by GSR Staff
“There is only one kind of violence that captures the Kingdom of Heaven. It is the seeming violence of grace, which is really order and peace. It establishes peace in the soul’s depth even in the midst of passion. It is called ‘violent’ by reason of the energy with which it resists passion and sets order in the house of the soul. This violence is the voice and power of God himself, speaking in our soul. It is the authority of the God of peace, speaking within us, in the sanctuary, in his holy place.
“The God of peace is never glorified by human violence.”
- Thomas Merton from Section 7 of No Man is an Island, Shambala Publications, Inc. ©The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemane, 1955 and renewed by The Trustees of Merton Legacy Trust, 1983.