Thomas Merton (Peace/Remedies)

"Never before have men talked so much about peace, and never has there
been so little peace in the world.  What was said by the prophet
Jeremiah of the men of his time applies even more truly to the men of
our own:  they said, 'Peace, Peace', and there is no peace.

We prescribe for one another remedies that will bring us peace of mind,
and we are still devoured by anxiety.  We evolve plans for disarmament
and for the peace of nations, and our plans only change the manner and
method of aggression.  The rich have everything they want except
happiness, and the poor are sacrificed to the unhappiness of the rich.
Dictatorships use their secret police to crush millions of men under an
intolerable burden of lies, injustice and tyranny, and those who still
live in democracies have forgotten how to make good use of their
liberty.  For liberty is a think of the spirit, and we are no longer
able to live for anything but our bodies.  How can we find peace, true
peace, if we forget that we are not machines for making for making and
spending money, but spiritual beings and sons of the most high God?"

(THE MONASTIC JOURNEY,  page 39)

What is peace?

Copied From Wayne Burns