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Thomas Merton Quotes - Page 4

All Quotes Acceptance Acting Age Ambition Anxiety Art Attitude Awakening Awareness Being Alone Being Single Being Yourself Belief Charity Children Choices Christ Christianity Church College Communication Compassion Consciousness Contemplation Country Courage Creation Darkness Desire Destiny Devil Discipline Doubt Earth Effort Eternity Evil Exercise Failing Faith Freedom Giving Glory God Grace Gratitude Happiness Hate Hatred Heart Heaven Hell Home Humanity Humility Identity Imagination Individuality Inspiration Inspirational Integrity Intuition Jesus Journey Joy Justice Language Liberty Life Logic Loneliness Love Lying Meditation Mercy Mindfulness Moon Overcoming Passion Peace Perfection Poverty Praise Prayer Pride Purpose Rain Reality Reflection Responsibility Risk Sacrifice Silence Simplicity Sin Solitude Sorrow Soul Spirituality Spring Study Suffering Teaching Temptation Today Truth Unconditional Love Understanding Unity Values Violence Vision Waiting War Wisdom Work Out Worry Worship Writing

The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves.

The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves.

Relationship, Unconditional Love, Reflection

Thomas Merton (2005). “No Man is an Island”, p.177, Shambhala Publications

It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of true humility and its power in the spiritual life. For the beginning of humility is the beginning of blessedness and the consummation of humility is the perfection of all joy. Humility contains in itself the answer to all the great problems of the life of the soul. It is the only key to faith, with which the spiritual life begins: for faith and humility are inseparable. In perfect humility all selfishness disappears and your soul no longer lives for itself or in itself for God: and it is lost and submerged in Him and transformed into Him.

Spiritual, Humility, Keys

Thomas Merton (2007). “New Seeds of Contemplation”, p.181, New Directions Publishing

From the moment you put a piece of bread in your mouth you are part of the world. Who grew the wheat? Who made the bread? Where did it come from? You are in relationship with all who brought it to the table. We are least separate and most in common when we eat and drink.

Pieces, World, Mouths

It is easy enough to tell the poor to accept their poverty as Gods will when you yourself have warm clothes and plenty of food and medical care and a roof over your head and no worry about the rent. But if you want them to believe youtry to share some of their poverty and see if you can accept it as Gods will yourself!

War, Believe, Roof Over Your Head

Thomas Merton (2007). “New Seeds of Contemplation”, p.179, New Directions Publishing

The man who sweats under his mask, whose role makes him itch with discomfort, who hates the division in himself, is already beginning to be free.

Hate, Men, Sweat

Thomas Merton, Robert Inchausti (2007). “Echoing Silence: Thomas Merton on the Vocation of Writing”, p.72, Shambhala Publications

Do not be too quick to assume your enemy is a savage just because he is your enemy. Perhaps he is your enemy because he thinks you are a savage. Or perhaps he is afraid of you because he feels that you are afraid of him. And perhaps if he believed you are capable of loving him he would no longer be your enemy.

Life, Thinking, Political

Thomas Merton (2002). “Seeds”

Christ is born to us today, in order that he may appear to the whole world through us.

Order, World, May

Thomas Merton (2010). “Seasons of Celebration”, p.98, Macmillan

Not all of us are called to be hermits, but all of us need enough silence and solitude in our lives to enable the deeper voice of our own self to be heard at least occasionally.

Inspirational, Yoga, Voice

We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God

Peace, Catholic, Humanity

Thomas Merton (1994). “Ascent To Truth”, p.246, Bloomsbury Publishing

Here is an unspeakable secret: paradise is all around us and we do not understand.

Secret, Paradise, Unspeakable

Thomas Merton (2009). “Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander”, p.128, Image

The illusion that mechanical progress means human improvement ... alienates us from our own being and our own reality. It is precisely because we are convinced that our life, as such, is better if we have a better car, a better TV set, better toothpaste, etc., that we condemn and destroy our own reality and the reality of our natural resources. Technology was made for man, not man for technology. In losing touch with being and thus with God, we have fallen into a senseless idolatry of production and consumption for their own sakes.

Mean, Men, Technology

Thomas Merton (2002). “Seeds”

If we wait for some people to become agreeable or attractive before we begin to love them, we will never begin. If we are content to give them a cold impersonal 'charity' that is merely a matter of obligation, we will not trouble to understand them or to sympathize with them at all. And in that case we will not really love them, because love implies an efficacious will not only to do good to others exteriorly but also to find some good in them to which we can respond."

People, Giving, Waiting

Thomas Merton (2005). “No Man is an Island”, p.179, Shambhala Publications

Humility is the surest sign of strength.

Humility

Thomas Merton (2007). “New Seeds of Contemplation”, p.190, New Directions Publishing

May God prevent us from becoming "right-thinking men"-that is to say men who agree perfectly with their own police.

Men, Thinking, Police

Thomas Merton (2009). “Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander”, p.248, Image

If we seek paradise outside ourselves, we cannot have paradise in our hearts.

Being Single, Being Alone, Heart

Thomas Merton (2005). “No Man is an Island”, p.121, Shambhala Publications

The biggest disease in North America is busyness.

Faith, Inspiration, America

The truth that many people never understand until it is too late is that the more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer.

Suffering Pain, World Suffering, People

Thomas Merton (1998). “The Seven Storey Mountain”, p.116, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

When I pray for peace, I pray not only that the enemies of my own country may cease to want war, but above all that my country will cease to do the things that make war inevitable.

Country, Peace, War

Thomas Merton (2007). “New Seeds of Contemplation”, p.121, New Directions Publishing

It is a glorious destiny to be a member of the human race, now I realize what we all are . If only they [people] could all see themselves as they really are I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusions, a point of pure truth This little point is the pure glory of God in us. It is in everybody.

Fall, Destiny, Race

It is in deep solitude and silence that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brother and sister.

Brother, Silence, Solitude

For perfect hope is achieved on the brink of despair, when instead of falling over the edge, we find ourselves walking on air.

Spiritual, Fall, Air

Thomas Merton (2005). “No Man is an Island”, p.218, Shambhala Publications

We live on the brink of disaster because we do not know how to let life alone. We do not respect the living and fruitful contradictions and paradoxes of which true life is full.

Wisdom, True Life, Life Is

Thomas Merton (2008). “Choosing to Love the World: On Contemplation”, p.35, Sounds True

We cannot achieve greatness unless we lose all interest in being great.

Greatness, Achieve, Interest

Thomas Merton (2005). “No Man is an Island”, p.128, Shambhala Publications

I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.

Men, Race, People

A man who fails well is greater than one who succeeds badly.

Wisdom, Men, Succeed

Thomas Merton (2005). “No Man is an Island”, p.133, Shambhala Publications

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