Merton’s reply was the most helpful letter I’ve ever received:

Dear Jim,

Thanks for the letter and for the awful, and illuminating, enclosure [about the civilian casualties in Vietnam]. I can well understand your sense of desperation. And the “bleak mood.” And also I am glad that you wrote about it. As you say, there are no clear answers, and you ca... See more

Here in italics is “Letter to a Young Activist” as published in The Catholic Worker interspersed with my own commentary:

Do not depend on the hope of results.

What a challenge that is . Any action one embarks on is undertaken with the hope of positive, tangible results. One must have hope that what you do will have an impact. But to the extent you de... See more