On January 31, 1915, Thomas Merton was born.

Over the years since I first began reading Merton he has a had a profound influence on how I look at many things. May I simply share today a prayer of his?

 O God, we are one with You.

You have made us one with You.
You have taught us that
if we are open to one another,
You dwell in us.
 
Help us to preserve this openness
and to fight for it with all our hearts.
Help us to realize that
there can be no understanding where there is mutual rejection.
 
O God, in accepting one another wholeheartedly,
fully, completely, we accept You,
and we thank You, and we adore You,
and we love You with our whole being,
because our being is Your being,
our spirit is rooted in Your spirit.
 
Fill us then with love,
and let us be bound together with love
as we go our diverse ways,
united in this one spirit
which makes You present in the world,
and which makes You witness
to the ultimate reality that is love.
 
Love has overcome.
 
Love is victorious.
Amen.