Who Are You, Thomas Merton?

The story goes like this. An old Russian wandering Monk came across a secret army base far out in the woods. He was surprised to hear the very young soldier to bark loudly:

Soldier: "Halt or I will shoot!"
Monk: "What do you want?"
Soldier: "Who are you? What are you doing?Where are you going?"
Monk: "Young man, how much do they pay you to ask these questions?"
Soldier: "Thirty Kopecks a month, sir."
Monk: "I will pay you fifty to follow me and ask me those questions every day."

Do you know who you are; what you are doing; and where you are going? These could be crucial to your spiritual growth. Thomas Merton was a Roman Catholic Monk that lived and wrote in the Gethsemane Center in Kentucky. His books about spiritual growth became very popular in the Sixties and Seventies. He said this about who he was.


“Finally I am coming to the conclusion that my highest ambition is to be what I already am. That I will never fulfill my obligation to surpass myself unless I first accept myself, and if I accept myself fully in the right way, I will already have surpassed myself.”

Thomas Merton, Journal, October 2, 1958