This month’s contemplative profile by historian Lisa Deam is Thomas Merton:

In several of his written works, Thomas Merton explores the idea of the spiritual life as a journey. While we may like to envision our path as being clearly laid out and free of obstruction, Merton realizes that in reality we’re often groping in the dark. He highlights one of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith—we travel, sometimes blindly, to a destination that we already possess. His reflections on life’s journey offer hope as we take the road to Bethlehem this Advent season.

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“In one sense we are always traveling, and traveling as if we did not know where we were going. In another sense we have already arrived. We cannot arrive at the perfect possession of God in this life, and that is why we are traveling and in darkness. But we already possess Him by grace, and therefore, in that sense, we have arrived and are dwelling in the light. But oh! How far have I to go to find You in Whom I have already arrived!” (The Seven Storey Mountain)

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“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 that 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 will I 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.” (Thoughts in Solitude)

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Reflection: Where am I on my journey with God today?

 

About Lisa Deam

Lisa Deam writes and speaks about Christian spiritual formation from a historical perspective. She’s the author of A World Transformed: Exploring the Spirituality of Medieval Maps. Visit her on Twitter @LisaKDeam and at lisadeam.com.