Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O.was an American Catholic writer and mystic. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion. In 1949, he was ordained to the priesthood and given the name Father Louis...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth31 January 1915
CityPrades, France
CountryUnited States of America
Thomas Merton quotes about
integrity artist haste
Hurry ruins saints as well as artists. They want quick success, and they are in such a hurry to get it that they cannot take time to be true to themselves. And when the madness is upon them, they argue that their very haste is a species of integrity.
love-is perfection our-love
Business is not the supreme virtue, and sanctity is not measured by the amount of work we accomplish. Perfection is found in the purity of our love for God, and this pure love is a delicate plant that grows best where there is plenty of time for it to mature
peace war fall
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.
learning done classroom
The least of the work of learning is done in the classroom.
ambition ambitious ends
When ambition ends, happiness begins.
prayer silence world
When I am liberated by silence, when I am no longer involved in the measurement of life, but in the living of it, I can discover a form of prayer in which there is effectively no distraction. My whole life becomes a prayer. My whole silence is full of prayer. The world of silence in which I am immersed contributes to my prayer.
destiny thinking our-destiny
Our destiny is to live out what we think, because unless we live what we know, we do not even know it.
visible wholeness
There is in all visible things - a hidden wholeness.
advertising treats reverence
Advertising treats all products with the reverence and the seriousness due to sacraments.
wisdom passion light
The light of truth burns without a flicker in the depths of a house that is shaken with storms of passion and fear.
eye may might
The thing about Zen is that it pushes contradictions to their ultimate limit where one has to choose between madness and innocence. Zen suggests that we may be driving toward one or the other on a cosmic scale. Driving toward them because, one way or the other, as madmen or innocents, we are already there. It might be good to open our eyes and see.
names numbers giving
Others can give you a name or a number, but they can never tell you who you really are. That is something you yourself can only discover from within.
perfection his-love unlimited
Our happiness consists in sharing the happiness of God, the perfection of His unlimited freedom, the perfection of His love.
simplicity firsts overcoming
If we are to love sincerely, and with simplicity, we must first of all overcome the fear of not being loved.