Just because I liked it. To be perfectly honest, I haven't read much Merton. A friend (that would be you Mr. Klaszus - if in fact you still lurk around here occasionally) tried to get me into it a while back, when we were in the midst of a heated written debate on just war theory, but I never quite got into it. I'm attempting again. But, I happened to be assigned some passages from Merton for one of my classes, and found a couple of (what I think are) stellar quotes. So, here you go - some Merton to tide you over until I've actually read something of substance by him!
The real purpose of meditation - or at least that which recommends itself as most relevant for the modern man - is the exploration and discovery of new dimensions in freedom, illumination and love, in deepening our awareness of our life in Christ.
What is the relation of this to action? Simply this. He who attempts to act and do things for others or for the world without deepening his own self-understanding, freedom, integrity and capacity to love, will not have anything to give others. He will communicate to them nothing but the contagion of his own obsessions, his agressiveness, his ego-centered ambitions, his delusions about ends and means, his doctrinaire prejudices and ideas. (From "Comtemplation in a World of Action.")
Monday, December 05, 2005
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1 comments:
Good quote~ Merton is a favorite with me, much of what he said has hit home.
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