Hello,
Welcome.
My name is Lou Redmond.
Thank you for being here.
I feel so honored to be able to share the Thomas Merton prayer with you.
This is known as a prayer for uncertainty and for being in the unknown of your life.
And over the last few months,
I've been experiencing a lot of uncertainty with my path,
With my work.
I recently became a new father,
Which has been beautiful,
But also adding to this uncertain feeling about where my life is going.
What am I really here for?
And I've been asking a lot of deep questions and it's been really powerful,
But also scary.
And sometimes it doesn't feel like there's anything solid to hold on to.
And I've been reading over the years,
Thomas Merton and just feel a real kinship to him and the way that he shares about spirituality from a Catholic monk lens and someone that when you read Merton,
You can really see that he's touching these states that you also hear in Eastern philosophies.
And what I love about Thomas Merton,
That he was friends with Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama,
And they all shared a similar language because you could sense that they knew what each other were talking about.
And this prayer is one that only came to me recently.
I hadn't actually read it or remembered reading it at least.
And when I heard it in this experience of being in the unknown,
It was just exactly what I needed.
It was just struck a chord with me.
And so if that's what you're experiencing right now,
I hope maybe it offers some solace or refuge to be in the unknown with greater faith and trust.
And so I invite you to come into a meditative practice.
I always like to meditate while I pray to close my eyes,
To feel in my body,
To really let the words land in my heart,
To speak from my heart.
And so the way that I'm going to offer this is I'm going to say the prayer once and the invitation is for you to just receive,
Let it resonate with you.
And then I'm going to say it again.
And the invitation is for you to speak it out loud and notice what happens when you say this prayer.
And I'll say one last thing before we begin is that the language that Merton uses may not resonate with you.
And if that's the case,
Please insert a language that does.
All right,
Coming in to your body,
Slowing down,
Taking a breath together.
Letting it go.
Dropping into your heart,
Letting the shoulders relax.
And feeling how these words land.
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself.
And the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this,
You will lead me by the right road,
Though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore,
Will I trust you always,
Though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
For you are ever with me.
And you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Noticing how that landed,
And I'll share it one more time this time.
Invitation to speak it in your own words out loud.
My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself.
And the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this,
You will lead me by the right road,
Though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore,
Will I trust you always,
Though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
For you are ever with me.
And you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
So feeling that support,
That reminder,
That it's okay to be in the unknown and not know where you are going.
Surrendering to a greater power that is guiding you,
That is there with you always.
Taking one last breath together,
And letting that go.
Thank you for exploring this prayer with me.
Know that I am rooting for you.
I am wishing you so much support and guidance and wisdom for your path and your journey.
I send you so much love.
Keep staying true to yourself,
Keep opening your heart,
Keep trusting even when you may not see what lies ahead.
Thank you and I look forward to practicing with you again very soon.
