Thomas Merton's words of hope for young activists

RelatedHighlights

Theologian and social justice leader Howard Thurman on passion:

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

James Clear • Highlights From jamesclear.com

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

Thomas Merton’s Letter to a Young Activist – Jim and Nancy Forest

His message focused on the urgency of a radical change in the inner attitude of the people. He recognized fully that out of the heart are the issues of life and that no external force, however great and overwhelming, can at long last destroy a people if it does not first win the victory of the spirit against them. “To revile because one has been re

Howard Thurman • Jesus and the Disinherited

Hope is not passive: How activism keeps optimism alive

Maddy Lauria grist.org

There is one overmastering problem that the socially and politically disinherited always face: Under what terms is survival possible?

Howard Thurman • Jesus and the Disinherited

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