By

Brother M. Paul

[Pseud. Simeon H. "Bud" Newman, 1927–1996, son of
Willie Lea Montague Newman and Dr. S. H. Newman,
and grandson of Adolphus and Hettie Montague]
Designed and edited by Fletcher C. Newman

Editor's Prologue

Brother Paul kindly gave me permission to edit his manuscript and to leave out certain passages that seemed to contain excessive moralizing. I did so with some degree of reluctance and, with the final editing, allowed a few of these passages to creep back in. His attempt to find God through solitude was in the end unsuccessful, but no one can say that he left any stone unturned in his valiant effort. Throughout the five years of his quest, I was in touch with him, was edified by him, and suffered with him. For reasons he alone knew, Brother Paul wanted to remain anonymous, but after his death in 1996, the family decided that it was time to give him the credit he was due. Paul was just one of the religious names he assumed. After a lapse of thirty or forty years, it should be expected that some errors of memory should occur, but what is more important than an exact record of daily events is the remembrance that one carries throughout a lifetime. It is this recollection that influences the present. Nevertheless, I am grateful to Fathers Arnold Weller and John Baptist Hasbrouck of the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Oregon for correcting some errors, and to Father Martinus Cawley, of the same Abbey, for his encouragement in urging us to undertake and complete this project. Special thanks are due to Susana Delgado for typing the original manuscript several years ago, and to the renowned Southwestern artist, José Cisneros, for the original drawing of a monk. Several errors from the copyrighted 1990 paper edition have here been corrected.

Finally, I must express my gratitude to Mr. Larry E. Montague, a new friend and newly-found relative, for offering to include this publication on his magnificent Montague Millennium website.

*****
In memory of Father Felix Vecchione, o.c.s.o.,1907-1989.
*****
Quotations from Saint Benedict are from The Rule of Saint Benedict in Latin & English,
edited & translated by Abbot Justin McCann. Westminster, MD: Newman Press, 1952

Hrunting Press. El Paso, Texas
©1990 by Fletcher C. Newman. All rights reserved.

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