A Bullfrog singing OM in the creek

Strange title but it is a little quote from the beginning of Thomas Merton's "The Night Spirit and the Dawn Air" in Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander. I am re-reading it in preparation for the Merton conference on the weekend after Easter at Oakham School. But this is just one of the items that I have on the table at the moment. You will see from this blog that my mind is so full of stuff - is it all rubbish? Who knows but it makes me feel I have a mind awhirl like a blender!

Today is the 30th. anniversary of the murder of Oscar Romero the great archbishop of El Salvador. he was shot while saying Mass by the military for his support of the poor. He was an interesting man who was somewhat relucatantly made Archbishop and at the time was very conservative supporting the status quo. However his exposure to the plight of the poor made him a courageous supporter and those who were marginalised and exploited. He was fearless in opposition to the oppressors and saw clearly the connection of faith and justice in the Christian Gospels. he was an apostolic giant thinking in many ways just like Thomas Merton. I must say that this connection has been the foundation of my own spirituality. It is best summarised by Romero "The beautiful but harsh truth that our Christian faith does not separate us from the world but immerses us in it." To parody a saying from St. Irenaeus in Ancient times he goes on to say "The glory of God is the poor fully alive." I sat Zazen today in my own poverty of Spirit in solidarity with all the poor and exploited of the world.

I have been very distressed about the child abuse and more especially about the secrecy and cover-up. I find annoying so much of the rubbish that is spoken about the role of homosexuality and celibacy as well. Of course I am opposed to an enforced celibacy and it can only be a chosen path it seems to me by those who have that charism. Our sexual preference tool is something biological and comes with us from the womb.

An enormous amount of time has been put into my preparation for the Paschal Triduum and Easter liturgies. It is such an important time and in my arrogance perhaps I work at trying to arrive at what I view is perfection. Am I to caught up in the superficial and trivial? I know that at Zen Mountain Monastery I learnt the importance of liturgy done right and that resonates with my own passion to the liturgy of which I preside being done right! Of course I am also concerned to provide really excellent homilies or do I do this just for self aggrandisement?

Now back to Merton there are such a lot of wonderful quotes in this "Night Spirit" Here's a few that caught my attention.

Here is an unspeakable secret: paradise is all around us and we do not understand. It is wide open. The sword is taken away, but we do not know it.

Our attitude toward nature is simply an extension of our attitude toward ourselves, and toward one another. We are free to be at peace with ourselves and others, and also with nature.

God is asking me the unworthy, to forget my unworthiness and that of all my brothers [and sisters] and dare to advance in the love which has redeemed and renewed us all in God's likeness. And to laugh, after all, at all the preposterous ideas of "worthiness".


Here is one that is very Zen like it seems to me!

Life is, or should be nothing but a struggle to seek truth:yet what we seek is really the truth that we already possess. Truth is mine in the reality of life as it is given to me to live: yet to take life thoughtlessly, passively as it comes , is to renounce the struggle and purification which are necessary. One cannot simply open [one's]eyes and see.

Well I think that is more than enough for now. So back to my own thoughts and await yours too!