Seeds of Contemplation

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From Thomas Merton (1961)

Every expression of the will of God is in some sense a “word” of God, and therefore a “seed” of new life. . .

In all the situations of life the will of God comes to us not merely as an external dictate of impersonal law but above all as an interior invitation of personal love. . .

If these seeds would take root in my liberty, and if His will would grow from my freedom, I would become the love that He is, and my harvest would be His glory and my own joy.

I must learn therefore to let go of the familiar and the usual and consent to what is new and unknown to me. I must learn to leave myself in order to find myself by yielding to the love of God. If I were looking for God, every event and every moment would sow, in my will, grains of His life that would spring up one day in a tremendous harvest.

Excerpted from Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation. (New York: New Directions, 1961), 14-17.

Thanks to Ron Walker for sharing this.

Published by Stephen Isaacson

Stephen Isaacson is Prior of the Cornerstone Community, a lay Benedictine group within Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. He has served in many other roles in the Cathedral and is currently the Co-coordinator of Outreach Ministries at the Cathedral. Prior to his involvement with Outreach or the Cornerstone Community, Steve was Professor of Special Education at Portland State University, where he also served as Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Education. During his career in academia, he authored a number of juried publications and instructional materials.

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