because “My conscience forced the decision upon me.”
I’ve found a web site that has the full text of the book.
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?view=1up;size=100;id=mdp.39015012897669;page=root;seq=3;orient=0
If the link does’t work, you can read the book at Hathi Trust Digital Library. Search for I Was a Monk.
