Gethsemani

In 1941, Thomas Merton went to the Abbey of Gethsemani in the hills of Kentucky to retreat. He walked the hills of the abbey to allow God to trace the contours of his soul.


His purpose in going was to sort out his life, his call and his purpose. His journey/pilgrimage was not occasioned by a crisis of faith as much as it was a call to humility and holiness.


In his writings he tries to capture the spirit and feel of Gethsemani for future novices. He says, "It is not a shining city on a hill. It is not a fortress against the world outside."


Then in a stroke of descriptive genius Merton describes Gethesemani as a "kind of industrial plant for religious practice."


What an incredible description of the place of monastic lifestyles. Merton attempts to remind pilgrims that Gethesemani is not a place for "finished products" but is a place of forming, molding and shaping.


On one of his first visits he walked through an arched gate. Passing under the gate of entry Merton noticed a carved stone block with etched words that said....GOD ALONE.


In later years, the stone was relocated to a side wall. It no longer had a place of prominence welcoming seeking pilgrims.


Relegated to a side wall in the abbey, the carved words were now a monument rather than a command.


The sole reason Merton went to retreat was to ensure that the life shaping words continued to be commands rather than monuments.


In one of his most profound thoughts, Merton said, "God is a being to be known, not a problem to be solved, and we who live the contemplative life have learned by experience that one cannot know God as long as one seeks to solve 'the problem of God.'" His life was given to the single pursuit of God and GOD ALONE.

Though the stone in the gateway arch was moved to a side wall, those words were etched on the heart of Thomas Merton so that he carried them everywhere he went.


Not a bad way to live....GOD ALONE.