Many times when I am quoting Merton I try to expand on his conception of God in the lines that I write. What I mean is that while I am Christian I know, respect and love many others who are not. These are people who hold serious and considered opinions about life, death and meaning. Sometimes what Merton says has a broader application than is apparent at first blush when you read it in light of the large C Catholic context of his writing.
Personally I believe that my best conveying of what my faith is comes through my actions in living my life, not repetition of Pat Robertson like portrayals of a lake of fire to motivate capitulation of the unwashed. (My take on damnation is a little different than Mr. Robertson’s; I believe that hell is absence from the presence of the divine). So when it appears clear Merton is talking about God in the broadest unknowable sense of the term I use terms like peace or divine or the infinite depending on the context in my reposting of the text. Also I try to look at the pronouns carefully so as not to promote an XY centric world.
Today’s quote as mangled by me, “The divine reveals itself in the middle of conflict and contradiction-but we want to find the divine outside all contradiction”. AYWTM 01-14 (paraphrased).
I live with two children. One child is 14 the other twelve. They are both boys. I think you can see why I like this quote.
2 comments:
“The divine reveals itself in the middle of conflict and contradiction-but we want to find the divine outside all contradiction”.
It is in the middle of a mess where one needs Divine intervention or inspiration or whatever you want to call it. In It's revealing, one can see that, even though in the midst of a tornado, the Divine remains outside of contradiction, remains what it always is, always was, always the same today, tomorrow and forever more. What a good feeling to trust in something, to know that despite all encompassing turmoil, God remains steadfast and true.
"Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present you will never find it." Thomas Merton
Just think ...Peace can be found among the children. The references you have made to the boys in previous writings makes me think of the wonderful reality you live in.
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