Thursday, September 10, 2009

Merton on "Praise"

Today's food for thought:

"Do we know what it means to praise? To adore? To give glory?

Praise is cheap today. Everything is praised. Soap, beer, toothpaste, clothing, mouthwash, movie stars, all the latest gadgets which are supposed to make life more comfortable -- everything is constantly being "praised." Praise is now so overdone that everybody is sick of it, and since everything is "praised" with the official hollow enthusiasm of the radio announcer, it turns out in the end that nothing is praised. Praise has become empty. Nobody really wants to use it.

Are there any superlatives left for God? ... "

-- Thomas Merton, 1956, from "Praying the Psalms" published by The Liturgical Press of Collegeville, MN.

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