--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Above all, enter into the Church’s…" description: "\"“Above all, enter into the Church’s liturgy and make the liturgical cycle part of your life—let its rhythm work its way into your body and soul.”\" — Th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/thomas-merton-231_liturgy_above-all-enter-into-the-church-s-liturg_2798305.jpg" --- # Above all, enter into the Church’s liturgy and make the… ![“Above all, enter into the Church’s liturgy and make the liturgical cycle part of your life—let its rhythm work its way into your body and soul.” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/thomas-merton-231_liturgy_above-all-enter-into-the-church-s-liturg_2798305.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/thomas-merton-231_liturgy_above-all-enter-into-the-church-s-liturg_2798305.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/thomas-merton-231_liturgy_above-all-enter-into-the-church-s-liturg_2798305.jpg) > ““Above all, enter into the Church’s liturgy and make the liturgical cycle part of your life—let its rhythm work its way into your body and soul.”” [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Regular participation in liturgy shapes one's spiritual and physical being. **In simple terms:** Church worship rhythm influences body and soul. Key Takeaway Integrate liturgical rhythm into daily life. Themes spirituality ritual embodiment habit Mood contemplative devotional Type spiritual practical When to use this quote - daily mass - personal prayer cycles - spiritual retreats Key Concepts ritual immersion body‑mind integration continuous practice Questions to Reflect On - How can liturgy stay alive personally? - What practices deepen the rhythm’s impact? A Different Perspective Rigid routines may become mechanical without meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Liturgy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liturgy/) ## Related quotes > [“Liturgy puts us to work along with all the others who have been and are being put to work in the world by and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/liturgy-puts-us-to-work-along-with-all-the-others-who-have-been-and/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [“Like a great waterwheel, the liturgical year goes on relentlessly irrigating our souls, softening the ground of our hearts, nourishing the soil of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/like-a-great-waterwheel-the-liturgical-year-goes-on-relentlessly/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Bells call others, but themselves enter not into the Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/bells-call-others-but-themselves-enter-not-into-the-church/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [You should enter a ballpark the way you enter a church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-lee/you-should-enter-a-ballpark-the-way-you-enter-a-church/) [Bill Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-lee/) > [“There are two times we need to use suspension of disbelief when we go to the movies and when we enter a church .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-lanteigne/there-are-two-times-we-need-to-use-suspension-of-disbelief-when-we-go/) [Gerald Lanteigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-lanteigne/) > [“He came to put a harlot above a Pharisee, a penitent robber above a High Priest, and a prodigal son above his exemplary brother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/he-came-to-put-a-harlot-above-a-pharisee-a-penitent-robber-above-a/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [The most urgent task is that of the biblical and liturgical formation of the people of God...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-most-urgent-task-is-that-of-the-biblical-and-liturgical-formation/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [Even the darkest moments of the liturgy are filled with joy, and Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the lenten fast, is a day of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/even-the-darkest-moments-of-the-liturgy-are-filled-with-joy-and-ash/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The liturgical year is the year that sets out to attune the life of the Christian to the life of Jesus, the Christ. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/the-liturgical-year-is-the-year-that-sets-out-to-attune-the-life-of/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Beauty, then, is not mere decoration, but rather an essential element of the liturgical action, since it is an attribute of God himself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/beauty-then-is-not-mere-decoration-but-rather-an-essential-element-of/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Nevertheless, the liturgy of Ash Wednesday is not focussed on the sinfulness of the penitent but on the mercy of God. The question of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/nevertheless-the-liturgy-of-ash-wednesday-is-not-focussed-on-the/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Catholic liturgical music, it would seem, is everywhere but in the Catholic Church itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-morris/catholic-liturgical-music-it-would-seem-is-everywhere-but-in-the/) [Richard Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-morris/) > [I definitely enjoy liturgical work and choral work from the 15th century and 16th century, but I play in churches with a bit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-hecker/i-definitely-enjoy-liturgical-work-and-choral-work-from-the-15th/) [Tim Hecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-hecker/) > [It is more necessary than ever to intensify liturgical life ... by means of an appropriate formation ... of all the faithful...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/it-is-more-necessary-than-ever-to-intensify-liturgical-life-by-means/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods. The liturgical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/prayer-is-meaningless-unless-it-is-subversive-unless-it-seeks-to/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) ## More by Thomas Merton > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of true humility and its power in the spiritual life. For the beginning of humility is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-almost-impossible-to-overestimate-the-value-of-true-humility/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [We are not perfectly free until we live in pure hope. For when our hope is pure, it no longer trusts exclusively in human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-are-not-perfectly-free-until-we-live-in-pure-hope-for-when-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The desire to kill is like the desire to attack another with an ingot of red -hot iron: I have to pick up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-desire-to-kill-is-like-the-desire-to-attack-another-with-an-ingot/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [To enter into the realm of contemplation one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-enter-into-the-realm-of-contemplation-one-must-in-a-certain-sense/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The mission of Christian humility in social life is not merely to edify, but to keep minds open to many alternatives. The rigidity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-mission-of-christian-humility-in-social-life-is-not-merely-to/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/peace-cannot-be-built-on-exclusivism-absolutism-and-intolerance-but/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one-is-responding-to-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Love