--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What a revelation it was, to discover so…" description: "\"“What a revelation it was, to discover so many ordinary people in a place together, more conscious of God than of one another: not there to show off th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/thomas-merton-231_ordinary-people_what-a-revelation-it-was-to-discover-so_2545357.jpg" --- # What a revelation it was, to discover so many ordinary… ![“What a revelation it was, to discover so many ordinary people in a place together, more conscious of God than of one another: not there to show off their hats or their clothes, but to pray, or at least to fulfill a religious obligation, not a human one. For even those who might have been there for…” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/thomas-merton-231_ordinary-people_what-a-revelation-it-was-to-discover-so_2545357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/thomas-merton-231_ordinary-people_what-a-revelation-it-was-to-discover-so_2545357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/thomas-merton-231_ordinary-people_what-a-revelation-it-was-to-discover-so_2545357.jpg) > ““What a revelation it was, to discover so many ordinary people in a place together, more conscious of God than of one another: not there to show off their hats or their clothes, but to pray, or at least to fulfill a religious obligation, not a human one. For even those who might have been there for no better motive than that they were obliged to be, were at least free from any of the self-conscious and human constraint which is never absent from a Protestant church where people are definitely gathered together as people, as neighbors, and always have at least half an eye for one another, if not all of both eyes.”” [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. Observes that communal religious practice can foster genuine humility and collective focus, contrasting it with self‑consciousness in other settings. **In simple terms:** Seeing others in prayer reduces self‑importance. Key Takeaway Seek humility in shared rituals. Themes humility community spirituality Mood reflective contemplative Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - church services - interfaith gatherings - public worship - community events Key Concepts collective consciousness self‑effacement Questions to Reflect On - How does shared worship change personal ego? - What risks arise when conformity replaces authenticity? A Different Perspective May overlook individual agency or dissent within the group. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ordinary people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-people/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [What is said upon a subject is gathered from an hundred people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/what-is-said-upon-a-subject-is-gathered-from-an-hundred-people/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It's all so verbal in the Protestant church. You've heard these words a million times before. 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Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [“he only Protestant church in the Old City, it was still in use as both a tourist destination and a functioning house of worship.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-england/he-only-protestant-church-in-the-old-city-it-was-still-in-use-as-both/) [Stephen England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-england/) > [We Protestants ought to humbly confess that the theater and the sports have done more for race amity, for race understanding than, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/we-protestants-ought-to-humbly-confess-that-the-theater-and-the/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [“I've met people in the last year or two who have stopped going to their local church because people have started singing new songs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/i-ve-met-people-in-the-last-year-or-two-who-have-stopped-going-to/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“One thing i realized after contemplating what's the point of going to church if people you see inside the church is the same as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darwin-araman-ergina/one-thing-i-realized-after-contemplating-what-s-the-point-of-going-to/) [darwin araman ergina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darwin-araman-ergina/) > [ I just feel like the people who are discouraged about religion, it's \[really\] the connotation of people that go to church. People that go… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/i-just-feel-like-the-people-who-are-discouraged-about-religion-it-s/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [“There is good even in church people. You find it hard to believe, right? Jesus never shut the door on religious people. 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Greene > [“There’s one parish church for all the people, whatsoever may be their ranks in life or their degrees, Except for one damp, small, dark,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-beaton/there-s-one-parish-church-for-all-the-people-whatsoever-may-be-their/) [M.C. Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-beaton/) > [Where better than the church for people like me, George Jones and Johnny Cash to go to get ourselves in shape enough to sing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-stuart/where-better-than-the-church-for-people-like-me-george-jones-and/) [Marty Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-stuart/) > [Politics and church are the same. They keep the people in ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/politics-and-church-are-the-same-they-keep-the-people-in-ignorance/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) ## 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. 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I don't think any of us can say that our standing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-ideals-and-the-values-of-the-united-states-inspired-the-entire/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a gala of a bunch of people at, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/i-think-when-ordinary-working-people-come-home-turn-on-the-tv-and-see/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [The Constitution was made for ordinary people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/the-constitution-was-made-for-ordinary-people/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [Most brilliance arises from ordinary people working together in extraordinary ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-von-oech/most-brilliance-arises-from-ordinary-people-working-together-in/) [Roger von Oech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-von-oech/) > [The vast literature concerning whistleblowers shows that, far from weird extremists, they are really quite ordinary people: male and female, young and old, junior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/the-vast-literature-concerning-whistleblowers-shows-that-far-from/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [Look, I'm not a perfect person. 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