Ash Wednesday is full of joy...The source of all sorrow is the illusion that of ourselves we are anything but dust.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that recognizing our humble, transient nature can lead to joy, as it frees us from the illusion of self-importance.
Thomas Merton's quote reflects on the duality of human existence, emphasizing that while we often grapple with sorrow and the weight of our own significance, true joy emerges from the understanding that we are simply a part of the larger cycle of life. By acknowledging our mortal condition as mere dust, we can shift our perspective and find peace and happiness in our shared humanity rather than in illusory self-importance.
In practice
In a speech about acceptance and humility, one might reference Merton's idea to illustrate how understanding our place in the world can alleviate burdens.
The devil is no fool. He can get people feeling about heaven the way they ought to feel about hell. He can make them fear the means of grace the way they do not fear sin. And he does so, not by light but by obscurity, not by realities but by shadows; not by clarity and substance, but by dreams and the creatures of psychosis. And men are so poor in intellect that a few cold chills down their spine will be enough to keep them from ever finding out the truth about anything.
Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny....To work out our identity in God.
Conscience is the light by which we interpret the will of God in our own lives.
You are made in the image of what you desire.
But if you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I think I am living for.
I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.
Every child saved with my help and the help of all the wonderful secret messengers, who today are no longer living, is the justification of my existence on this earth, and not a title to glory.
After great pain, a formal feeling comes. The Nerves sit ceremonious, like tombs.
The Torah is the foundational text for Jewish law, but the Haggadah is our book of living memory. We are not merely telling a story here. We are being called to a radical act of empathy. Here we are, embarking on an ancient, perennial attempt to give human lives - our lives - dignity.
Which is it? Is man only a blunder of God? Or is God only a blunder of man?
How we conduct ourselves in this life will determine what we will be in all the eternities to come. To receive the blessings of the sealing that our Heavenly Father has given to us, we have to keep the commandments and conduct ourselves in such a way that our families will want to live with us in the eternities.
The best government is that which teaches us to govern ourselves.
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