A Spiritual Revolution – Thomas Merton

In turbulent times… politically and in religion, a prophet arises to speak to the world the truth of the call of Christ to be different from the world. In 1951, Thomas Merton wrote the following words in his book The Ascent to Truth. They speak to our world situation today as much as they did to his world when he wrote them seventy-one years ago.

The only thing that can save the world from complete moral collapse is a spiritual revolution. Christianity, by its very nature, demands such a revolution. If Christians would all live up to what they profess to believe, the revolution would happen. The desire for unworldliness, detachment, and union with God is the most fundamental expression of this revolutionary spirit. The one thing that remains is for Christians to affirm their Christianity by that full and unequivocal rejection of the world which their Baptismal vocation demands of them. This will certainly not incapacitate them for social action in the world, since it is the one essential condition for a really fruitful Christian apostolate. (pages 2-3)

I firmly believe that such a revolution must happen today if the church is to remain relevant in the years to come.