During Advent, I am focusing on the idea of surprise. And this quote spoke to me about that in some way. Thought someone might enjoy:
“The need for discipline is the same need for watchfulness, for readiness, as in the parable. The ones who wait for the Lord must have oil in their lamps and the lamps must be trimmed. …[Monastic discipline] implies cultivation of certain inner conditions of awareness, of openness, of readiness for the new and the unexpected.”
Thomas Merton
December 22, 2006 at 4:37 pm
Although I have been a reader and admirer of TM for four decades now, I no longer follow him blindly without questions. Today’s reference to him immediately makes me question the implied proposition that discilplne – whether in a monastic setting or outside the cloistered walls – must precede grace. Charis