So I'm a little bit obsessed with Thomas Merton. I have a quote from him at the bottom of my email, I've read several of his books, I even spent a week last year on a silent retreat in the monastery he called home. For those of you who don't know him, he was a trappist monk who spent 30 some years living in the silence of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky. You can learn more at www.monks.org.
Anyway, I'm currently reading a compilation of his prayers, journal entries, and sketches called "Dialogues with Silence." I don't want to be a monk, or live in a monastery, or where a robe (although I do enjoy pajama day.), I think maybe I'm just jealous because my life currently is the complete absence of silence. I also think these "contemplatives" can offer the rest of us a lot of wisdom. Daily I find myself sharing one of these prayers or entries with someone in a conversation. I've whipped this book out of my backpack at least 3 times in conversations with Steve in the past week. So I thought I'd post one here that I keep coming back to. The honesty and trust in this prayer have challenged me over and over again. Maybe it will speak to you...
"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please You. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
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3 comments:
No one will ever accuse me of being too silent, that is for sure. But, silent or not, the prayer of your favorite contemplative sounds much like the ones this loud mouth has been praying lately...Lord, search my heart and I pray you find in it a desire to follow you. Lord, correct me if the ways in which I am seeking to do that are not your ways...
Great to see you are back posting again!
a silent retreat sounds great... can i bring my mp3 player? jk. :)
that quote from merton is really amazing... it reminds me of the c.s. lewis quote that inspired the name of the band sixpence none the richer... it is like a small child going to its father and saying, 'daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present.' of course, the father does, and he is pleased with the child's present. it is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction. (from mere christianity) ah, such good stuff... what a great way to look at worship and giving and service...
i am also glad to see you returning to blogging. :)
oooohhhh. Good prayer. Leave it sitting on the kitchen table some day. I'd love to look through it.
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