winter when the plant says nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-winter-when-the-plant-says-nothing/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and applause of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-logic-of-worldly-success-rests-on-a-fallacy-the-strange-error/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“The wisdom of the flesh is a judgement that the ordinary ends of our natural appetites are the goods to which the whole of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-wisdom-of-the-flesh-is-a-judgement-that-the-ordinary-ends-of-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I will no longer wound myself with the thoughts and questions that have surrounded me like thorns: that is a penance You do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-will-no-longer-wound-myself-with-the-thoughts-and-questions-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-write-for-god-you-will-reach-many-men-and-bring-them-joy-if/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Contemplation means rest, suspension of activity, withdrawal into the mysterious interior solitude in which the soul is absorbed in the immense and fruitful silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/contemplation-means-rest-suspension-of-activity-withdrawal-into-the/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) [Explore all 851 Thomas Merton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## More Liturgy quotes > [The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Liturgy gathers the holy community as it reads the Holy Scriptures into the sweeping tidal rhythms of the church year in which the story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/liturgy-gathers-the-holy-community-as-it-reads-the-holy-scriptures/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [“Liturgy puts us to work along with all the others who have been and are being put to work in the world by and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/liturgy-puts-us-to-work-along-with-all-the-others-who-have-been-and/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [ \[John Calvin's\] treatment of the person and work of Christ, of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, of prayer and liturgy,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-d-crisp/john-calvin-s-treatment-of-the-person-and-work-of-christ-of-the-holy/) [Oliver D. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-d-crisp/) > [“I often think of the set pieces of liturgy as certain words which people have successfully addressed to God without their getting killed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-often-think-of-the-set-pieces-of-liturgy-as-certain-words-which/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“There is however, one reason why the arts so rarely accept a mission that IS within the power of the Church to alter. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-nichols-o-p/there-is-however-one-reason-why-the-arts-so-rarely-accept-a-mission/) Aidan Nichols O.P > [“Over the years, my church gave me passage into a menagerie of exotic words unknown in the South: "introit," "offertory," "liturgy," "movable feast," "the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/over-the-years-my-church-gave-me-passage-into-a-menagerie-of-exotic/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“We have everyday habits—formative practices—that constitute daily liturgies. By reaching for my smartphone every morning, I had developed a ritual that trained me toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tish-harrison-warren/we-have-everyday-habits-formative-practices-that-constitute-daily/) [Tish Harrison Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tish-harrison-warren/) > [“Worship, then, needs to be characterized by hospitality; it needs to be inviting. But at the same time, it should be inviting seekers into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/worship-then-needs-to-be-characterized-by-hospitality-it-needs-to-be/) [James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/) > [Give me bitter years of sickness, Suffocation, insomnia, fever, Take my child and my lover, And my mysterious gift of song This I pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/give-me-bitter-years-of-sickness-suffocation-insomnia-fever-take-my/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [The gospel has but a forced alliance with war. Its doctrine of human brotherhood would ring strangely between the opposed ranks. The bellowing speech…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/the-gospel-has-but-a-forced-alliance-with-war-its-doctrine-of-human/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [The real 'action' in the liturgy in which we are all supposed to participate is the action of God himself. This is what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-real-action-in-the-liturgy-in-which-we-are-all-supposed-to/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Ancient worship . . . does truth. All one has to do is to study the ancient liturgies to see that liturgies clearly do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-webber/ancient-worship-does-truth-all-one-has-to-do-is-to-study-the-ancient/) [Robert E. Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-webber/) > [Consumerism is the worship of the god of quantity; advertising is its liturgy. Advertising is schooling in false longing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/consumerism-is-the-worship-of-the-god-of-quantity-advertising-is-its/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [But what else can we do when we're so weak? We invest hours each day, months each year, years each lifetime in something over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/but-what-else-can-we-do-when-we-re-so-weak-we-invest-hours-each-day/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) [Browse all 112 Liturgy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liturgy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Above all, enter into the Church’s liturgy and make the liturgical cycle part of your life—let its rhythm work its way into your body and soul.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Merton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/above-all-enter-into-the-church-s-liturgy-and-make-the-liturgical/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Liturgy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/above-all-enter-into-the-church-s-liturgy-and-make-the-liturgical/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/thomas-merton-231_liturgy_above-all-enter-into-the-church-s-liturg_2798305.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/thomas-merton-231_liturgy_above-all-enter-into-the-church-s-liturg_2798305.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/thomas-merton-231_liturgy_above-all-enter-into-the-church-s-liturg_2798305.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Above all, enter into the Church’s liturgy and make the liturgical cycle part of your life—let its rhythm…” — Thomas Merton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Merton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Above all, enter into the Church’s...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/above-all-enter-into-the-church-s-liturgy-and-make-the-liturgical/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/above-all-enter-into-the-church-s-liturgy-and-make-the-liturgical/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```