Saturday,
April 7, 2012 ~ Holy Saturday
What to read for
today.
Chapter 39:The General Dance
Questions for your
personal reflection.
As you complete this reading study, are there any ways that
it gave you insight into “His call and His mysterious, cosmic dance”?
Look back
at your initial hopes and reservations. To what extent were these fulfilled?
Sharing with others:
What caught your attention or provoked your thinking today?
I still
remain confused about Merton’s conception of God. Even though Merton concedes
that Scripture is poetry as opposed to literal history, his God is still doing
things like making humans, revealing himself, confronting people, and living
out dogma by becoming human. I continue
to wrestle with Merton’s insistence that God is a Who, a Person. And yet, when
Merton writes of the “cosmic dance” I am right there with him. I get that we are in the midst of it
and that it permeates everything. And I couldn’t agree more when Merton says we
are invited to forget ourselves, cast solemnity to the winds and join in the
general dance.
Posted by Genevieve
Posted by Second Thoughts
ReplyDeleteA beautiful chapter to end this Lenten reading study, with a lyrical yet practical way to see Christian life. Identities disappearing: God in Man and Man in God such that everyone participates in defencelessness and weakness as well as glory and immortality.
I also take note of Merton's comment that a man's exterior self is a mask that might also be a disguise for that man's inner life or even "God, wandering as a pilgrim and exile in His own creation." A thought to remember. Perhaps my last golden nugget from this study to try to apply to daily life. According to Merton "there should be no one on earth in whom we are not prepared to see, in mystery, the presence of Christ."
I don't now remember what my initial hopes were for this study. I will have to look back. But all in all, Merton gave me many insights into the cosmic dance, especially in the last few chapters, but also in one of the earliest chapters where he wrote that leaves, trout, colts and mountains are all sacred. He also encouraged me to respect the interior life and to see that there is much room to develop and grow as a Christian.
I am going to miss my daily encounters with Thomas Merton and the others who blogged (or maybe just joined us in spirit) and I appreciated this very much.
From Genevieve
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe that more than 40 calendar days have passed since the start of this reading study and that there are just a few more hours left of Lent. I found this study very rewarding. I read for the initial blogs and every day after that as part of my own discipline. Believe it or not, I can't wait to re-read New Seeds of Contemplation at a slow and leisurely pace. I keep finding more new things in it with every read as well as from the blog postings which helped me slow down and see what I might be missing in his words.
Frequently, I gave in to the temptation to critique Merton and disagree with him, so I spent less time applying his teachings as was correctly pointed out. But never fear. There are endless opportunities for application. Right now something is new is opening up for me and this is a perfect opportunity to practise the kind of faith, trust and surrender that Merton urges and to remind myself that the outer or false self is a self-constructed illusion that just thinks it is in charge. That last bit dies hard. So, I am likely to be referring back to the pages of this and other Merton books over the next few months.
I would like to thank Samantha Caravan for re-introducing the idea of a reading study to this parish with last Lent's Bonhoeffer study and for supporting this 2012 initiative. Merton and contemplation aren't for everyone and I appreciated her willingness to give this opportunity to those of us who might want to take it up. I know that there were more people who purchased New Seeds of Contemplation than were moved to go online which was sometimes challenging to do because of the technicalities of the blog etc. I thank everyone who cracked the cover of New Seeds of Contemplation, no matter how they decided to proceed with the book (or even if they didn't). I will always be open to hearing people's thoughts and reactions about it and would welcome further conversations.
Happy Easter to all.
the self is unimportant. A concept that we all need to remember. Truly ego is the most divisive force in the world today- and apparently has been for years.
ReplyDeleteMerton in this last reflection tell me that we are all one - Me, God, you- all of us .
Merton has said a lot to me over the lenten season.
i hope I'll be able to live at least some of it more fully and mindfully
post by william
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