Love is its own reward. Thomas Merton More Quotes by Thomas Merton More Quotes From Thomas Merton We do not exist for ourselves. Thomas Merton successhappinesslife The fact remains that we are invited to forget ourselves on purpose, cast our awful solemnity to the wind, and join in the general Dance. Thomas Merton inspirationfaithwind Finally I am coming to the conclusion that my highest ambition is to be what I already I am. Thomas Merton ambitionmindfulnesshappiness I believe we are going to have to prepare ourselves for the difficult and patient task of outgrowing rigid and intransigent nationalism, and work slowly towards a world federation of peaceful nations. How will this be possible? Don't ask me. I don't know. But unless we develop a moral, spiritual, and political wisdom that is proportionate to our technological skill, our skill may end us. Thomas Merton wisdomspiritualpeace Fear narrows the little entrance of our heart. It shrinks up our capacity to love. It freezes up our power to give ourselves. Thomas Merton capacity-to-loveheartgiving Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved. It leaves all the other secondary effects to take care of themselves. Love, therefore, is its own reward. Thomas Merton valentines-daycarelove God, Who is everywhere, never leaves us. Yet He seems sometimes to be present, sometimes to be absent. If we do not know Him well, we do not realize that He may be more present to us when He is absent than when He is present. Thomas Merton wisdommaysometimes Let us come alive to the splendor that is all around us and see the beauty in ordinary things. Thomas Merton ordinary-thingsaliveordinary Our real journey in life is interior. Thomas Merton conformityrealjourney Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God's eyes. If only they could see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time, there would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed . . . I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other. Thomas Merton warpeacefall Each one of us has some kind of vocation. We are all called by God to share in His life and in His Kingdom. Each one of us is called to a special place in the Kingdom. If we find that place we will be happy. If we do not find it, we can never be completely happy. For each one of us, there is only one thing necessary: to fulfill our own destiny, according to God's will, to be what God wants us to be. Thomas Merton destinyspecialwant By my monastic life and vows I am saying no to all the concentration camps, the aerial bombardments, the staged political trials, the judicial murders, the racial injustices, the economic tyrannies, and the whole socioeconomic apparatus which seems geared for nothing but global destruction in spite of all its fair words in favor of peace. Thomas Merton favorspoliticaltrials In an age where there is much talk about "being yourself," I reserve to myself the right to forget about being myself, since in any case there is very little chance of my being anybody else. Thomas Merton being-yourselfagelittles The psychological impotence of our enraged generation must be traced to the overwhelming accusation of insincerity which every man and woman has to confront, in the depths of his own soul, when he seeks to love merely for his own pleasure.And yet the men of our time do not love with enough courage to risk even discomfort or inconvenience. Thomas Merton risksoulmen Love not only prefers the good of another to my own, but it does not even compare the two. Thomas Merton comparedoetwo In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. Thomas Merton louisvilleshoppingpeople ....it is of the very essence of Christianity to face suffering and death not because they are good, not because they have meaning, but because the resurrection of Jesus has robbed them of their meaning. Thomas Merton essencewisdomjesus Art is not an end in itself. It introduces the soul into a higher spiritual order, which it expresses and in some sense explains. Thomas Merton spiritualorderart The devil is no fool. He can get people feeling about heaven the way they ought to feel about hell. He can make them fear the means of grace the way they do not fear sin. And he does so, not by light but by obscurity, not by realities but by shadows; not by clarity and substance, but by dreams and the creatures of psychosis. And men are so poor in intellect that a few cold chills down their spine will be enough to keep them from ever finding out the truth about anything. Thomas Merton wisdomdreammean A life that is without problems may literally be more hopeless, than one that always verges on despair. Thomas Merton despairhopelessmay
