To renounce myself to serve truth and to patiently minister to individuals who, one by one, come needing help. To see their need, and try to minister to it, and not worry about results, or rewards. [Journals 4: 280 Christmas Day, 1962]
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Merton was a flawed man, as I am a deeply flawed woman. Yet here he seems to understand the idea of service in the spirit of mercy...
The less self-centered I am, the more likely I am to be useful to God.
Why do I want to be useful to God?
Because I love God so much it hurts if I try to keep it to myself. And even that love is a gift from God. On this Christmas Eve, I pray for the mindfulness to be aware of the next person God has put into my path whom I may serve, and who by allowing that service will teach me to love.
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Thank you for this Thomas Merton quote...a kind and gentle reminder of how we need to be in the world.
ReplyDeleteDuncan Saunders