The words of Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton OCSO (January 31, 1915 - December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. Merton wrote more than 50 books in a period of 27 years, mostly on spirituality, social justice and a quiet pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews. Among Merton's most enduring works is his bestselling autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948). Merton became a keen proponent of interfaith understanding, exploring Eastern religions through his study of mystic practice.
He is particularly known for having pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures, including the Dalai Lama; Japanese writer D. T. Suzuki; Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa, and Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. He traveled extensively in the course of meeting with them and attending international conferences on religion. In addition, he wrote books on Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, and how Christianity is related to them.
Merton's influence has grown since his death, and he is widely recognized as an important 20th-century Catholic mystic and thinker. Interest in his work contributed to a rise in spiritual exploration beginning in the 1960s and 1970s in the United States. Merton's letters and diaries reveal the intensity with which their author focused on social justice issues, including the civil rights movement and proliferation of nuclear arms.
Merton was one of four Americans mentioned by Pope Francis in his speech to a joint meeting of the United States Congress on September 24, 2015. Francis said, "Merton was above all a man of prayer, a thinker who challenged the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and for the Church. He was also a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples and religions."
Part of the Church of Ireland, St Nicholas Church, Adare and its fellow churches teaches and ministers within the progressive Christianity tradition, with influences from the scholars who built on the work of the Jesus Seminar.It seeks to be a church that is welcoming and inclusive, affirming and open in its liberal theology; and whilst we don’t claim to have all the answers, we are most certainly committed to ‘living the questions’. We have influences of Celtic spirituality in our worship and view of the natural world, living as we do in the beauty of County Limerick.
The Church of Ireland also forms part of the Anglican communion which is an association of Anglican churches from 38 provinces, including the Church of England, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church in Wales, the Episcopal Church in the USA (otherwise known as the Episcopalians) and churches across the globe. With 80 million members, it is the third largest Christian body in the world, after the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.