Distance: 20.1 km, Intermediate
Ever since I was a teenager, I have loved Thomas Merton, the famous spiritual writer and Trappist Monk. Something about his eager spirit and deep spiritual insight, mixed with a human vulnerability and ever-ready attention to God’s call has spoken to me from a young age.
In his book Thoughts in Solitude, Merton offers a prayer that applies to anyone on the spiritual journey. As we mark the first week of our own Camino in everyday life, his words guide us as we pause and take stock of where we have been and where we are going.
Let us pray with Merton:
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
—
As you pause to walk/pray today, what line from the “Merton Prayer” stands out to you? Where might the Holy Spirit be inviting you to reflect more deeply? Talk with Jesus about what is stirring in you.
Reread the prayer slowly stopping at the end of each sentence to let it sink in. There is no rush. We will reach our destination. The important thing is to do so with intention… to pay attention to God’s invitations… to give thanks for the path we walk and the One with whom we walk.