Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on my darkness,
my weakness,
my confusion.
Have mercy on my infidelity,
my cowardice,
my turning about in circles,
my wandering,
my evasions.
I do not ask for anything but such mercy, always, in everything,
mercy.
My life here – a little solidity and very much ashes.
Almost everything is ashes. What I have prized most is ashes.
What I have attended to least is, perhaps…
a little solid.
Lord, have mercy.
Guide me,
make me want again to be holy,
to be a man of God, even though in desperateness and confusion.
I do not necessarily ask for clarity, a plain way, but only to go according to your love,
to follow your mercy, to trust your mercy.
I want to seek nothing at all, if this is possible.
But only to be led without looking and without seeking.
For thus to seek is to find.
(Merton, Journals, August 2, 1960, IV.28)
Comments
21 responses to “Merton Mondays #2: A Prayer for Mercy”
Beautiful!
.-= Sandy Sandmeyer´s last blog .. =-.
Thank you for this! That Merton!! It’s like he can see inside my heart. I have a couple of his prayers on my phone so I can access them easily and frequently. Adding this one.
<3 u
Wow. I think this encapsulates what I’ve been feeling for days now. Thank you for sharing this.
.-= Kristine McGuire´s last blog ..Called of God =-.
Like water to my thirst soul.
I’m an official fan of Merton Mondays!!
.-= Jamie, the Very Worst Missionary´s last blog ..Missionaries probably shouldn’t be jealous of strippers. But sometimes they are. =-.
Merton is one of my favorites…
“What I have prized most is ashes”
oh so true…
Amen. Awesome stuff.
.-= Carrie´s last blog ..Wanted: More Men (and women) Like Joshua and Caleb Part 1 =-.
Ahh, this is true and beautiful! Great start of the day and week! I’ll print this and put it within my spiritual notebook. I should even hang it in my house, somewhere. I didnt know who this Merton was and I just went for more than 30min through his wikepedia-page. Wow, lots of things happend in his life. He surely had no boring life. Thank you for sharing :-)
Beautiful! I’m currently reading Merton’s “Life and Holiness,” and it’s a great reminder that I cannot make myself holy . . . only God can.
.-= Travis Mamone´s last blog ..Monday Morning Awesomeness: 05/17/10 =-.
What I have prized most is ashes, indeed.
What a wonderful prayer!
.-= Josh´s last blog ..Fridays Are [sometimes] For Music =-.
Love this part: “I do not necessarily ask for clarity, a plain way, but only to go according to your love”
.-= AprilK´s last blog ..Outgrowing affirmation? =-.
… mmm … I guess if I spend all that energy on begging God to be merciful to me, I’m going to need to spend alot more energy on showing mercy to others …
.-= Linda Stoll´s last blog .."Christian Fatigue Syndrome" =-.
“I want to seek nothing at all, if this is possible.”
So difficult to do but if it was easy would it be worth it?
.-= David Knapp´s last blog ..Anger Signals a Blocked Goal =-.
Thanks so much for this. It is so beautiful.
.-= Jenna B.´s last blog ..30 Things in 30 Days- Day 5 =-.
Beautiful. Thank you for posting this.
.-= Jennifer Labit´s last blog ..Going for a Ride in the Fuss Bus =-.
It is beautiful that I, me, has so much mercy. Thank you my Savior.
Wow.
Just
Wow.
Ah, the “true” sinner’s prayer. Have mercy on me, because I do not deserve it, and in no way seek it, except in my darkest hour.
Anne the prayer is aug 7 1960 not aug.2. Just got back from doing a 3 day merton retreat in montana. We need a merton retreat in nashville. I have the oldest merton website on the web. Check it out. http://tinyurl.com/om5s
Strange. The book I have (A Year w/Thomas Merton) out with HarperOne has it as August 2. Thanks for coming by & your Mertonness. :)
lovely…
Oh wow, this is SO beautiful. I’ve never heard of Merton. Thanks for sharing this.