My Journey with Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton a photo by jimforest on Flickr.

This Lent I am spending time daily with Lent and Easter, Wisdom from Thomas Merton, compiled by Montaldo at the Merton Institute for Contemplative Living and published by Ligori Press.  There are a number of texts in this series and all are good.  But I chose to start here.  The source of the reflections come form his book of essays Seasons of Celebrations.

Lent is our "Holy Spring" as Catholics and as part of the journey I have been asked to keep a Lenten Journal.  This is the beginning.  Thomas Merton says, "...Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten fast, is a day of happiness, a Christian feast.   It cannot be otherwise, as if forms part of the great Easter cycle...Lent is not a season of punishment so much as one of healing." (pg. 2)

And so I am asked:  "In what ways do you consider Lent to be a 'a season of celebration?'"

As I thought about this I remember my childhood and the Lenten practices we share as family.  There was of course the standard "offering up" of CANDY.  Now we seldom got candy at my house except at Christmas or Easter, but know that I could not have it still instilled in me the focus on what is important in our lives.   OH!  Don't forget, no ice cream.  Yes, ice cream was always in the freezer!  It was and is a celebration!  I celebrated then as now how we did more things as family.  There was evening Bible reading.  Wednesday night was benediction with a short homily and Friday night was the Stations of the Cross.  I really never felt punished during this season, but I was challenged more to behave in a manner that was more charitable.

Today, that challenge to celebrate is considerably more difficult for me.  I don't have Mom and Dad to monitor my journey.  They aren't here to nudge me in the right direction.  I have to rely on my own will to "celebrate" the journey and traditions that bring us to ultimate celebration, the triumph of the cross! I am guided through Holy scripture, taken by the hand and lead to the ultimate celebration at the Resurrection, the Day that saved the world and gained for us all Eternal Salvation!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

"What does it mean to be a good Catholic?"

Church of the Immaculate Conception
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

For a long time now...I can't put it into hours, days, or months...I have been searching, wondering. It's one of those times of life when the soul is dry, arid and it needs nourishment and I don't seem to know where to find it. Perhaps, I'm looking in the wrong places. I do know I need some guidance.

In reflection today I picked up Mornings with Thomas Merton, 120 Daily Readings and came upon #62.

Another one of those times that turned out to be historical, as far as my own soul is concerned was when Lax and I were walking down Sixth Avenue, one night in the spring. The street was all torn up and trenched and banked high with dirt and marked out with red lanterns where they were digging the subway, and we picked our way along the fronts of the dark little stores, going downtown to Greenwich Village. I forget what we were arguing about, but in the end Lax suddenly turned around and asked me the question:

"What do you want to be, anyway?"

I could not say, "I want to be Thomas Merton the well-known writer of all those book review in the back pages of the Time Book Review," or "Thomas Merton the assistant instructor of Freshman English at the New Life Social Institute for Progress and Culture," so P put the thing on the spiritual plane, where I knew It belonged, and said:

"I don' know. I guess what I want it to be a good Catholic."

"What do you mean, you want to be a good Catholic?"

So I guess that I what I am trying to discern. You see I don't know what that means either.
Who determines what a good Catholic is. It is a fearful thing to feel unsure. I can only hope that that because I have not heard the Spirit speak to me yet, that He will see fit to clear my ears and head so that His words of wisdom will come through loud and clear.

~~^j^~~
For this time of discernment I say a hearty,
"Thanks be to God!"