“If you love you are not going to want to hate. It’s just not going to be compatible.” – Br. Paul Quenon

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Bill

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Merton.

Merton (1915-1968) was a writer, contemplative, mystic, social activist, artist, photographer, and Trappist monk at The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani not far from Louisville, Kentucky.

Despite living in a cloistered monastery – eventually living by himself in a small building called The Hermitage about a mile form the monastery – his influence extended around the world…and continues to this day.

We were going to wait until the exact day of Merton’s birth [January 31] to post this interview; however, what Brother Paul Quenon, a former student of Merton’s, had to say couldn’t wait any longer.

NOTE: This interview with Br. Paul [BPQ] was conducted by The Only Love Project’s Bill Murphy [BM] on October 28, 2014, at the Abbey. All photographs (except for the Merton book cover, the Casey book cover, and the photo of Father Louis) were taken by Bill.

BM: Please tell us your background. What would you like others to know about you?

BPQ: Oh, well, I am a monk, and I have been here [at the Abbey] most of my life. I love singing, and I do pretty well at that — get a lot of energy out of choir — and I like to read and read pretty broadly, and do a little bit of writing. I don’t write whole lot, but I have published six books of poetry, yeah, then produced a few anthologies, so I think some influence from Father Louis could be seen there. I refer to Thomas Merton as Father Louis because that was his name here in the monastery, so you will just have to bear with my habits.

BM: That’s great.

BPQ: And I cook and love being outdoors, and if I can’t be Continue reading →

“Love just doesn’t happen. It’s not like a weed. It doesn’t grow by itself with no tending…” – Bill Murphy

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Bill

It took a lot of cajoling. But the spotlight was finally turned on The Only Love Project’s founder as he was asked the same set of questions he routinely puts to others. What follows is the phone conversation Bill Murphy had with Saij MW (Ambassador of Unconditional Love, Tennessee) on September 3, 2014. Thank you, Saij, for your time and fleet-fingered transcribing talent!

SMW: Briefly tell us your background. What would you like others to know about you?

BM: Oh, I like how you put so much inflection into that question. It makes it sound like it’s a really good question [laughs].

Factually speaking, you can say I am a husband, a brother, a friend, a cat owner (or maybe the cat owns me…I don’t know). But, really, the most important thing I would like others to know about me is that I am somebody who cares and that I’d be by their side if they needed me. The factual things I began with (husband, brother, friend, etc.) are really pretty much in common with a lot of people. Such descriptors don’t set me apart from anybody. And, in fact, I am not really anybody special. But what I do strive to do is to be available to people who need help. So that’s what I’d like others to know about me: that I am there and that I care.

SMW: Well, that always comes across from my experience.

BM: Thank you.

SMW: Would you consider yourself a spiritual person?

BM: Absolutely, for a number of reasons. Some of it would be related to how I was brought up. Back when I was maybe 10 – 9, 10, 11, something like that – my mother thought it would be good for us to have some sort of religion in the house, and she wanted to pick a really old one to make sure it was authentic. [laughs]

So it was a toss-up between Judaism and Catholicism. She figured those were the two oldest Biblical sort-of religions. And for whatever reason she picked Catholicism. I don’t know what would have happened if she would have picked Judaism. I don’t even know if you can swing that. Well, Sammy Davis, Jr. did, I guess.

So for awhile I was raised Catholic. I went to Catholic Sunday school. I may have even done the Confirmation thing. I don’t remember. It was a long time ago. After that I was done. (And I don’t even know if my brothers went through that.) I was nothing for quite awhile, sort of agnostic or atheist. Probably in my mid- to late-twenties I discovered Protestant Christianity (especially the writings of the late Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, Josh McDowell, John W. Whitehead, and Cal Thomas) and studied that for a few years. It answered a lot of questions, especially Continue reading →

What Love Can Do

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Bill

There’s a lot going on in the world these days. So much death and destruction. So much heartache and sadness.

Remember: the focus of The Only Love Project is our communities. Our homes. Ourselves.

We cannot do anything about what’s happening in the Middle East. We cannot alter the course of events in Eastern Europe. We cannot stop poachers from slaughtering elephants in Africa. We cannot, for the most part, bridge the bitter divides among those holding strong political viewpoints.

The list of what we cannot do is massive. Overwhelming, in fact.

But if we fall prey to that kind of thinking, our ability to love each other, to have a positive affect on who and what we CAN change, will be seriously diminished.

The Dhammapda says, “Only love dispels hate.”

The Bible (1 Corinthians 13) says, “…the greatest of these is love.”

Believe it.

Believe it fervently.

We have the most powerful force on earth within us: Love.

And we have Continue reading →

“You Will Know Them By Their Fruits”

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Bill

One of the most often-used phrases in the Christian tradition is, “You will know them by their fruits,” which is found in the Book of Matthew:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:15-20, NKJV)

Usually, the occasion for using the phrase is assessing what a person does, what his or her deeds are.

In other words, a person’s works.

Why? To know if someone is a true follower of Jesus or not. “Good” fruits indicates an affirmative answer. “Bad” fruit indicates the person is likely not a true follower, or has backslidden.

However, there’s a hook in applying the verse that way: it requires making a judgment.

For example, by what standard are a person’s deeds or works determined to be good or bad? Saying the Bible is one’s standard is fine, except…

Does one use a Catholic interpretation? A Baptist one? A Presbyterian one? A Charismatic one? Which Bible translation provides the standard? King James? New King James? New International Version? English Standard Version? New American Standard version? How about a paraphrase like The Message? Or the Phillips Translation?

Are the standards to judge “good” fruit from “bad” derived from a literal interpretation of the Bible? Or a more relaxed, perhaps even mystical, interpretation?

Do they depend on the region of the United States in which one lives? For example, those who live in the Bible Belt might have a different set of standards by which to judge one’s “fruits” than people who live in, say, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles – or Peoria, for that matter.

Are the standards consistently applied? Are they applied without taint from Continue reading →

“Do You Love Me?”

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Bill

John 21:15-17, is one of the most intriguing passages in the Bible – partly because for a few thousand years people have debated what it means.

The verses showcase a conversation that takes place between Jesus and Peter as they stand on the shore by the Sea of Tiberias.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. (John 21:15-17 ESV)

That’s interesting enough at face value. But when you open the hood and look at the original Greek, you discover something else is going on.

The word “love” used by Jesus is different from the word “love” used by Peter.

The Greek word Jesus uses is agapao (ah-gah-PAH-o). The word Peter uses is the Greek word phileo (phil-EH-o).

This is how the passage looks using the actual words from the original Greek:

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love (agapao) me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love (phileo) you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (agapao) me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love (phileo) you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (phileo) me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love (phileo) you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. (John 21:15-17 ESV)

These two words (agapao vs. phileo) are usually said to be vastly different, with Continue reading →