Thomas Merton - When in the Soul of the Serene Disciple

When in the soul of the serene disciple
With no more Fathers to imitate
Poverty is a success,
It is a small thing to say the roof is gone:
He has not even a house.
Stars, as well as friends,
Are angry with the noble ruin.
Saints depart in several directions.
Be still:
There is no longer any need of comment.
It was a lucky wind
That blew away his halo with his cares,
A lucky sea that drowned his reputation.
Here you will find
Neither a proverb nor a memorandum.
There are no ways,
No methods to admire
Where poverty is no achievement.
His God lives his emptiness like an affliction.
What choice remains?
Well, to be ordinary is not a choice:
It is the usual freedom
Of men without visions.

Thomas Merton, Collected Poems (New York: New Directions, 1977)

Men's Rites of Passage

Preparations are under way again for the Men's Rites of Passage in Perth, Scotland in July 2011. This is an initiation for men into their elderhood, devised by students of Fr Richard Rohr's teaching on male spirituality.

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