NSoC 9: We Are One Man

See Notes on this series...

Merton puts on his Trinitarian hat in this chapter, and frankly the chapter mirrors the trinity's mystery for me.

Merton stresses again that contemplation is not internal and that solitude is not isolation, calling out "self-hypnotism" as acontemplative. He reminds us that we are looking to identify with God and with others through God's love.

He evokes Jesus' prayer of unity from John 17. We become what we were meant to be when we live in Christ and Christ lives in us. Contemplative perfection, then, is not a bunch of individuals with their own ideas of God but God's love flowing through the one body of believers. For Merton, contemplative perfection is achieved only as it is shared, so the more, the merrier. More contemplatives = more joy.

This is not just a heavenly goal but an earthly one as well, albeit not as bright. Even in the darkness of this world our oneness with God translates to oneness with our neighbors. He returns to the idea of solitude from the previous chapter and tries to bind believers together through this solitude much the same way he sees the love that the Son shares for the Father through the person of the Spirit. We share the life of the "One God in Three Persons" if we live in love and contemplation with others.

Merton ends the chapter in full trinitarian mode. God: One Nature, Three Persons, "at once infinite solitude (one nature) and perfect society (three persons)." This, he says, is perfect contemplation, and one day we will live in God and in one another as the trinity does.

Quaff:
This was the cloudiest chapter yet for me so far, but it could be because it is Saturday or because it is about the trinity, which always causes me confusion. Thankfully tomorrow is a feast day because the next chapter is another long one. I am thoroughly enjoying this book so far. Be back Monday.