Blue Miles: A Monastic Novel (Paperback or Softback)

This intriguing fictional memoir of Padre Samuel, a Cistercian monk, weaves together his tumultuous life story with reflections on his life in a monastic community.

Monks have always been a gloriously strange lot, and the monastic vocation attracts people who are quirky, grumpy, often hilarious, and uniquely sensitive to the alluring mystery of God. As the life of Padre Samuel shows, monks strive, through the rigors of community life and the conquering of the “old man” inclined to selfishness, to become saints.

This novel unveils portraits of the various characters, both comedic and tragic, of Presentation Abbey as viewed through the eyes of the elderly Padre Samuel. It brings readers into the silence of the cloister and introduces them to a monk who has allowed his suffering to draw him closer to Christ. The novel is a prayerful testimony to the fierce demands and consoling mercies of the monastic life.

Fr. Thomas Esposito, O.Cist., is a priest and monk of Our Lady of Dallas Cistercian Abbey, where he serves as junior master and subprior. He is an associate professor of theology at the University of Dallas and also teaches theology at Cistercian Preparatory School.