Thomas Merton Quotes
Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul. – Thomas Merton
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. – Thomas Merton
The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. – Thomas Merton
Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm, and harmony. – Thomas Merton
Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another. – Thomas Merton
The more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you, in proportion to your fear of being hurt. – Thomas Merton
Hurry ruins saints as well as artists. – Thomas Merton
Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present, you will never find it. – Thomas Merton
Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real. – Thomas Merton
Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy. – Thomas Merton
Do not be too quick to assume your enemy is a savage just because he is your enemy. Perhaps he is your enemy because he thinks you are a savage. Or perhaps he is afraid of you because he feels that you are afraid of him. And perhaps if he believed you are capable of loving him he would no longer be your enemy. – Thomas Merton
A good meditation is one from which you come back refreshed and energized, rather than defeated or full of doubt. – Thomas Merton
If you want to study the social and political history of modern nations, study hell. – Thomas Merton
Violence is not completely fatal until it ceases to disturb us. – Thomas Merton
The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God’s mercy to me. – Thomas Merton
We do not exist for ourselves alone, and it is only when we are fully convinced of this fact that we begin to love ourselves properly and thus also love others. – Thomas Merton
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. – Thomas Merton
We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves. – Thomas Merton
The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another. – Thomas Merton
To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. – Thomas Merton
Artistic temperament is the disease that afflicts amateurs. – Thomas Merton
There is in all visible things an invisible fecundity, a dimmed light, a meek namelessness, a hidden wholeness. This mysterious unity and integrity is wisdom, the Mother of all, Natura naturans. There is in all things an inexhaustible sweetness and purity, a silence that is a fount of action and joy. It rises up in wordless gentleness and flows out to me from the unseen roots of all created being, welcoming me tenderly, saluting me with indescribable humility. – Thomas Merton
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. – Thomas Merton
Indeed, the truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt. – Thomas Merton
The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. – Thomas Merton
When ambition ends, happiness begins. – Thomas Merton
Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny…we will never be able to come to full and final possession of our being until we have come to possess ourselves. – Thomas Merton
Do not be too quick to assume your enemy is a savage just because he is your enemy. Perhaps he is your enemy because he thinks you are a savage. Or perhaps he is afraid of you because he feels that you are afraid of him. – Thomas Merton
You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope. – Thomas Merton
The gate of heaven is everywhere. – Thomas Merton
The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God’s mercy to me. – Thomas Merton
The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little. – Thomas Merton
Integrity has no need of rules. – Thomas Merton
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. – Thomas Merton
Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another. – Thomas Merton
Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy. – Thomas Merton
Our real journey in life is interior: it is a matter of growth, deepening, and of an ever greater surrender to the creative action of love and grace in our hearts. – Thomas Merton
Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real. – Thomas Merton
One of the moral diseases we communicate to one another in society comes from huddling together in the pale light of an insufficient answer to a question we are afraid to ask. – Thomas Merton
The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves. And not twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise, we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them. – Thomas Merton
You are not big enough to accuse the whole age effectively, but let us say you are in dissent. You are in no position to issue commands, but you can speak words of hope. Shall this be the substance of your message? Be human in this most inhuman of ages; guard the image of man for it is the image of God. – Thomas Merton
Love is the only force that can save us from ourselves. – Thomas Merton
The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer. – Thomas Merton
Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul. – Thomas Merton
Hurry ruins saints as well as artists. – Thomas Merton
Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present, you will never find it. – Thomas Merton
We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves. – Thomas Merton
Artistic temperament is the disease that afflicts amateurs. – Thomas Merton
We do not exist for ourselves alone, and it is only when we are fully convinced of this fact that we begin to love ourselves properly and thus also love others. – Thomas Merton
If you want to study the social and political history of modern nations, study hell. – Thomas Merton