A Merton minute will be a regular feature of Toward God. Once a month we will consider some of his writings on various subjects. Today from his book, Contemplative Prayer, a quote on meditation.
Meditation is not merely the intellectual effort to master certain ideas about God or to even impress upon our minds the mysteries of our Catholic faith. Conceptual knowledge of religious truth has a definite place in our life, and that place is an important one. Study plays an essential part in the life of prayer. The spiritual life needs strong intellectual foundations. The study of theology is a necessary accompaniment to a life of meditation. But meditation itself is not “study” and is not a purely intellectual activity. The purpose of meditation is not merely to acquire or to deepen objective and speculative knowledge of God and of the truth revealed by him. In meditation we do not seek to know about God as though he were an object like other objects which submit to our scrutiny and can be expressed in clear scientific ideas. We seek to know God himself, beyond the level of all objects which he has made and which confront us as “things” isolated from another, “defined,” “delimited,” with clear boundaries. The infinite God has no boundaries and our minds cannot set limits to him or to his love.
From the outset let me say that I don’t agree with all of Merton’s theology. I also understand the things that informed and formed him in his pursuit of Christ. Having said that though, Merton has much for us to consider as we also pursue Christ and live a life of faith.
In today’s quote, there are two things that jump out for me. The idea of learning about God and his word intellectually and its affect on our prayer life, stands out for me. For a long time in my faith journey, I had a hard time considering the formal study of theology as having any real connection to my faith experience. The study of theology for me was just like the academic study of psychology or philosophy. I have since learned how wrong I was, and can totally affirm what Merton is saying here.
The other important idea, has to do with how we consider meditation. Particularly, the ways in which we think about God and how we are to seek to know him not just about him. So much has to do with our attitudes and personal agendas as we seek after God.
What pops out for you in these thoughts of Merton? How is it that meditation informs and transforms you in your seeking after God?
Picture: Thomas Merton
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” In meditation we do not seek to know about God as though he were an object like other objects which submit to our scrutiny and can be expressed in clear scientific ideas. We seek to know God himself, beyond the level of all objects which he has made and which confront us as “things” isolated from another, “defined,” “delimited,” with clear boundaries. The infinite God has no boundaries and our minds cannot set limits to him or to his love. ”
For me, what Merton says in this quote is most key to his relationship with God and appreciating his writings. I’ve personally found that to most ‘professing’ Christians, when pressed, God is nothing more than a concept contained within the pages of a leather bound book. He is not living and real to them. A view I’ve never felt comfortable with, somehow knowing it fell short of what was possible and meant to be. This awareness and longing desire probably became most pronounced to me when Phil 3:10 & 11 ( http://bit.ly/TBdyE ) hit home.
This is where meditation comes in. To be still, acknowledge my place and relationship with God, and know, He IS LORD. Yes, there is more to meditation than that, but taking the time to have a period of solitude with Him is the starting point of having communion with my Creator and Savior. Not holding onto bound pages of inked words, which by themselves can never really hold me in their arms and wrap me with Love. It is in these moments I spend with Him, that what He has said in the Bible now come to life, touch my heart, and change my life; and that still small voice can now be clearly heard.
jeff.
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