24 Quotes by Thomas Merton about Spiritual

  • Author Thomas Merton
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    At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes of our life, which is inaccessable to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will. This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us.

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  • Author Thomas Merton
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    Good moral actions are not enough. Everything in us, from the very depths, must be cleansed and reordered...

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  • Author Thomas Merton
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    Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.

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  • Author Thomas Merton
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    Detachment from things does not mean setting up a contradiction between 'things' and 'God' as if God were another thing and as if creatures were His rivals. We do not detach ourselves from things in order to attach ourselves to God, but rather we become detached from ourselves in order to see and use all things in and for God.

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  • Author Thomas Merton
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    The degradation of the sense of symbol in modern society is one of its many signs of spiritual decay.

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  • Author Thomas Merton
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    Contemplation is life itself, fully awake, fully active, and fully aware that it is alive. It is spiritual wonder. It is spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life, of being. It is gratitude for life, for awareness, and for being. It is a vivid realization of the fact that life and being in us proceed from an invisible, transcendent, and infinitely abundant Source.

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  • Author Thomas Merton
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    For perfect hope is achieved on the brink of despair, when instead of falling over the edge, we find ourselves walking on air.

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  • Author Thomas Merton
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    Life is not accomplishing some special work but attaining to a degree of consciousness and inner freedom which is beyond all works and attainments.

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  • Author Thomas Merton
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    On Pride: This sickness is most dangerous when it succeeds in looking like humility. When a proud man thinks he is humble his case is hopeless.

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