The sign that Jesus promised to the generation that did not understand him was "the sign of the prophet Jonah" – this is the sign of his own resurrection. The life of every monk, every priest, every Christian is marked by Jonah's sign, because we all live by the power of Christ's resurrection. But I feel that my life is especially sealed by this great sign, which baptism, religious vocation, and priestly service have imprinted deep into the roots of my being, because just like Jonah, I feel that I am journeying toward my destiny in the belly of paradoxes.
(Thomas Merton /1915–1968/, introduction to the diary published under the title The Sign of Jonah)
