Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk who died in 1968, was a prolific writer focusing on social justice, spirituality and pacifism. His letter to Jim Forest is epistle replete with compassion, solace and encouragement. For all of us who walk alongside the suffering, the poor and the oppressed, it is a reminder to focus our efforts on building enduring relationships.
When it came to addressing injustice in the world, Thomas Merton was a man convinced that engagement was stronger than detachment. While some sought solace in closing their eyes to humanity’s struggles, he found that humankind had no right, and in fact an obligation to name and engage evil. However, he wrote often that peacemaking with any lasting endurance would be accomplished by persons whose allegiance would be found primarily in deep values and not in fleeting results.
In his biography by Jim Forest, Merton’s ideas on peacemaking are developed further, “Not to confused with a lack of interest in achieving results, (Merton’s) detachment meant knowing that no good action is wasted even if the immediate consequences are altogether different from what one hoped to achieve.”
The following is an excerpt from a letter written to the young peace activist Jim Forest from the elder Merton:
Do not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work…
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