A Search for Solitude by Thomas Merton

Author:Thomas Merton
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780061753701
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2020-08-16T16:00:00+00:00

July 22, 1958. F. of Mary Magdalen

The other day, taking the discipline while thunder crashed and rain poured down outside…

We are remodelling the novitiate chapel (in part). Tore out the two crazy booths that served as “sacristies”–moved back the so-called “sanctuary step.” There will be only two altars. Getting paint, fabrics to hang behind the altar, Kentile. Hope we will be finished by Assumption.

No reply from Lombardi. Dreamt that Rev. F. was angry about my letter.

Tried a “sortes” [random opening] in Scripture and got:

Go not into the way of the Gentiles nor to the cities of the Samaritans

But go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.

Wait–and if in time the thing develops–tell the General or someone like that. Wait perhaps a few more years.

While I think of going to the intellectuals, Rev. F. wrote a contemptuous letter from Utah about the arty people of Aspen Colo calling them “playboys”–and some hot air phrase about them which made me indignant–especially in the context of all his talk about bulls and chickens.

Letter from Jaime Andrade and ideas about the statue.

Camus’ La chute [The Fall]. I admit is too long.

Purity of Faith. The need to struggle with Truth–and my inability, unwillingness to do so. To go out every day and face the same mental wall. But this Truth is not far away from me. I do not mean the Truth of the whole world–just my own Truth. I both am and am not the Truth that I seek and there lies the difficulty.

Read an article of Jung which Fr. Matthew tore out of something or other. A good one, but full of ambiguities. One wonders if he knows just what he is talking about when he tries to talk about religion.

Howard Gold here. Ad Reinhardt in Afghanistan. And all this trouble in Lebanon not Ky.–but the Near East.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.