Contemplation

In a recent email from Gail Wiggin I received this important quote from Thomas Merton which is pertinent to our work in the order. It comes from a book recommended by Cynthia Bourgeault.

Christianity means much more than change in behavior-- it calls us to a change in consciousness. And if it is understood in this way, it involves, just as truly as Zen, an experience that is transforming: an experience that can never be adequately put into words. It is worth noting that among the early Christian writers theology was not so much reflection on doctrine as the actual experience of the realities that doctrines attempt to express. The Greek word theologia was the word they used for what we today call “contemplation."

--from “Something of a Rebel” -- Thomas Merton, His Life and Works, pg. 120 by William Shannon