By Tom Quiner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WXo4ktQrg8

Today is the one-hundreth birthday of Catholic monk, mystic, and renown writer, Thomas Merton.

The film clip above was taken at an interfaith conference in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 10th, 1968. It captured his last recorded public remarks. One hour later, he was accidentally electrocuted in his hotel room.

I leave you with this prayer by Merton:

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”