merton moments

i came across a book today my father had sent me prior to his passing away. i had put it aside because some of the titles he sent me, i was not ready for yet, i.e., basil penington centering prayer, lectio divina, other deeper things of God that he was right on with but i was like "are you kidding me?" when i started to read them.

i found the monastic journey by thomas merton last night when i was moving some books around. i started reading it today, but think it may be one of those books you can only read a little at a time of because you want to let it soak in. in the first chapter entitled what is the monastic life?, i highlighted this sentence, when referring to a monk:

A monk would be out of character if he tried to argue everybody into admitting that his life is justified. He expects merely to be taken as he is, judged for what he is, because he does not waste time trying to convince others or even himself that he amounts to anything very special.

wouldn't that be a good rule to apply to everyone in every day life, not just a monk's?

also, i thought i'd share the inscription i just came across, from my dad:

Daughter:

Your abbey is your home. Your family, your monastic community. Live like this, in Christ, and you will be the nun you want to be.

Love, Dad

is that awesome or what? after 23 years of not being in touch, not knowing who i was, when we reunited for our short time (via telephone and internet), he not only listened, he understood.

i am in puddles.

5 comments:

Rebecca said...

What a lovely inscription - and such a blessing. Soak up the book, it will cuddle your heart.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the highlight. It's perfect. And your father... what a sweetie. Hey, here's a tintalizing tidbit - Thomas Merton and Catherine Doherty were contemporaries and friends. They exchanged letters over many years. ;)

~pen~ said...

kalanna - mayday mayday - something's up with your blog woman!! you are having a blogging crisis like i did last week (hence the change in my formatting...)

thank you both for your replies. i love this book but with so much going on, i am glad i can only read a little at a time.

(i still want to live at a monastery :)

Julie D. said...

The thing I love is that your dad knew you needed a monastery. You are like Elena in your "domestic church".

Have you ever read This House of Brede by Rumer Godden? It is one of my all-time favorites but may be hard to find. Most libraries seem to have it. I think it gives a very good look at life in the cloister, especially as she lived at the gate house of some nuns for some time to be sure she got the details right.

~pen~ said...

julie, i've not heard of that book but am seeking it out already on powells.com - usually they can find the hard-to-find.

also - who is elena?

p