March 04, 2006> 10:49 AM
merton icon Apparently I had some time to fool around in Photoshop yesterday. This is for all the Mertonites. Yes, I know he hasn't been canonized, nor, as he said, will he probably ever be. Was and is he a Saint? Sure. Are you? Am I? Well, if we are Christ's, we are Saints.
Anyway, this particular one I honor. I have been given much through what God gave to him. I know that's true for some of you as well. I'm sure I could have done a better job but I only spent an hour or so on it. I think this is my favorite photo of the old boy. It seems to capture his spirit more than many others I've seen. I've seen an icon of Merton before, actually painted, but I wasn't very fond of it. It has him sitting in a lotus position looking a bit like a buddha. I think it gives far too much weight to his interest and association with Zen, etc. The man was a Christian for sure and a Catholic (sometimes reluctantly). He was a Teacher and a Prophet. Yes, he wrote but personally, expert that I am, my assessment of how he was gifted was in these ways. He saw things on a plane that many do not, and that he shared with the rest of us. He's not the only one who sees in this way, but he was one and his mind and heart seemed particularly open, therefore, much flowed through it. I'm thankful for that stream of living water.
So, I made this icon. It's not egg tempera and gold leaf and I didn't spend a month on it. Maybe I did sort of rip off someone else's classic photograph, but I'm not selling it, or him. I did it for myself at first, and for whatever it's worth, there it is for you as well if you want it. The big one I did as the original and show it here to see it better. I'm sure that won't fit permanently on most people's websites or blogs. I made the small one for myself and for you, to take and place on your sites if you like. Show Fr. Louis off. I, for one, will ask him to pray for me, as I believe he can, even if he's still learning a few things over there. Pray for me Thomas Merton, that I will be open as you were, that I won't be as stubborn as you were sometimes, that I will be drawn into the heart of God.
March 04, 2006
> 10:49 AM
Apparently I had some time to fool around in Photoshop yesterday. This is for all the Mertonites. Yes, I know he hasn't been canonized, nor, as he said, will he probably ever be. Was and is he a Saint? Sure. Are you? Am I? Well, if we are Christ's, we are Saints.
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