Thomas Merton was extraordinary. He died fifty years ago today but his writings revealed a gospel and form of Christianity I could get on board with. There were so many barriers to my coming back to church, so many things I couldn't agree with, but through Merton and those like him I understood that what I perceived Christianity to be wasn't necessarily what it is. This passage of Merton's writing is included in today's Richard Rohr reflection;
Contemplation... is a vivid realization of the fact that life and being in us proceed from an invisible, transcendent and infinitely abundant Source. Contemplation is above all, awareness of the reality of that Source. It knows the Source, obscurely, inexplicably, but with a certitude that goes both beyond reason and beyond simple faith. . . .
At Christmas we get ready to welcome the Source, to be alongside it, to know it lived and breathed among us.
Today I felt joyful telling patients they could go home, thankful I don't have a 5am alarm tomorrow and helpless walking alongside people in emotional pain.
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Isaiah 45.21
Who declared it of old?
Isaiah 45.21
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