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Thomas Merton

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Famous Thomas Merton Quotes

“Persons are not known by intellect alone, not by principles alone, but only by love. It is when we love the other, the enemy, that we obtain from God the key to an understanding of who he is, and who we are. It is only this realization that can open to us the real nature of our duty, and of right action.”

LifePersonsRealActionUnderstandingKnownEnemyPrinciplesDutyKeysIntellectRealizationWho We AreRight Action
Book:The Hidden Ground of Love: Letters
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“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.”

IfsWayHeartPersonsWarSelfProblemBigsRealityWould BeEyeDesireFallPeaceSinSecretSawsWorshipHatredDown AndDepthGreedCoreCrueltySelf KnowledgeFalling DownUbuntuBig ProblemsCenteringSpiritual Eyes
Author:Thomas Merton
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“It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more solitary I am, the more affection I have for them. It is pure affection, and filled with reverance for the solitude of others. Solitude and silence teach me to love my brothers for what they are, not for what they say.”

I CanSilenceTeachBrotherPureSolitudeFilledAffectionMy BrotherSolitaryGentlenessSingleBeing SingleCompassion For OthersLove My Brother
Book:The Sign of Jonas
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“We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and God is shining through it all the time. God manifests Himself everywhere, in everything - in people and in things and in nature and in events ... The only thing is we don't see it ... I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere.”

PeopleWorldGivenHeavenVisionSeeingEventsProgramShiningAweGatesTransparentGates Of HeavenShining Through
Author:Thomas Merton
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“The only true liberty is in the service of that which is beyond all limits, beyond all definitions, beyond all human appreciation: that which is All, and which therefore is no limited or individual thing: The All is no-thing, for if it were to be a single thing separated from all other things, it would not be All.”

IfsHumansSpiritualSpiritualityIndividualLibertyLimitsDefinitionsAppreciation
Book:Choosing to Love the World: On Contemplation
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“Silence has many dimensions. It can be a regression and an escape, a loss of self, or it can be presence, awareness, unification, self-discovery. Negative silence blurs and confuses our identity, and we lapse into daydreams or diffuse anxieties. Positive silence pulls us together and makes us realize who we are, who we might be, and the distance between these two.”

TwoSelfMightTogetherRealizingLossSilenceAwarenessIdentityAnxietyDiscoveryNegativeDistanceSelf DiscoveryWho We AreDimensionsDaydreamingBlurLapsesUnificationRegression
Book:Love and Living
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“Are they moved by a sense of human need for silence, for reflection, for inner seeking? So they want to get away from the noise and tension of modern life, at least for a little while, in order to relax their minds and wills and seek a blessed healing sense of inner unity, reconciliation, integration?”

WantNeedsMindHumansLittlesOrderHealingSilenceModernReflectionBlessedMovedUnitySeekingNoiseTensionRelaxGet AwayIntegrationReconciliationModern LifeHuman Needs
Book:Love and Living
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“As long as we are on earth, the love that unites us will bring us suffering by our very contact with one another, because this love is the resetting of a body of broken bones. Even saints cannot live with saints on this earth without some anguish. There are two things which men can do about the pain of disunion with other men. They can love or they can hate.”

MenLongTwoBodyEarthPainSufferingHateCan DoLove IsMeditationBrokenSaintBonesContactTwo ThingsAnguishHate MeBroken Bone
Book:New Seeds of Contemplation
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“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep inexpressible certitude of the contemplative experience awakens a tragic anguish and opens many questions in the depths of the heart like wounds that cannot stop bleeding.”

HeartDoubtMeditationConflictDepthContraryWoundsContemplationTragicAnguishBleedingContemplativeCertitude
Book:New Seeds of Contemplation
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“Some of us need to discover that we will not begin to live more fully until we have the courage to do and see and taste and experience much less than usual... And for a man who has let himself be drawn completely out of himself by his activity, nothing is more difficult than to sit still and rest, doing nothing at all. The very act of resting is the hardest and most courageous act he can perform.”

MenInspirationalNeedsStillsActionSpiritualDifficultMeditationTasteActivityHardestCourageousUsualDoing Nothing
Author:Thomas Merton
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