Thomas Merton is beyond an excellent story teller. He reaches into your Soul.
"The Seven Storey Mountain" is the story of how this former atheist was led step by step to become baptized in the Catholic faith, then transformed into one of the most committed Souls to Christ and Our Lady of Peace. His longing and attempts to become a Franciscan monk only highlight the challenges we all face, as we try to rise above our previous walks in life. But then his triumph in becoming a Trappist Monk is the story we can all celebrate as we feel the touch of Grace, God's Mercy and Love in our lives.
Every page offers wisdom from beginning to end. Let me highlight for you, my reader, a passage towards the end:
"Before we were born, God knew us. He knew that some of us would rebel against His love and His mercy, and that others would love Him from the moment that they could love anything, and never change that love. He knew that there would be joy in heaven among the angels of His house for the conversion of some of us, and He knew that He would bring us all here to Gethsemani together, one day, for His own purpose, for the praise of his love.
"The life of each one in this abbey is part of mystery. We all add up to something far beyond ourselves. We cannot realize what it is. But we know in the language of our theology, that we are all members of the Mystical Christ, and that we all grow together in Him for Whom all things were created.
"In one sense, we are always travelling and travelling as if we did not know where we were going.
"In another sense, we have already arrived.
"We cannot arrive at the perfect possession of God in this life, and that is why we are travelling and in darkness. But we already possess Him by grace, and therefore in that sense, we have arrived and are dwelling in the light.
"But oh! How far have I to go to find You in Whom I have already arrived!"
I recommend this book for the salvation of your Soul and for a powerful rest of your journey on Earth.
Namaste',
Che'
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