152 Weekly: breakthrough moments
in
understanding life and myself
With all my heart
Thomas Merton and two friends returned
to his room at four in the morning after a
night on the town. They awoke before
noon. Around one o'clock Tom went out
to get some breakfast, and returned with
scrambled eggs and toast.
While they were sitting on the floor eating
and listening to music, a surprising thought
came to Tom: "I'm going to be a priest."
He was at a loss about where the thought
came from. This much he was sure of. It
was too powerful to be a fleeting thought.
Later that day he headed for St. Francis
Xavier Church on 16th street. He writes:
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"When I got to 16th Street, the whole
building seemed dark and empty . . . I was
about to go away disappointed, when I
noticed a door to some kind of basement
under the church . . . "The door yielded
and I found myself in a lower church . . .
full of lights and people and the Blessed
Sacrament was exposed in a monstrance.
"I fixed my eyes on the monstrance, on the
white Host. And then it suddenly became
clear to me that my whole life was at a
crisis. . . . So now the question faced me:
'Do you really want to be a priest . . .'
"I looked straight at the Host, and I knew,
now, who it was that I was looking at, and
I said: 'Yes, I want to be a priest, with all
my heart I want it. If it is your will, make
me a priest.--make me a priest.
Thomas Merton: The Seven Storey Mountain
Thomas Merton went on to become one
of the most influential priests and authors
of the 20th century.
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