Advent 2 - Feast of Thomas Merton - December 10, 2011

Text: Colossians 2:2-10 (see below)

Today the Church pauses to give thanks for the life of Thomas Merton who was a monk, poet and prolific spiritual writer. He was born in France, educated at Cambridge University in England and Columbia University in New York City. Following his education he taught English for two years at St. Bonaventure before entering the Trappist monastery of Gethsemani near Louisville, Kentucky. There he joined his fellow brothers in a strict rule that called the community to four hours of daily corporate prayer, time for private prayer and contemplation, study, manual labor, and when they were not worshipping God, complete silence.

His writings are spiritual classics and if you have not read them, you should. Works like: Seven Storey Mountain; Seeds of Contemplation; Thoughts in Solitude (my personal favorite); and Life and Holiness. In his work, No Man Is an Island, Merton offers a quote on the arts that I have always admired: “Music and art and poetry attune the soul to God because they induce a kind of contact with the Creator and Ruler of the Universe." After his death in 1968, collections of his writings were published. Another quote of Merton’s that we would do well to reflect upon states: "War represents a vice that mankind would like to get rid of but which it cannot do without. Man is like an alcoholic who knows that drink will destroy him but who always has a reason for drinking. So with war."

Yesterday, as I read the lesson from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Church at Colossae, one phrase jumped out at me and I reflected on it for most of the day: “overflowing in thanksgiving.” It constantly amazes me that Paul, who writes this letter from his prison cell, is full of hope and joy. The Letter to the Colossians is centered on the Good News of Jesus Christ and Paul will not allow his physical setting nor the fact that the end of his earthly life is near to diminish his joy in the Lord and his ability to give thanks.

What are you thankful for today? When was the last time you stopped to give thanks for the blessings in your life? The Native American leader of the Shawnee, Tecumseh, who was born outside of Dayton, Ohio  in 1768, said: “When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with yourself.”

A recent study found that people who practice gratitude were more alert, healthier, slept better, more optimistic, enthusiastic, able to handle stress more effectively, and made extensive progress  towards personal goals than those persons who did not practice such a discipline (University of Miami, “Attitude of Gratitude” website). While researching for this reflection, I found on Amazon.com over 2400 books on the subject of living a life of gratitude. You would think we humans would get the message.

Today is the only day we have. So here is what I am grateful for:

Time to be with my family and friends who love me and support me.

The medical staff at Akron City Hospital who are ministering to a very dear friend of mine.

My camera and its ability to catch amazing moments in life and to bring joy to the persons involved.

Snow! We had our first real snowfall this week and it was beautiful.

Curiosity – and the willingness to explore what is behind the next corner in life.

The opera and what new revelations I might discover today during the broadcast of Gounod’s “Faust”.

What is on your list? Share them with me and my readers by clicking on the Comment link below. I gratefully look forward to reading them.

Love One Another - Brian

There are eleven days to Saint Thomas' Day.

Give Up Being the Center

Simone Weil

We live in a world of unreality and dreams. To give up our imaginary position as the center, to renounce it, not only intellectually but in the imaginative part of our soul, that means to awaken to what is real and eternal, to see the true light and hear the true silence.... To empty ourselves of our false divinity, to deny ourselves, to give up being the center of the world in imagination, to discern that all points in the world are equally centers and the true center is outside the world, this is to consent.... Such consent is love. 

Source: Waiting for God

Colossians 2:2-10

I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe,  and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.