Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from
conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible
certitude of the contemplative experience awakens a tragic anguish and opens
many questions in the depths of the heart like wounds that cannot stop
bleeding. For every gain in deep certitude there is a corresponding growth of
superficial "doubt." This doubt is by no means opposed to genuine
faith, but it mercilessly examines and questions the spurious "faith"
of everyday life, the human faith which is nothing but the passive acceptance
of conventional opinion. This false "faith" which is what we often
live by and which we even come to confuse with our "religion" is
subjected to inexorable questioning. Hence, is it clear that genuine
contemplation is incompatible with complacency and with smug acceptance of
prejudiced opinions. It is not mere passive acquiescence in the status quo, as
some would like to believe – for this would reduce it to the level of spiritual
anesthesia.
Thomas Merton
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