“True solitude is the home of the person, false solitude the refuge of the individualist.” — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
But there is greater comfort in the substance of silence than in the answer to a question. — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
Solitude is a way to defend the spirit against the murderous din of our materialism. — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
There is not true intimacy between souls who do not know how to respect one another's solitude. — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
Solitude and silence teach me to love my brothers for what they are, not for what they say. — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
To be alone by being part of the universe-fitting in completely to an environment of woods and silence and peace. Everything you… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
I shall lead you through the loneliness, the solitude you will not understand; but it is my shortcut to your soul. — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
In this age of crowds in which I have determined to be a solitary, perhaps the greatest sin would be to lament… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
It is in deep solitude and silence that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brother and sister. — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
I have only one desire, and that is the desire for solitude-to disappear into God, to be submerged in His peace, to… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
Not all of us are called to be hermits, but all of us need enough silence and solitude in our lives to… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
“Contemplation means rest, suspension of activity, withdrawal into the mysterious interior solitude in which the soul is absorbed in the immense and… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
When society is made up of men who know no interior solitude it can no longer be held together by love: and… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
Solitude is so necessary both for society and for the individual that when society fails to provide sufficient solitude to develop the… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
“The man who fears to be alone will never be anything but lonely, no matter how much he may surround himself with… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
In order to settle down in the quiet of our own being we must learn to be detached from the results of… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
“I should be able to return to solitude each time as to the place I have never described to anybody, as the… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
“The Christian solitary does not seek solitude merely as an atmosphere or as a setting for a special and exalted spirituality. Not… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more solitary I… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
You have got me walking up and down all day under those trees, saying to me over and over again, "Solitude, solitude."… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
“It is useless to try to make peace with ourselves by being pleased with everything we have done. In order to settle… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
But it certainly is a wonderful thing to wake up suddenly in the solitude of the woods and look up at the… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
The man who fears to be alone will never be anything but lonely, no matter how much he may surround himself with… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
“I hear You saying to me: "I will give you what you desire. I will lead you into solitude. I will lead… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
“Solitude means withdrawal from an artificial and fictional level of being which men, divided by original sin, have fabricated in order to… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
The world of men has forgotten the joys of silence, the peace of solitude, which is necessary, to some extent, for the… — Thomas Merton Copy Share Image
“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of true humility and its power in the spiritual life. For the beginning of humility is… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
We are not perfectly free until we live in pure hope. For when our hope is pure, it no longer trusts exclusively in human… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
The desire to kill is like the desire to attack another with an ingot of red -hot iron: I have to pick up the… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
To enter into the realm of contemplation one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance to a… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
The mission of Christian humility in social life is not merely to edify, but to keep minds open to many alternatives. The rigidity of… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and applause of… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
“The wisdom of the flesh is a judgement that the ordinary ends of our natural appetites are the goods to which the whole of… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
I will no longer wound myself with the thoughts and questions that have surrounded me like thorns: that is a penance You do not… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
If you write for God you will reach many men and bring them joy. If you write for men--you may make some money and… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
“Contemplation means rest, suspension of activity, withdrawal into the mysterious interior solitude in which the soul is absorbed in the immense and fruitful silence… — Thomas Merton Copy Share
