Merton and God/Holy Spirit
Posted by Mark Shaw on June 2, 2008
Thomas Merton inspires millions of people with his thoughts about the contemplative life, inclusion of all religions, and the importance, to him, of being with “God alone.” So who is this God that Merton mentions. Recently a good friend asked me if I believed in the devil, and this made me stop and think about what it means to me to believe in God. Here is what I told him:
as I do about God. With God, I cannot put my finger on
a “God,” a material something somewhere who rules all
that occurs in the world. So I don’t worry about that.
I pray each day to God, but I add the Holy Spirit to
the mix since I do believe in it. This is based on a
spirit of some sort guiding my path every second of
the day. I have felt this, seen it, heard it,
whatever, and I know whatever it is has changed my
life completely. This gives me comfort knowing that I
am so blessed with grace especially when I heed the
signs and signals of the Holy Spirit both with doing
things and not doing things. Especially the latter.
a “devil,” some material thing that hovers around and
grabs us to make us do bad or evil things. All I know
is that there is some spirit that creeps into our
minds and causes us to do things that we know are
wrong, illegal, immoral, etc. And I have seen it, felt
it, heard it, whatever, when I think back to very bad
decisions or choices I made. This usually has occured
in my life when I did not measure up to any
responibility and took the easy way out, or cheated,
or did somthing I knew was wrong. For whatever reason,
I could not help myself. Perhaps the temptation was
too strong.
I also told my friend that I believe what is really important, no matter the belief, or lack of any, is to lead one’s life in a Christlike manner. This causes us to stop and think more about others than we do ourselves, prevent suffering wherever possible, comfort those who suffer, and become love and compassion in our interaction with others. What is more important than this?
spiritualway said
Mark
What a beautifully articulated statement of grace spoken from one human being to another!
John
Mark Shaw said
Thank you so much. I do believe that people get wrapped too much in whether there is a God or a Jesus. Whether one is a believer or not, Jesus and how he lived His life serves, as my wife likes to say, as a terrific role model. But really, living a Christlike life is so simple, all one has to do is treat every person in the world the same way he/she would want to be treated. As Merton likes to say, there is a nothingness in the middle of our soul where love shines a special light. Using that light to help, encourage, and inspire others – that is what life is all about.
clary said
I’m so glad to have found this blog!! I will add it to my blogroll and visit again. I love Thomas Merton’s works.
Mark Shaw said
Clary -
Thank you so much for the nice reply. If have anything you wish to pass along to fellow “Mertonists,” I will be pleased to post it. Or, if you have a blog, please let me know I and I will link it.
Blessings and good wishes,
Mark Shaw