The Kingdom remembers you, T.M.
Fifty three years ago today, Thomas Merton departed this earthly plane. We are fortunate that he left us so much. The imagined presence of the naughty monk with a twinkle in his eye has kept me company over the last couple of years – years that have been characterised by unquantifiable human stupidity, undisguised global authoritarianism and, at least for some, edifying solitude. Of the five books from his giant oeuvre of works that I have thus far read, two in particular stand out: ‘No Man Is An Island’ and ‘New Seeds of Contemplation’. A thousand searing challenges rise from the pages of these books, and a thousand pennies have dropped as a result.
"Do you imagine that you will discover God by winding yourself up in a cocoon of spiritual and aesthetic pleasures, instead of renouncing all your tastes and desires and ambitions and satisfactions for the love of Christ, Who will not even live within you if you cannot find Him in other men?" - New Seeds of Contemplation.
I dare not write in detail for fear of diluting the purity of his message. The depth and breadth he offers is beyond the scope of any summary that I could give. So I encourage you to read these books. Personally speaking, Merton has helped me to bring scripture into relationship with silence, and pain into kinship with purpose. If you let his inspired words into your heart, they are powerful and unifying.
"God's will is not an abstraction, not a machine, not an esoteric system. It is a living concrete reality in the lives of men, and our souls are created to burn as flames within His flame. The will of the Lord is not a static centre drawing our souls blindly toward itself. It is a creative power, working everywhere, giving life and being and direction to all things, and above all forming and creating in the midst of an old creation, a whole new world which is called the Kingdom of God." - No Man Is An Island.
How long?
How long, O you sons of men,
Psalm 4:2-3
Will you turn my glory to shame?
How long will you love worthlessness
And seek falsehood?
But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly;
The LORD will hear when I call to Him.
Setting Sail – Emily Dickinson
EXULTATION is the going Of an inland soul to sea, - Past the houses, past the headlands, Into deep eternity! Bred as we, among the mountains, Can the sailor understand The divine intoxication Of the first league out from land?
Mercy in the heavens
"Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgements are a great deep; O Lord You preserve man and beast."
Psalm 36:5-6
Who are we? Kathleen Raine
Turn in
Turn in, turn in, the leaves dance and sway
like terminal lovers beguiled by decay.
In ochre and amber the autumnal edge
with coloured collapse keeps its annual pledge.
The now lonely branches, stripped down, unadorned,
hail heaven with bare limbs, green garments yet mourned.
Their stilled presence marks time to rest and repair,
to lean into winter’s quiet swathe and prepare
our cloistered hands, hushed minds and poor yielding hearts,
- in silent surrender to be set apart.
11th November 2021, Wiltshire, England.
The secret
The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.
Rumi knows
In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest, where no one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art. - Rumi
Hidden in the heart
My moments signed by God need not be appraised in the market place.
Rabindranath Tagor
Being a walking question mark 