Following the Will of God: From “Life and Holiness” by the Reverend Thomas Merton (vegetarian), Part 1 of 2

In today’s episode, we are delighted to present excerpts from Thomas Merton’s book, “Life and Holiness,” whereby the wise Reverend expounds on the law of love, which is to love God with all our hearts and to love others as we love ourselves.

Chapter 2 – The Testing of Ideals The New Law

“The law given to us by God – summed up in the Ten Commandments and epitomized most perfectly in the one great commandment to love God with all our hearts and minds and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.”

“The Holy Spirit does not abolish the Old Law, the exterior command: He makes that same law interior to ourselves, so that doing God’s will becomes now no longer a work of fear but a work of spontaneous love. Hence the Holy Spirit does not teach us to act contrary to the familiar dictates of law. On the contrary He leads us to the most perfect observance of Law, to the loving fulfillment of all our duties, in the family, in our work, in our chosen way of life, in our social relationships, in civic life, in our prayer, and in the intimate conversation with God in the depths of our souls.

The Holy Spirit teaches us not only actively to carry out the will of God as signified to us by precept, but also lovingly to accept the will of God in providential events beyond our own control. In a word, the whole Christian life consists in seeking the will of God by loving faith and carrying out that blessed will by faithful love.

Perfection is therefore a question of fidelity and love – fidelity to duty first of all, then love of God’s will in all its manifestations. Love implies preference and preference demands sacrifice. In practice, then, the preference of God’s will means setting aside and sacrificing our own will. The more a Christian renounces his own will to do the will of God in loving submission and carefree abandonment, the more he will be united to Christ in the Spirit of Divine sonship, the more truly will he show himself a son of the Heavenly Father, and the closer he will come to Christian perfection.”