If we can, by God’s grace, turn ourselves entirely to Him, and put aside everything else in order to speak with Him and worship Him, this does not mean that we can always imagine Him or feel His presence.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
Do not look for rest in any pleasure, because you were not created for pleasure: you were created for joy. And if you do not know the difference between pleasure and joy you have not yet begun to live.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
“What do you want to want to be, anyway?” “I don’t know; I guess what I want to be is a good Catholic.” “What you should say,” –he told me– “what you should say is that you want to be a saint.”
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
One has to be alone, under the sky, Before everything falls into place and one finds his or her own place in the midst of it all. We have to have the humility to realize ourselves as part of nature.
–Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
A small but persistent discipline is a great force; for a soft drop tailing persistently, hollows out hard rock.
–Saint Isaac of Syria (Seventh Century)
If something has become deeply united with your soul, you should not only regard it as your possession in this life, but believe that it will accompany you into the life to come. If it is something good, rejoice and give thanks to God in your mind; if it is something bad, grieve and sigh, and strive to free yourself from it while you are still in the body.
–Saint Isaac of Syria (Seventh Century)
