Tuesday, February
28, 2012
What to read for today.
Chapter 5: Things in Their Identity
Questions for your personal
reflection.
What is your reaction to Merton’s assertion that “your
sanctity will never be mine and mine will never be yours”? If one accepts his
assertion, how would a parish community be different?
Sharing with others: What
caught your attention or provoked your thinking today?
Such a provocative and rich chapter. Merton’s injunction to scrupulous
honesty is tough medicine. Not
only am I to seek my true identity, I am to do so with absolute integrity. That includes allowing myself to be
seen clearly by others whether or not they approve. Now there’s a Lenten discipline: giving up vanity instead of caffeine and dessert!
Posted by Genevieve
Posted by Second Thoughts
ReplyDeleteThere is so much to think about in this chapter that it is hard to know where to start. What caught my attention today was the reference to masks and the comment that we are not very good at recognizing illusions, especially the ones we cherish about ourselves. I guess this can apply to us individually and collectively as a parish.
I also heard Merton saying that when we play with masks (how we want to see ourselves and how we want others to see us) then we are evading the responsibility of working out our own true identity. Merton points out that we make decisions about this from one moment to the next. This means that all throughout the day, I can choose to be myself or I can put up a mask in my dealings with others or in my dealings with myself.
How would our parish be different if we worked out our individual sanctities and respected the individual sanctity of other people? That's a good question. I guess I have to start with myself - am I acting with integrity at all times? This chapter will prompt me to pay attention to whether I am holding up a mask or showing my true face when I interact with other members of the parish.
I was struck by a couple of things in this section. It reminded me a little of Joseph Campbell in that Merton seems to be that the world is perfect even with or in its imperfections. We should be looking for the beauty in all things and be true to ourselves. By doing this we will find our true selves and God .By not as someone said earlier donning masks but having them fall away- our focus should always be on the real.
ReplyDeleteHe mentions ego-lessness very briefly as if it something that will reappear later in the text.
post by william
From Second Thoughts
DeleteI'm curious: Do you think the points you remarked on have anything to do with Christ Church Deer Park or do they just apply to individuals?
good question- I don't see how it can NOT apply to CCDP as a community- how the community's work or vocation is in Merton's words is to work together with God in the creation of our lives- this gives me pause to think about how i do that in the CCDP community.
Delete