The union of the Word and the Mind produces that mystery which is called Life… • Joseph Addison • • • A few nights ago I sat reading a book by Thomas Merton. It was The Ascent to Truth to be exact. Suddenly, I came across a passage that made me weep. The reaction seemedContinue reading “Lisa Dye: Fellowship of the Book”
Category Archives: Merton
Merton Musings: I do not see the road ahead…
Note from CM: Here is the prayer I am praying while at Gethsemani this weekend (coming back later today). Full report in the days to come. * * * My Lord God, I have no idea of where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certainContinue reading “Merton Musings: I do not see the road ahead…”
Merton Musings: On Church Bells
Note from CM: This weekend my hours will be marked by church bells. They ring from the tower of Gethsemani Abbey, calling the countryside to pause, look up, and acknowledge that redemption has drawn nigh. The first church I served had a small foyer inside the entry door where one could reach up and pullContinue reading “Merton Musings: On Church Bells”
Simply Living
A man knows when he has found his vocation when he stops thinking about how to live and begins to live. – Thomas Merton Thoughts In Solitude * * * Most of my life, I’ve been waiting to live. The pattern has been like this: seasons of thinking about what it means to live and waitingContinue reading “Simply Living”
Wilderness Update: Time to Get Real
This discovery of Christ is never genuine if it is nothing but a flight from ourselves. On the contrary, it cannot be an escape. It must be a fulfillment. I cannot discover God in myself and myself in Him unless I have the courage to face myself exactly as I am, with all my limitations,Continue reading “Wilderness Update: Time to Get Real”
Go Forth to Meet Him
Monday Merton Musings, December 19, 2011 Go Forth to Meet Him The week before Christmas has arrived. The words we hear from Thomas Merton today for our weekly meditation are brief but searching. For Christmas will come this year, just as it did long ago in Bethlehem. As on that occasion, some will be readyContinue reading “Go Forth to Meet Him”
The Three Advents
Monday Merton Musings, December 12, 2011 The Three Advents In one of the chapters in Seasons of Celebration, Thomas Merton reflects upon “The Sacrament of Advent in the Spirituality of St. Bernard.” St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), from a noble family in the French province of Burgundy, became a monk at the monastery of Cîteaux,Continue reading “The Three Advents”
Before We Can Become Gods We Must Be Men
Monday Merton Musings, December 5, 2011 Before We Can Become Gods We Must Be Men Thomas Merton contended that human beings have lost a great deal in modern, technological society. What we have gained in efficiency and productivity has, in many ways, sucked the humanity and spirituality from our inner beings. In this meditation fromContinue reading “Before We Can Become Gods We Must Be Men”
The Anguished Seriousness of Advent
Monday Merton Musings, November 28, 2011 The Anguished Seriousness of Advent Today, we hear some of Thomas Merton’s thoughts on the Advent season. The certainty of Christian hope lies beyond passion and beyond knowledge. Therefore we must sometimes expect our hope to come in conflict with darkness, desperation and ignorance. Therefore, too, we must rememberContinue reading “The Anguished Seriousness of Advent”
How Clear and Solid the Doctrine
Monday Merton Musings, Nov. 21, 2011 How Clear and Solid the Doctrine All quotes are from The Seven Storey Mountain, by Thomas Merton • • • In the days when Thomas Merton began his graduate studies, he also began to feel the desire to go to a church for worship on Sundays. After some deliberationContinue reading “How Clear and Solid the Doctrine”
The Internet Monk Archives 