Of the theological virtues Faith, Hope, and Love, St. Paul writes<\/a> that the greatest of these is Love. Our Lord also said so when He was being questioned by the scholar of the law and gave us the Two Greatest Commandments,<\/a> both of which are based on love; the love of God and the love of neighbor.<\/p>\n It sounds pretty easy, and in theory it is. But in practice?<\/p>\n Well of the two, loving God is relatively easy, but loving our neighbors can be downright challenging. That is, for me anyway.<\/p>\n Idea! Wouldn\u2019t it be neat to attend a lecture by Thomas Merton on this virtue?<\/p>\n Thanks to YouTube, you can! I came across these videos awhile back. What jostled my memory of them is the chapter on charity that I read in Mere Christianity<\/em> by C.S. Lewis.<\/p>\n See, Merton was in charge of teaching theology to the novices at the Cistercian Abbey in Gethsemani for a time, and these lectures were recorded from talks in the early 1960s. The subject matter? St. Bernard of Clairvaux and man\u2019s ultimate vocation: to love.<\/p>\n I was intrigued to hear Merton\u2019s voice. And he sounds like one of my favorite professors from college. Listening to him, I have the impression that he was a pretty tough grader. A professor who doesn\u2019t put up with any nonsense and assumes you will come to class prepared.<\/p>\n But then, at the beginning of the lecture that follows, he puts everyone at ease by saying,<\/p>\n In a monastery, you don\u2019t have to get anyplace!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n I hope you enjoy these clips as much as I do.<\/p>\n You can go direct to YouTube and see part two<\/a> of this lecture as well. If you have about 20 minutes to listen to them both, you\u2019ll come away with a deeper impression of Thomas Merton.<\/p>\n And you will gain more insight on our true vocation. These lectures led me also to learn more about Bernard of Clairvaux: Abbot, Confessor, Doctor of the Church<\/a>.<\/p>\n The School of Love? Take it away Father Louis!