Spiritual Quote of the Day (Thomas Merton, on Love and Worthiness)

“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.” —American Trappist monk, theologian, memoirist and poet Thomas Merton (1915-1968), “The Power and Meaning of Love,” in Disputed Questions (1960)

Spiritual Quote of the Day (Thomas Merton, on the Christian Subject to Misinformation and Demagoguery)

“The Christian who is misinformed; who is subject to the demagoguery of extremists in the press, on the radio or on TV, and who is perhaps to some extent temperamentally inclined to associate himself with fanatical groups in politics, can do an enormous amount of harm to society, to the Church and to himself. With sincere intentions of serving the cause of Christ he may cooperate in follies and injustices of disastrous magnitude.” — American Trappist monk, theologian, memoirist and poet Thomas Merton (1915-1968), Life and Holiness (1963)

Spiritual Quote of the Day (Thomas Merton, on the ‘Possibilities and Challenges Offered by the Present Moment’)

“You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going.  What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope.” —American Trappist monk, theologian, memoirist and poet Thomas Merton (1915-1968), Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander (1966)

Spiritual Quote of the Day (Thomas Merton, on God Shining Through the ‘Absolutely Transparent’ World)

“Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice story or a fable, it is true. If we abandon ourselves to God and forget ourselves, we see it sometimes, and we see it maybe frequently. God manifests Himself everywhere, in everything ─ in people and in things and in nature and in events. It becomes very obvious that He is everywhere and in everything and we cannot be without Him. You cannot be without God. It's impossible. It's simply impossible. The only thing is that we don't see it. What is it that makes the world opaque? It is care.” —American Trappist monk, theologian, memoirist and poet Thomas Merton (1915-1968), 1965 informal talk “Life and Solitude" quoted by Basil Pennington, On Retreat With Thomas Merton (1995)

Spiritual Quote of the Day (Thomas Merton, Praying for ‘Prudence in Proportion to Our Power’)

“Grant us prudence in proportion to our power,
Wisdom in proportion to our science,
Humaneness in proportion to our wealth and might.
And bless our earnest will to help all races and peoples
to travel, in friendship with us,
Along the road to justice, liberty and lasting peace.” —American Trappist monk, theologian, memoirist and poet Thomas Merton (1915-1968), “Praying for Peace,” in A Thomas Merton Reader, edited by Thomas P. McDonnell (1996)

Spiritual Quote of the Day (Thomas Merton, on ‘The Heavenly City’)

“Shine with your lamb-light, shine upon the world:

You are the new creation’s sun.

And standing on their twelve foundations,

Lo, the twelve gates that are One Christ are wide as canticles:

And Oh! Begin to hear the thunder of the songs within the crystal Towers,

While all the saints rise from their earth with feet like light

And fly to tread the quick-gold of those streets.”—American Trappist monk, memoirist, and poet Thomas Merton (1915-1968), “The Heavenly City,” in Selected Poems of Thomas Merton (1967)

Quote of the Day (Thomas Merton, on the ‘Conversion of the Deep Will to God’)

“There is a conversion of the deep will to God that cannot be effected in words – barely in a gesture or ceremony. There is a conversion of the deep will and a gift of my substance that is too mysterious for liturgy, and too private.”— American Trappist monk, theologian, and memoirist Thomas Merton (1915-1968), journal entry for Dec. 22, 1949, in The Sign of Jonas: The Journal of Thomas Merton (1953)

Quote of the Day (Thomas Merton, on ‘The Love and Mercy of God’)

“The secret of my identity is hidden in the love and mercy of God.” — American Trappist monk Thomas Merton (1915-1968), New Seeds of Contemplation (1962)

Quote of the Day (Thomas Merton, on Gratitude and the ‘Love of God in Everything’)

“To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us—and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is grace, for it brings with us immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder, and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.”—American Trappist monk Thomas Merton (1915-1968), Thoughts in Solitude (1956)

Quote of the Day (Thomas Merton, on the Desire to Please God)

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.” —American Trappist monk Thomas Merton (1915-1968), Thoughts in Solitude (1956)