he memorized large passages of Scripture, and his ability to quote passages from memory would empower his later sermons. Though John eventually rejected monastic life for service in the church, he always prized contemplation. In one later sermon, he asked, “For what purpose did Christ go up into the mountain? To teach us that loneliness and retirement is good when we are to pray to God.… For the wilderness is the mother of quiet; it is a calm and a harbor, delivering us from all turmoils.” Before