Contemplative Prayer by Thomas Merton

Author:Thomas Merton [Merton, Thomas]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Christian Theology, Not Read
ISBN: 9780307589538
Publisher: The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group
Published: 1969-03-02T05:00:00+00:00

There is no doubt that the decay of religion has principally proceeded from this preposterous disorder, viz. that in most religious communities active spirits have got the advantage to possess themselves of prelatures and spiritual pastorship over the contemplative, though the state of religion was instituted only for contemplation. And this has happened even since contemplative prayer has been restored by persons extraordinarily raised by God, as Ruysbroeck, Tauler, St. Theresa, etc. … Active spirits that live in religion, not being capable of such prayer as will raise them out of nature, have no apprehension of such employments (i.e. superiorship). On the contrary, being led by natural desires of pre-eminence and love of liberty, they do not fear to offer themselves, and even ambitiously to seek dominion over others, falsely in the meantime persuading themselves that their only motive is charity and the desire to promote the glory of God. … But what the effect is, experience shows.37

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