Thomas Merton
New Directions
1970
“Of whom the world was not worthy: wandering in deserts, in mountains and in dens and in caves of the earth.”
(Hebrews 11:38)
I
What should he do now?
Don't place any confidence
in private virtue.
He must control his hunger,
and he must control his tongue.
II
Sit in submission.
Live as clean as possible.
Always be thankful.
These are the ways to practice
the silent presence of God.
III
Keeping his heart safe
can be done by faithfully
listening to it.
It alone knows what is best.
Only then can he do good.
IV
There are more than three
wise men found in the Bible.
Noah, Job, Daniel
can be added to the list
of those who knew to adore.
What should he do now?
Don't place any confidence
in private virtue.
He must control his hunger,
and he must control his tongue.
II
Sit in submission.
Live as clean as possible.
Always be thankful.
These are the ways to practice
the silent presence of God.
III
Keeping his heart safe
can be done by faithfully
listening to it.
It alone knows what is best.
Only then can he do good.
IV
There are more than three
wise men found in the Bible.
Noah, Job, Daniel
can be added to the list
of those who knew to adore.
V
Hating vanity
and a very easy life:
the sine qua non
of freedom from distracting
communitarian strife.
VI
If Abbot Pambo
is right, then he won't even
begin to begin
at the beginning during
this life of obedience.
VII
Brother to Elder:
"How is the fear of God gained?"
Elder to Brother:
"It is gained through poverty,
humility, and mercy."
VIII
Hermit to Hermit:
"Be careful not to water
any vegetables."
The young cenobites could not
outwit these wise old serpents.
IX
This is the monk's work:
love the Lord and hate evil.
This is how it's done:
obeying, meditating,
and walking with Enoch's God.
X
He does not argue.
“You know what you are saying”
is the end of it.
And if someone speaks the truth,
he simply lets his Yes be.
XI
Determination
diminishes once his own
cell is abandoned.
The no-longer-I reminds
him to remain where he is.
XII
First he must flee men,
then he can be led toward
his own salvation.
This penultimate step is
the rooting of not sinning.
XIII
If he asked Father
Moses of old for a good
word, would he tell him
to sit within his cell like
Abbot Moses in Scete?
XIV
How does the elder
know that the laughter he hears
is not an answer
in the presence of the Lord
of the heavens and the earth?
XV
If he thinks his tongue
is a stone within his mouth,
then he can carry
it easier than Abbot
Agatho did for three years.
XVI
It is not anger
that is the matter with him,
but rather whether
it ever gets to his lips.
Silence keeps demons afraid.
XVII
It was much better
for the brother not to sell
the book he stole from
Abbot Anastasius.
He returned then retained it.
XVIII
If you lose yourself
through your anger while trying
to correct someone,
you only gratify your
own passionate ambition.
XIX
At least eating red
flesh and drinking fresh red wine
is not as bad as
devouring your brother
by detracting his person.
XX
It’s better to have
a cellar cave in on you,
than participate
in acts that violate your
level of maturity.
XXI
The difference between
a monk and a perfect one
can be summed up thus:
“...you would not even have looked
...to see that we were women.”
XXII
The brother showed him
his lacerated body
that the dogs and birds
were both responsible for.
With devils its even worse.
XXIII
Abbot Macarius
spoke to Abbot Theodore
about the one thing
that is needful to truly
profit from his three good books.
XXIV
To pray for fourteen
years without ceasing to rid
oneself of anger
is to apply Ephesians
chapter four verse twenty six.
chapter four verse twenty six.
XXV
The most manual
monks are those intimately
tried by temptations.
The measure of their manner
is measured by their manners.
XXVI
Patiently knowing
one's working limitations
is the hidden key
to getting anywhere in
our own virtuous labours.
XXVII
Like a transplanted
tree that does not bear its fruit,
so is the moving
monk who does not remain still.
He can never be planted.
He can never be planted.
XXVIII
Solitude is both
the furnace of Babylon
for those seeking God,
and an ancient pillar of
cloud for those God is seeking.
XXIX
The only response
to those who are traders in
words, and to those who
seek to glory in the words
of another, is silence.
XXX
Once you put into
practice the things that you write
about, then further
hand waving with words is no
longer a necessity.
XXXI
Abbot Moses once
Abbot Moses once
tried fooling a follower
into believing
that he was a heretic
in order to avoid him.
XXXII
There is gluttony
of the flesh and of the soul.
of the flesh and of the soul.
To overcome both
one must fast, but in two ways:
avoid food and avoid fools.
XXXIII
Martha embodied
Paul's pragmatic principle
Martha embodied
Paul's pragmatic principle
"If any man will
not work, neither let him eat."
She's Mary's sine qua non:
She's Mary's sine qua non:
there's no "best part" without her.
XXXIV
Serapion sold
his copy of the Gospels
and gave the money
to the poor because the book
told him to sell and to give.
XXXV
To pray "O God, we
worked hard for the food we eat,
To pray "O God, we
worked hard for the food we eat,
so, thanks for nothing,"
is simply another way
is simply another way
to pray like Abbot Sisois.
XXXVI
To attribute all
To attribute all
things, both good and evil, to
the dispensation
of God's wisdom is the way
that one turns the other cheek.
XXXVII
"There once was a great
hermit in the mountains" is
all you need to know.
Being touched by Poeman's words
is the basis for greatness.
XXXVIII
To pass through the gate
requires rejecting the
turn to the subject.
This makes you realize that no
one ever gets insulted.
XXXIX
Once upon a time
in the valley of the cells
a monk spoke vainly.
It is better to use salt
than it is to speak of it.
XL
Those who sin remain
within the monastery
of necessity.
Abbot Bessarion taught
as much when he walked away.
XLI
He carries on his
back a basket full of holes
back a basket full of holes
that sand falls out of.
What is the basket, what are
the holes, and what is the sand?
XLII
What do we do when
we lose our nerve when sitting
alone in our cells?
What do we do when
we lose our nerve when sitting
alone in our cells?
If we don't despise, condemn,
nor rebuke, then God gives peace.
nor rebuke, then God gives peace.
XLIII
He who said that "Thou
shall not fornicate" also
said "Thou shalt not judge."
Bourgeois hermits must show more
compassion toward themselves.
XLIV
Abbot Ammonas
said: "Sit in your cell and eat
a little each day."
In this way we ask the Lord
to be merciful to us.
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