Daily Life
Life must provide a space of liberty, of silence, in which possibilities are allowed to surface and new choices become manifest. Thomas Merton
What I wear is pants. What I do is live. How I pray is breathe. Thomas Merton
Waking each morning, ex-
pelled from my space,
somebody
else has taken my place!
So rising to join in the common fray
compelled through the breathless, common day;
I stop,
and I choose,
and I breathe,
and I pray.
poem by Steven Federle

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Feed the Fire
We will never be fully real until we let ourselves fall in love - either with another human person or with God. Thomas Merton
Close to you
I see you breathe.
Your sweet breath
is all I need
to feed the fire,
living desire!
poem by Steven Federle

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We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves.
quote by Thomas Merton

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Free yourself...And Breathe
Think from that place.
Be in that space.
Make it yours...
And breathe.
Free all your doubts.
Toss your troubles out.
Open your windows...
Sniff the air,
And breathe.
Procrastinate.
It's not too late...
To free yourself.
Free yourself...
And breathe.
Think from that place.
Be in that space.
Make it yours...
And breathe.
Procrastinate.
It's not too late...
To free yourself.
Be yourself...
And breathe.
Be yourself...
Free yourself...
And breathe.
Free yourself...
And breathe.
It's not too late.
Be in that space.
Make it yours...
And breathe.
It's not too late.
Be in that space.
Make it yours...
And breathe.
Procrastinate.
Is not your fate.
Free yourself...
And breathe.
Procrastinate.
Is not your fate.
Free yourself...
And breathe.
Free yourself...
And breathe.
Free yourself...
And breathe.
Free yourself...
And breathe.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

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The Window of Being
'Actions are the doors and windows of being. Unless we act we have no way of knowing what we are. ' Thomas Merton
walk
through the door
and do
not stray
in this dark room
silent,
inactive
thin soul of
yesterday's
rain.
no.
break open the window,
and breathe deeply
the light
of being.
poem by Steven Federle

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Breathe Into Me
Breathe your life into me,
Cuz God you are my Savior...
I keep asking what am I here for? ,
God you kept me going, I wasnt strong,
You still loved me, when I was wrong,
God you are awesome, Breathe into me,
God you cleansed me, Breath into me,
God you are glorious, Breathe into me,
God you found me, Breathe into me,
Breathe your life into me....
poem by Krista Thomas

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Morning, Good Friday
Therefore let me know trust in the feelings of my heart. My hope is in what the hand of man has never touched. Do not let me trust what I can grasp between my fingers.
Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude.
Young grass
high and thick
drenched
filled to brim,
by morning sun released
a fury of green, trees
believing that golden day
will stay.
Persist, oh life,
despite the cold of winter,
and beat, my heart!
With tender heat
yet awhile
I'll breathe!
poem by Steven Federle

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Atonement
'There must be a time when the man of prayer goes to pray as if it were the first time in his life he had every prayed.' Thomas Merton
Grey mist
rises and falls
enfolding parched hills
easing autumn's harsh pain
saturating the spreading valley
with gathering rain
and forgiveness.
poem by Steven Federle

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Breathe
I've been driving for an hour
Just talking to the rain
You say I've been driving you crazy
And it's keeping you away
So just give me one good reason
Tell me why I should stay
'Cause I don't want to waste another moment
Saying things we never meant to say
And I take it just a little bit
I hold my breath and count to ten
I've been waiting for a chance to let you in
If I just breathe
Let it fill the space between
I'll know, everything is alright
Breathe every little piece of me
You'll see everything is alright
If I just breathe
Well the talks are overrated
Am I saying how you feel?
So you end up watching chances fade
And wondering what's real
And I get you just a little time
I wonder if you realize
I've been waiting 'til I see it in your eyes
If I just breathe
Let it fill the space between
I'll know, everything is alright
Breathe every little piece of me
You'll see everything is alright
If I just breathe
Breathe 'til I whisper in the dark
Oh can you hear me?
Do you hear me?
If I just breathe
Let it fill the space between
I'll know, everything is alright
Breathe every little piece of me
You'll see everything is alright
Everything is alright
If I just breathe breathe
I've been driving for an hour
Just talking to the rain
song performed by by Michelle Branch

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Shepherd and Abundant Life
Let me breathe the fragrance of the flowers
Let me taste the sweetness of the new day
Let me see the freedom of the oppressed
Ushered in by people who live in liberty.
Let us hear the Voice of the Shepherd
Calling His flock away from devouring wolves
Let us join in our common destiny
to share Life with others much more abundantly.
poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen

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To consider persons and events and situations only in the light of their effect upon myself is to live on the doorstep of hell.
quote by Thomas Merton

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The very contradictions in my life are in some ways signs of God's mercy to me.
quote by Thomas Merton

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The First Moment
A door opens in the center of our being and we seem to fall through it into immense depths which, although they are infinite, are all accessible to us; all eternity seems to have become ours in this one placid and breathless contact.
Thomas Merton, Seeds of Contemplation
The approach is clear;
light of day,
bright sky
beyond my
silken shroud,
the door is open,
but I am afraid.
Should I pass through,
perhaps descend to
endless depths?
I listen,
I hear you calling me
calling me;
come home.
so, breathless,
trembling with life,
I begin.
poem by Steven Federle

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Out of the Silence
"Out of the silence, Light is spoken." Thomas Merton
I walk
into the morning.
Birds
drowse
in the dark,
an unseen breeze
strokes my
arms, my bare neck,
as two cranes
over the edge
of the meadow
rise
as the Holy Spirit
moans
in tones
of morning light.
poem by Steven Federle

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Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul.
quote by Thomas Merton

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We do not exist for ourselves.
quote by Thomas Merton

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Perhaps I am stronger than I think.
quote by Thomas Merton

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A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.
quote by Thomas Merton

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Love in the Afternoon
"Love affects more than our thinking and our behavior toward those we love. It transforms our entire life." Thomas Merton.
I wish
we could live
forever,
our bodies throbbing
with endless desire,
rising higher
with inexorable fire!
Then, would I love you,
unceasingly, like the sun
embracing with eternal light
the constant moon,
beloved wife.
poem by Steven Federle

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It is in the ordinary duties and labors of life that the Christian can and should develop his spiritual union with God.
quote by Thomas Merton

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The least of learning is done in the classrooms.
quote by Thomas Merton

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