We Are One Man

“A man cannot enter into the deepest center of himself and pass through that center into God, unless he is able to pass entirely out of himself and empty himself and give himself to other people in the purity of a selfless love.” —Thomas Merton

Let us consider the depth of what it means to encounter the Divine. True spiritual transformation requires a paradoxical movement beyond the self. This is not a call to mere asceticism but an invitation to abandon the illusion of separateness. The spiritual path is not about grasping for God as if the Divine were a possession to be attained. Rather, it is about allowing the heart to become spacious enough to receive love and, in turn, to give it freely. Christ Himself declared, “Whoever loses their life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39), for the one who clings to self-interest will never know the expansiveness of divine love.

“How can fire take possession of what is frozen?”—Thomas Merton

This journey requires an openness to transformation. A heart rigid with self-will cannot be molded by divine hands. The one who remains enclosed in their own self-concern cannot receive the warmth of divine presence. It is only in surrender that we are set ablaze by the Spirit, for God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), and He seeks to purify rather than destroy. This is why the spiritual life is not merely about knowledge but about disposition—about being open enough to allow the divine fire to melt the ice of self-centeredness and ignite the soul with love.

“The more I become identified with God, the more will I be identified with all the others who are identified with Him.”—Thomas Merton

And what happens when the heart is set aflame? We discover that drawing near to God is not a solitary ascent but a deeper communion with others. This is why Christ’s greatest commandment was twofold: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31). These are not separate acts but one movement of the same Spirit, for to know God is to love as God loves. Those who seek to stand alone in their pursuit of holiness have misunderstood the very nature of the divine life. Christ did not pray that we might be isolated in our own enlightenment, but rather, Christ prayed that all men might become One as He was One with His Father, in the Unity of the Holy Spirit. His desire was for union, for the oneness that exists in the Trinity to be reflected in the oneness of those who love Him (John 17:21).

“Even on earth it is the same, but in obscurity.” —Thomas Merton

And this oneness is not a distant hope; it is already at work, though often hidden beneath the distractions of the world. We are already participating in the unity of divine love, but our vision is clouded. The world tempts us to believe in separation—between ourselves and others, between the sacred and the ordinary, between time and eternity. But in the silence of contemplation, the illusion fades. We begin to perceive what has been true all along: that love binds all things together in Christ (Colossians 1:17).

“The ultimate perfection of the contemplative life is not a heaven of separate individuals, each one viewing his own private intuition of God; it is a sea of Love which flows through the One Body of all the elect.”—Thomas Merton

This is why the contemplative life is not an escape from the world but a deeper immersion into its true reality. In eternity, we will not experience God in isolated visions, as though gazing upon Him from different corners of heaven. No, the fullness of divine joy will be known in communion, as we are drawn into the very love that unites Father, Son, and Spirit. Paul speaks of this when he declares that in Christ, we are no longer strangers but members of one household, built together into a dwelling place for God (Ephesians 2:19-22).

“The more we are one with God the more we are united with one another; and the silence of contemplation is deep, rich and endless society, not only with God but with men.”—Thomas Merton

Even now, we taste this reality when we love one another. The silent depths of prayer are not a place of loneliness but of communion. When the soul rests in God, it does not withdraw from others; it becomes more deeply connected. This is why Jesus, though often retreating to solitude, was never apart from the world. His prayer did not separate Him from humanity but enabled Him to give Himself more completely (Luke 5:16).

“The more we are alone, the more we are together; and the more we are in society, the true society of charity, not of cities and crowds, the more we are alone with Him.”—Thomas Merton

“For in my soul and in your soul I find the same Christ Who is our Life, and He finds Himself in our love, and together we all find Paradise.”—Thomas Merton

And herein lies the great paradox. The world misunderstands solitude as absence, but in God, solitude is presence—the presence of the One who dwells within and unites all things. And when we are in true community, bound not by convenience but by love, we are drawn deeper into the stillness of divine intimacy. This is because true love reveals Christ in all things. Where love reigns, Christ is present, and where Christ is present, heaven is already breaking into the world.

“Love comes out of God and gathers us to God in order to pour itself back into God through all of us and bring us all back to Him on the tide of His own infinite mercy.”—Thomas Merton

For love is not static; it is a movement, an eternal outpouring. This is the great current of divine love, ever drawing us home. God does not merely love in isolated acts—He is love (1 John 4:8), and His love is never stagnant. It moves outward, gathers all things, and returns to its source. This is the rhythm of divine life, and we are invited to participate in it.

“When the Love of God is in me, God is able to love you through me and you are able to love God through me.”—Thomas Merton

And how do we participate? By becoming vessels through which this love flows. This is the essence of spiritual life—not that we simply receive God’s love for ourselves, but that we become conduits through which others experience it. The love of God is not given to be hoarded; it is given to be shared. This is why Christ told His disciples that the world would know them by their love for one another (John 13:35).

“God in His Trinity of subsistent relations infinitely transcends every shadow of selfishness.”—Thomas Merton

“He is at once infinite solitude (one nature) and perfect society (Three Persons).”—Thomas Merton

This movement of love is not a human invention; it is rooted in the very nature of God. The Father gives Himself to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Spirit proceeds as the bond of their love. There is no division, no withholding—only eternal self-giving. The divine life is perfect relationship, an infinite exchange of love in which there is no trace of selfishness or isolation. This is the mystery in which we are invited to share, for we were created not to exist in isolation but to dwell in love.

“The interior life of God is perfect contemplation.”—Thomas Merton

“Our joy and our life are destined to be nothing but a participation in the Life that is Theirs.”—Thomas Merton

And in the end, what is the purpose of all this? It is nothing less than participation in the very life of God. Heaven is not a reward external to God; it is life in Him. We are not destined for mere knowledge of God but for union with Him. As Paul writes, we shall one day see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12), not as spectators, but as participants in the divine joy. This is the fulfillment of every longing, the end of every search—to dwell in the love that is, was, and ever shall be.