Feel much better today. Merton describes his year at Cambridge as one joy ride. Sounds like he partied into the wee hours most nights and missed morning classes most of the time. His guardian tries to talk some sense into him several times without success. Amazingly he does manage to pass his classes. His guardian is so disgusted he suggests he doesn't return to Cambridge and arranges for him to move back to New York with his grandparents. War clouds are on the horizon in England [ 1934] and Thomas briefly digresses to talk about war, sin, man's greed and lust for power. Then he has a great paragraph that caught my eye:
People seem to think that it is in someway a proof that no merciful God exists, if we have so many wars. On the contrary, consider how in spite of centuries of sin and greed and lust and cruelty and hatred and avarice and oppression and injustice, spawned and bred by the free wills of men, the human race can still recover, each time, and can still produce men and women who overcome evil with good, hatred with love, greed with charity, lust and cruelty with sanctity. How could all this be possible without the merciful love of God, pouring out His grace upon us? Can there be any doubt where wars come from and where peace comes from, when the children of this world, excluding God from their peace conferences, only manage to bring about greater and greater wars the more they talk about peace? pg 128
Wow, that is said way better than what I tried to say yesterday! It is amazing to me that this was written 80 years ago yet can easily apply to the Ukraine. Clearly there is evil working through men ( or at least one man) and yet there is good working too with all the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and in the neighboring countries. We are seeing people respond to evil with good, hatred with love.
My prayer for today; Lord, continue to pour out your grace on all those involved in the Ukrainian crisis. Please enlighten the world's leaders so they can put an end to this tragedy. Finally Lord, show us ways in which we can help even if it is through simple prayer. Amen
Pax
Joe
How does 1 man have so much power against good ?? Why is he able to destroy a country with many believing and praying for all their worth . While the rest of us provide some financial support and prayers. Why can’t our goodness overcome this evil.
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