--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The lights of prayer that make us imagine…" description: "\"The lights of prayer that make us imagine we are beginning to be angels are sometimes only signs that we are finally beginning to be men. We do not hav..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/300/thomas-merton-231_angel_the-lights-of-prayer-that-make-us-imagin_282025.jpg" --- # The lights of prayer that make us imagine we are beginning… ![“The lights of prayer that make us imagine we are beginning to be angels are sometimes only signs that we are finally beginning to be men. We do not have a high enough opinion of our own nature. We think we are at the gates of heaven and we are only just beginning to come into our own realm as free…” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/300/thomas-merton-231_angel_the-lights-of-prayer-that-make-us-imagin_282025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/300/thomas-merton-231_angel_the-lights-of-prayer-that-make-us-imagin_282025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/300/thomas-merton-231_angel_the-lights-of-prayer-that-make-us-imagin_282025.jpg) > “The lights of prayer that make us imagine we are beginning to be angels are sometimes only signs that we are finally beginning to be men. We do not have a high enough opinion of our own nature. We think we are at the gates of heaven and we are only just beginning to come into our own realm as free and intelligent beings.” [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. Human beings often imagine divine ascent, but true growth is recognizing our humanity and developing self‑respect. **In simple terms:** Spiritual growth means seeing ourselves as human, not just angelic. Key Takeaway Cultivate humility and self‑acceptance. Themes spirituality human nature humility self‑respect growth Mood reflective inspirational thoughtful Type essay spiritual motivational When to use this quote - religious practice - personal reflection - identity formation - self‑evaluation Key Concepts theology psychology personal development Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance spiritual aspirations with human reality? - What steps foster genuine self‑respect? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on divine aspiration can neglect practical self‑improvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) [Angels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angels/) [Gates of heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gates-of-heaven/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Realms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realms/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [From the beginning men used God to justify the unjustifiable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/from-the-beginning-men-used-god-to-justify-the-unjustifiable/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and God is shining through it all the time. God manifests Himself everywhere, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-are-living-in-a-world-that-is-absolutely-transparent-and-god-is/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“You see there's no real ending, it's only the beginning, come out and play.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinedown/you-see-there-s-no-real-ending-it-s-only-the-beginning-come-out-and/) [Shinedown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinedown/) > [“In order to gain true life, we must die to self. Coming to “The End” is the most vital part of the “Beginning.” We must come to a place of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherie-hill/in-order-to-gain-true-life-we-must-die-to-self-coming-to-the-end-is/) [Cherie Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherie-hill/) > [“In the beginning… But of course we never see the beginning. 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They're the sort of people, who, if the gates of heaven opened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-pinter/i-ve-had-my-fill-of-these-city-guttersnipes-all-that-scavenging-scum/) [Harold Pinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-pinter/) > [A joyous little creature, so beautiful, It was as if a gate of Heaven opened as she came in...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-joyous-little-creature-so-beautiful-it-was-as-if-a-gate-of-heaven/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Clergyman: A ticket speculator outside the gates of Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/clergyman-a-ticket-speculator-outside-the-gates-of-heaven/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [O saving Victim, opening wide The gate of heaven to man below, Our foes press on from every side, Thine aid supply, Thy strength…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/o-saving-victim-opening-wide-the-gate-of-heaven-to-man-below-our-foes/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [The best and sweetest flowers of paradise God gives to His people when they are upon their knees. Prayer is the gate of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/the-best-and-sweetest-flowers-of-paradise-god-gives-to-his-people/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [He, who steadily observes those moral precepts in which all religions concur, will never be questioned at the gates of heaven as to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/he-who-steadily-observes-those-moral-precepts-in-which-all-religions/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Picture this scene. A critic arrives at the gates of heaven. 'And what did you do?' asks Saint Peter. 'Well', says the dead soul.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/picture-this-scene-a-critic-arrives-at-the-gates-of-heaven-and-what/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Death when to death a death by death hath given Then shall be op't the long shut gates of heaven. \[Mors, mortis morti mortem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-heywood/death-when-to-death-a-death-by-death-hath-given-then-shall-be-op-t/) [Thomas Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-heywood/) > [John Wesley tells of a dream he had. In the dream, he was ushered to the gates of Hell. There he asked, "Are there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-whitefield/john-wesley-tells-of-a-dream-he-had-in-the-dream-he-was-ushered-to/) [George Whitefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-whitefield/) > [Hell and heaven are within you, both gates are within you. When you are behaving unconsciously there is the gate of hell; when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/hell-and-heaven-are-within-you-both-gates-are-within-you-when-you-are/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) ## 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 Angel quotes > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [If I wer an angel,i would make all your wishes come true..but I'm only a girl a girl who loves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix/if-i-wer-an-angel-i-would-make-all-your-wishes-come-true-but-i-m-only/) [Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Behind my eyelids, I saw him dancing in spirals of coloured light, emerald, blue, and brilliant purple, enfolding him like the wings of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-hall/behind-my-eyelids-i-saw-him-dancing-in-spirals-of-coloured-light/) [Alexis Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-hall/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [I believe in UFOs, I believe in extraterrestrials, and I believe in angels. And maybe they'll protect all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/i-believe-in-ufos-i-believe-in-extraterrestrials-and-i-believe-in/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [Flowers are the alphabet of angels, whereby they write on the hills and fields mysterious truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/flowers-are-the-alphabet-of-angels-whereby-they-write-on-the-hills/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [You should never feel lonely, neglected, fearful, or defeated when you remember that there are the shining ones. They are watching with keen interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flower-a-newhouse/you-should-never-feel-lonely-neglected-fearful-or-defeated-when-you/) [Flower A. Newhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flower-a-newhouse/) > [Hark the herald angels sing, 'Glory to the new-born king.' Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wesley/hark-the-herald-angels-sing-glory-to-the-new-born-king-peace-on-earth/) [Charles Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wesley/) > [Man was created a little lower than the angels and has been getting a little lower ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/man-was-created-a-little-lower-than-the-angels-and-has-been-getting-a/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Mooner was walking around laying his hands on the cars, divining karma. "this is it", he said, standing by a small khaki-colored jeep."this car…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/mooner-was-walking-around-laying-his-hands-on-the-cars-divining-karma/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) [Browse all 4,625 Angel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The lights of prayer that make us imagine we are beginning to be angels are sometimes only signs that we are finally beginning to be men. We do not have a high enough opinion of our own nature. 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