| Author Quoted | Marie-Eugène de l'Enfant Jesus, O.C.D. |
| Title Quoted | Je suis fille d'eglise |
| Date (Year/Month/Day) | 1953/02/24 |
| Imprint | [S.l.] : Editions du Carmel. 1951 |
| Quotation | Yesterday, began our Lenten book, Je suis fille d'eglise [I Am a Daughter of the Church, by P. Marie-Eugène, O.C.D.], about Theresian mysticism. Glad to get it but terribly oppressed by the necessity to read about mystical prayer. Noise of trucks coming through the window. Sunlight in the room. Very happy to be here, and yet feeling tense and ashamed and poor. Pushed ahead with the reading as a pure effort of obedience. And I mean effort. No help, no relief, except to look at the harmless titles of the books on the shelf in front of me, books that I will never have to touch. (Jesus All Good; Methode pour assister les malades, etc.) Gone are the days when "mysticism" was for me a matter of eager and speculative interest. Now, because it is my life, it is torment to think about. |
| Quotation Source | A Search for Solitude: Pursuing the Monk's True Life. The Journals of Thomas Merton, Volume 3, 1952-1960.; Edited by Lawrence S. Cunningham. / San Francisco : Harper Collins. 1996, p. 36 |
| Letter to | |
| Notes | |
| Link to Merton's Copy |
(If there is a link above showing up as a number, click it to open another window with a full text version.) |