Merton, Charbel and the Contemplative Life - Catholic Insight

Merton, Charbel and the Contemplative Life - Catholic Insight

In light of today’s Saint Charbel – a hermit and contemplative – and last Sunday’s Gospel on the roles of of ‘Martha’ and ‘Mary’, I thought I’d share this intriguing essay by Thomas Merton, on the respective active and contemplative lives. This distinction goes back to the earliest days of the Church, and is discussed – as Merton aptly points out – by Saint Thomas Aquinas, who claims that the most ‘perfect’ life is the contemplative, but one tha…