Be human in this most inhuman of ages; guard the image of man for it is the image of God.
Interpretation
In a time filled with challenges, we must strive to maintain our humanity, as it reflects the divine.
Thomas Merton emphasizes the importance of preserving our human dignity and compassion amidst the dehumanizing aspects of modern life. He suggests that our humanity is not just a personal trait but a reflection of divine qualities, urging us to uphold the values of empathy and kindness in a world that may often feel cold and indifferent.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a discussion on social responsibility in a community meeting.
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.
I haven't any allegiance, any responsibilities, any hatreds, any worries, any prejudices, any passion. I'm neither for nor against. I'm a neutral.
There are ways in, journeys to the center of life, through time; through air, matter, dream and thought. The ways are not always mapped or charted, but sometimes being lost, if there is such a thing, is the sweetest place to be. And always, in this search, a person might find that she is already there, at the center of the world. It may be a broken world, but it is glorious nonetheless.
Sometimes it seems as though each new step towards AI, rather than producing something which everyone agrees is real intelligence, merely reveals what real intelligence is not.
Man is now able to soar into outer space and reach up to the moon; but he is not moral enough to live at peace with his neighbor!
Who can leap the world's ties and sit with me among white clouds?
It is a predisposition of human nature to consider an unpleasant idea untrue, and then it is easy to find arguments against it.
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