contemplation is for everyone
DESCRIPTION
This is a guide to contemplation, inspired by the monk Thomas Merton. I created this introduction to the contemplative life, as a final project for a seminar on Thomas Merton, for people who have never read Merton (and maybe never will!)TRANSCRIPT
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according to Thomas Merton
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Contemplation is for everyone, including you.
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The beginning of contemplation is opening the eye of your heart
to be filled with a God who is alive.
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You are rooted and grounded in love . . .
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. . . but God’s Love-speech is so silent that you can only hear it when:
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your heart is silent
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and empty.
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If you dare penetrate your own silence,
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You will recover the union in your heart between your inmost self and God’s
spirit.
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Commit to your deepest self: the image of God in your own soul.
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Take responsibility for your inner life.
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Why?
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to see life in a different perspective.
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to regain a clearer vision.
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to appreciate Christian truth more sharply.
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to give yourself to ministry on a new level.
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to forget yourself so that your existence
becomes sacrificial and dedicated to others.
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This is the social maturing of love.
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How?
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Renounce diversion – movement, activity, useless talk.
Withdraw from the babel of confusion.
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Find God within you through the people who love you.
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Be alone in silence.
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Work your way through the darkness of your own mystery.
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Be critical of yourself, first of all.
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The obligation to be spiritually mature is difficult
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and humbling.
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Center on the love of God, and God’s will.
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Risk sharing the solitude of your heart with someone else who seeks God
through you and with you.