If you have some acquaintance with Thomas Merton, famous 20th
century monk, and his writings, you might recognize the title of this
inspirational piece to be a play on a title of one of his most famous books, New Seeds of Contemplation. That book might be my favorite from Merton’s
extensive writings. It was originally
published in 1961, some seven years before Merton tragically died in his
mid-50s. What many people---even those
who might know some things about Merton---do not know is this book actually was
a reworking of a previous book. Merton’s
first book was simple called, Seeds of
Contemplation.
I come back to this book by an interesting
happenstance. A friend asked me if I had
a copy of Merton’s book. Apparently she
is in a book club or some group that has chosen to use it. Since she knows I like Merton, she figured I
would have it. Indeed, I do have it; in
fact, I probably have three copies.
There is my original copy with all the underlining and notes in the
margin. I did not give her that
one! Instead, I have somehow accumulated
a couple other copies along the way, so it was easy to hand one of these to
her.
However, between the time I pulled the book off my shelf,
brought it home and then handed it to her, I had time to thumb through the
volume again. Because I teach a seminar
on Merton’s spirituality, I have read the book a few times. It never gets boring to me. And when I began thumbing through the pages,
it was like I had encountered a good friend on the street. Many of the words and phrases were familiar.
But with Merton, even this familiarity is never a
problem. It is always refreshing. I can read passages again that I know pretty
well and they seem true all over again.
I realized that just because something was once true and meaningful,
that does not mean it ceases to be over time.
In fact, it seems the truth and meaning has seeped deeper into my
soul. Let me share a few of these with
you.
I randomly opened the book near the middle. I hit a page that was ending a particular
chapter. I read these words: “Ultimately
faith is the only key to the universe.
The final meaning of human existence, and the answers to questions on
which all our happiness depends cannot be reached in any other way.” Once again, that made perfect sense to
me. I began to think about Merton’s
words.
Of course, we can think about our faith in religious
terms---even Christian terms. But I know
in its root form, faith is not necessarily a religious word. Sometimes, I prefer the synonym, trust. To
have faith is to trust someone or something.
Certainly my faith in God is a form of trust. But I trust my children, my friends and my
students. I think Merton is
correct. Ultimately trust is the only
key to the universe. Notice he does not
say “a” key or, even, “the” key. He says
it is the “only.”
Faith is the way to the meaning of human existence. That does not mean little things along the
way cannot be meaningful; clearly they can.
But ultimate meaning is more faith and less an issue of fact. In my case that means faith in a loving God
who somehow is graciously working in the world---although sometimes it is
difficult to see how and where that grace is at work.
I tried Merton again.
I closed the book and then opened it near the end of the volume. Once more, my eyes landed on a sentence that
seemed important and true. It was a long
sentence, but because it is on contemplation, I quote it entirely. “Contemplative prayer is a deep and
simplified spiritual activity in which the mind and will rest in a unified and
simple concentration upon God, turned to Him, intent upon Him and absorbed in
His own light, with a simple gaze which is perfect adoration because it
silently tells God that we have left everything else and desire even to leave
our own selves for His sake, and that He alone is important to us, He alone is
our desire and our life, and nothing else can give us any joy.”
On one level, this seems monastic and out of reach for most
normally engaged people in the world.
People who have jobs, families, etc. are tempted to see this as the
bailiwick of monks and nuns who have nothing else to do but prayer and
adore. This is simply not true for
me. I contend that we all can be
contemplatives. Contemplation is not
just a monastic privilege. It is a human
privilege.
I can learn and practice contemplative prayer in such a way
that it becomes a simplified spiritual activity. It is an activity I can do while I am
teaching or grading papers. While times
of silence and meditation are helpful to nourish this spiritual activity,
silence and meditation are not required to practice it. Each of us will learn how to tailor our
contemplative practice and living to fit our schedule and way of life.
To live contemplatively is to live in the Presence of the
Holy One. It is to have our life
grounded in the Spirit in order that we might live spiritually. It is less a thing we do and more a way we
live. That is what Merton keeps teaching
me. Finding the book again was a
renewing of contemplation for me.
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