When I pray for peace, I pray not only that the enemies of my own country may cease to want war, but above all that my country will cease to do the things that make war inevitable.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of seeking peace not just from external enemies, but also by addressing the actions that lead to conflict within one's own country.
Thomas Merton highlights a profound perspective on peace in this quote. He underscores that true peace is not simply the absence of war imposed by external forces, but rather a deep, reflective commitment to eliminate the root causes of conflict within one's own nation. This involves a conscientious effort to understand and rectify the behaviors and policies that contribute to hostility, advocating for a more conscientious and peaceful approach to international relations.
In practice
Quoting Thomas Merton during a peace rally to emphasize the need for internal reflection on war policies.
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.
Beyond drama and chaos, beyond anxiety and fear, lies a zone of endless peace and love. Let's all take a very deep breath, slow down for just a moment and remember this. That alone will open the door.
A great many people are trying to make peace, but that has already been done. God has not left it for us to do; all we have to do is to enter into it.
It is true that large parts of the world have not had to endure state-to-state wars for decades. The majority of the world's nations have also been spared the scourge of civil wars, although many have known violence from revolutionary insurrection.
One has to understand what the enemy is all about: the enemy's history, the enemy's culture, the enemy's aspirations. If you understand these well, you can perhaps move towards peace.
We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living.
No guns but only brotherhood can resolve the problems.
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