Thomas Merton

In my last week of service with the U.S. Army I went to Bardstown, Kentucky, for a retreat at the Trappist Monastery--the Abbey of Gethsemani. This is where Thomas Merton spent a good portion of his life. I was there when he was there.

I appreciate the insights he left behind in his many books, most of which I've read. Many people seem to have problems with him, but I think we can derive much from his wisdom.

For example, he said, "Anyone who imagines he can simply begin meditating without praying for the desire and the grace to do so, will soon give up."

Meditation and contemplation were important elements in his life, and they should be in ours too.

He wrote the following about the spiritual life: "The spiritual life is first of all a life. It is not merely something to be known and studied, it is to be lived. Like all life, it grows sick and dies when it is uprooted from its proper element. . . . We live as spiritual [people] when we live as [people] seeking God. If we are to become spiritual, we must remain [human]. And if there were not evidence of this everywhere in theology, the Mystery of the Incarnation itself would be ample proof of it. . . .Jesus lived the ordinary life of the men of His time, in order to sanctify the ordinary lives of men of all time. If we want to be spiritual, then, let us first of all live our lives. Let us not fear the responsibilities and the inevitable distractions of the work appointed for us by the will of God. Let us embrace reality and thus find ourselves immersed in the life-giving will and wisdom of God which surrounds us everywhere.
This reminds me of some of the things Saint Francis said. It also reminds me of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's words: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience."

Merton wrote, "Anyone who imagines he can simply begin meditating without praying for the desire and the grace to do so, will soon give up." I'm sure he's write about this. We need to seek God's grace for every aspect of our physical and spiritual lives.

Trappists in those days greatly fascinated me. They had a vow of silence that only permitted them to use a sign language that they had developed. They used their voices to sing and to praise God, not to judge others or speak negatively.

I need to be more like them, and I'm sure spending more time in prayer, meditation, and contemplation, as Merton did, will help me with this.