Monk-ish musings

A friend in a monastery has a blog. In one post he talks of his library duties and, as a book lover, I enjoyed his reflections about books that have been donated:

I enjoy labeling our books in short sessions of available time here and there. As I open them to their title page, I often come across clues of their past journey. Inscriptions tell of where, when or in what circumstances the book was acquired; “present from Mom, Christmas 1987”. Sometimes, something of a friendship appears; “God bless you both, Frank.”

Suddenly, books that were a personal enrichment become communal wealth and spread their wings. It’s a little bit like the feeding of the five thousand; “How many loaves have you? Go and see.”

Nice.