“It (prayer) is the needle by which we draw the thread of charity through our neighbor’s soul and our own soul and sew ourselves together in one Christ.” Thomas Merton
For more about Thomas Merton follow the links below:
Where Am I Going–a quote by Thomas Merton
On Thomas Merton by Mary Gordon–Book Review
Thomas Merton’s conversion to Catholicism is detailed in his famous autobiography, The Seven Story Mountain. He eventually became a Trappist monk. This book by Mary Gordon focuses on Merton as a writer, and will mainly be of interest to other writers (and English major types, like me). If you haven’t yet read much by or about or Merton, don’t start with this one. You will get bits of her personal life, but not in a linear way.
Thomas Merton was a man of contradictions. As a contemplative and Trappist, he was called to silence; at the same time his vocation as a writer encouraged him to have a strong voice. In fact, he was often under pressure from his superiors to “produce” more books to earn money for the monastery. He doesn’t seem completely comfortable as a monk; yet he can’t escape his love for Gethsemani and his calling to the community there. It was an integral part of his personality as a man and as a writer. Gordon says,
“If Thomas Merton has been a writer and not a monk, we would never have heard of him. If Thomas Merton had been a monk and not a writer, we would never have heard of him.”
In this short book, Gordon discusses at length a novel entitled My Argument with the Gestapo, written by Merton in 1941 and unpublished until a year after his death. She also includes some of his correspondence with other writers, including Evelyn Waugh and Czeslaw Milosz (a Polish poet). If you’re not interested in writing, you’ll bog down in these literary discussions. You’ll also learn, if you didn’t know, that Merton wrote poetry at times.
Gordon saw Merton’s journals as his greatest accomplishment. They contained his greatest writing and were the form to which he was best suited. She describes him as “ardent, heartfelt and headlong.” His passionate relationship with God is what comes through consistently.
My verdict? Two stars. This book won’t have a wide appeal.
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 love as Christ loved 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, I will 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. ~ Thomas Merton
Vocation is one of those words Lutherans like to use. Luther taught that each of us has a vocation, or calling, it’s not something reserved for priests, monks and nuns. It can be lived out in the midst of ordinary life. True vocation is that passion I spoke about in my last post. In Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Filled Life when he asked the question, “What on earth am I here for?” Each of us has to answer that question, hopefully in a prayerful way, in order to discover our vocation.
“The liturgy of the Word is prayer. You pray the scriptures with, and for, the people assembled and the words go out to them, touching them in ways that only God can imagine.”
Kathleen Norris
The congregation I belong to, St. Paul’s Free Lutheran, is liturgical. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Liturgy, in Greek, means “work of the people.” It’s something we participate in together, the body of Christ in this place. If prayer is communicating with God, the liturgy is also prayer. In the familiar words, many of them directly from the Scripture we confess to God, we sing His praises, and thank Him. We intercede for others. We offer our gifts for His use.
God speaks to us as well through the reading and sermons. He offers us forgiveness and the gift of His body and blood to strengthen us. He sends us out with renewed minds and spirits to do His work in the world. Here’s a quote by Thomas Merton which reminds me of what the liturgy does:
“….(prayer) is the needle by which we draw the thread of charity through out neighbor’s soul and our own soul and sew ourselves together in one Christ.”
Through the liturgy God weaves us into a community. It doesn’t matter if we are old or young, rich or poor, black or brown or white, educated or ignorant, for this brief time we become one in Christ and it changes us. It changes us because when we pray together, we become God’s kingdom on earth.
How does your worship experience change you? Please send us your comments.
Lutheran Ladies Connection 