I can only become perfectly free by serving the will of God.
Interpretation
True freedom comes from adhering to one's spiritual purpose and serving a higher power.
In this quote, Thomas Merton suggests that the essence of true freedom is not found in pursuing personal desires or worldly achievements but rather in aligning oneself with the divine will. By serving God, individuals find a deeper sense of liberation that transcends mere autonomy, leading to fulfillment and peace that comes from a higher calling.
In practice
In a sermon about faith and purpose, this quote can inspire congregants to seek God's will in their lives.
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.
It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.
The person who talks most of his own virtue is often the least virtuous.
The deceitfulness of the heart of man appears in no one thing so much as this of spiritual pride and self-righteousness. The subtlety of Satan appears in its height, in his managing persons with respect to this sin. And perhaps one reason may be that here he has most experience; he knows the way of its coming in; he is acquainted with the secret springs of it: it was his own sin. Experience gives vast advantage in leading souls, either in good or evil.
Being a Christian is more like having your soul possessed by a spirit than having your mind clothed with new beliefs... It is like being haunted by the Holy Ghost.
There's no black and white in this world; it's all grey. That's what people are like! No one think they're a baddie. Everyone thinks they're trying to do their bit to make the world a better place.
Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody can read.
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