The abbey is Trappist, a religious order that follows the rules of Benedict, a fifth-century saint. St. Benedictine is considered the father of monasticism, an institutionalized practice whose members believe there are works required of them that exceed those demanded by other spiritual leaders and the lay public. Trappists are celibate and live either as hermits or in small groups, like at an abbey. According to the Abbey, “In the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, our way of life is consecration to God expressed in fraternal union, solitude and silence, in prayer, work and a disciplined life. By a hidden apostolic fruitfulness it causes the mystical body of Christ to grow.”

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Merton's life was one of contradictions. He aspired to be a hermit but loved to socialize and drink beer with guests. He pledged celibacy but had a relationship with a local nurse. He praised solitude but wrote bestsellers that brought him global attention.

 

Merton opened his writing career with three volumes of poetry over four years; they earned him international acclaim. In 1948, Merton published his autobiographical Seven Storey Mountain, followed by multiple spiritual publications. By the end of the 1960s, his work began to include civil rights, protests, and nuclear war, and later in his career he turned increasingly to Eastern thought. He was accidentally electrocuted to death in Thailand.

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Themes

 

The citation comes from a 1961 essay called “Humility against Despair” from the volume New Seeds of Contemplation. In that work, Merton interrogates the nature of contemplation (“What Is Contemplation?” and “What Contemplation Is Not”), advocates for solitude (“Solitude Is Not Separation” and “Learn to Be Along”), reflects on liberty (“Freedom from Obedience” and “What Is Liberty?”), and warns of ill will (“The Root of War Is Fear” and “Hell as Hatred”). “Humility against Despair” is indeed well-summarized in the play’s excerpt:

 

Despair is the ultimate development of a pride so great and so stiff-necked that it selects the absolute misery of damnation rather than accept happiness from the hands of God and thereby acknowledge that He is above us and that we are not capable of fulfilling our destiny by ourselves.

 

Or, more succinctly, as Merton opens his essay: “Despair is the absolute extreme of self-love.” As the essay continues, Merton explores the links between humility and the richness of spiritual living: “In perfect humility al selfishness disappears, and your soul no longer lives for itself or in itself for God: and it is lost and submerged in Him and transformed into Him.” This ties to the Trappist belief that God is everywhere and in everything. Humility also means living an ascetic lifestyle. In sum, the essay’s final sentence: “Humility is the surest sign of strength.”

 

Click to read "Humility against Despair."

 

Poetry Sample

 

“Untitled” (1944)

 

Now you are all here you might as well know this is America we do what we like.
Be spontaneous it is the right way.
Mothers you have met before still defy comprehension.
Our scene is foggy we are asking you to clarify.
Explains geometry of life. Where? At Catholic Worker.
Very glad you came. With our mouths full of cornflakes we were expecting an emergency.
Cynics declare you are in Greece.
Better get back quick before the place is all used up.
The night court: the mumbling judge: confused.
Well-wishers are there to meet you head on.
For the journal: soldiers, harbingers of change.
You came just in time, the score is even.
None of the machines has yet been broken.
Come on we know you have seen Popes.
People have been a little self-conscious around here in the emergency.
Who cares what the cynics declare. But you have been in Greece.