Christian asceticism does not provide a flight from the world, a refuge from stress and the distractions of manifold wickedness. It enables us to enter into the confusion of the world bearing something of the light of Truth in our hearts, and capable of exercising something of the mysterious, transforming power of the Cross, of love and sacrifice ■ Thomas Merton, Seasons of Celebration, p. 132 ■ Catoira (Camino de Santiago) Cruceiro.