Marylake

Shortly after dark on the evening of September 30, 1972, I arrived with my parents and my best friend, Steve Yarbrough, at the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of Marylake, south of Little Rock. My postulancy -- the first step in my training as a friar and for the life I would live for over thirty years -- began there the next day. At the time there were ten in the community -- six solemnly professed priests and the four of us who were to be postulants.

Maylake itself is a beautiful spot, having originally been built as a country club in the 1920s by the Shriners. The Carmelites obtained it in 1952 through the generosity of good friends. It was a perfect setting for my postulancy and novitiate, as it has been for men for more than half a century. The life was challenging but rewarding, and I am grateful for what I learned, for the people I met and came to love and for the privileged time to spend in reflection and personal growth.