And of course most non-Catholics imagine that the Church is immensely rich, and that all Catholic institutions make money hand over fist, and that all the money is stored away somewhere to buy gold and silver dishes for the Pope and cigars for the College of Cardinals.
Thomas MertonThe solution of the problem of life is life itself. Life is not attained by reason and analysis but first of all by living.
Thomas MertonI can depend less and less on my own power and sense of direction...It is so strange to advance backwards and get where you are going in a totally unexpected way
Thomas MertonAnd that is why the man who wants to see clearly, before he will believe, never starts on the journey.
Thomas MertonAs long as we are on earth, the love that unites us will bring us suffering by our very contact with one another, because this love is the resetting of a body of broken bones. Even saints cannot live with saints on this earth without some anguish. There are two things which men can do about the pain of disunion with other men. They can love or they can hate.
Thomas Merton