The four Thomas Merton books you have to read
The essential Merton, according to the author, is all of his books taken together. Poll: What is the Merton book you most frequently recommend? Read them all, if you can.
The Seven Storey Mountain outsold all other nonfiction books published in 1948-49, and New Seeds is one of only a handful of Christian spiritual classics of the twentieth century. Thomas Merton’s journals were not published until 25 years after his death. In the last decade of his life, he was becoming willing.
What is the best biography of Thomas Merton?
For those unfamiliar with Thomas Merton (1915-68), he was a Trappist monk, poet, and social activist best known for his autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain, which for decades inspired a large number of young men (and, no doubt, women) across America and beyond to live lives of spiritual contemplation.
What was Thomas Merton best known for?
Thomas Merton OCSO (January 31, 1915 u2013 December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist, and comparative religion scholar who is best known for pioneering dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures such as the Dalai Lama; Japanese writer D. T. Suzuki; and social activist and scholar of comparative religion Thomas Merton OCSO (January 31, 1915 u2013 December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer,
What was Thomas Merton’s message?
The goal of nonviolence, according to Thomas Merton (1915-1968), is the transformation of human relationships, not immediate victory over the adversary.
Did Thomas Merton have a child?
Ruth Merton died of stomach cancer in 1921, when Thomas was six, and a second son, John Paul, was born on November 2, 1918. The Merton family profile at the time was one of rather poor, impractical idealists, dedicated to art and peace but not particularly religious.
Where is Thomas Merton buried?
After attending St. Bonaventure University in Olean, New York (1939u201341), Merton entered the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani in Louisville, Kentucky, where he developed as a mystic and pursued imaginative spiritual quests through dozens of writings. The Trappists are considered one of the most ascetic of the Roman Catholic monastic orders, and Merton grew as a mystic and pursued imaginative spiritual quests through dozens of writings.
What religion is a monastery?
The term monastery is used to refer to a variety of religious communities, but there is a more specific definition of the term and many related terms in the Roman Catholic religion and to some extent in certain branches of Buddhism.
Why are monks called monks?
Monks who live alone are called hermits; those who live with other monks are called monasteries; and nuns who live together are called convents. The word hermit comes from Ancient Greek and means “solitary.” It can refer to both men and women in Greek, but it is mostly used for men in modern English.
Did Thomas Merton take a vow of silence?
Merton was a Trappist, a Roman Catholic brotherhood known for its austere lifestyle and vow of silence, which forbids all communication.
What does Thomas Merton say about love?
u201cLove is its own reward because it seeks only one thing: the good of the one loved, leaving all other secondary effects to take care of themselves. u201d u201cA man knows when he has found his vocation when he stops thinking about how to live and begins to live.u201d
What religion are Trappist monks?
Trappist, formally a member of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (OCSO), a reformed branch of Roman Catholic Cistercians founded in France in 1662 by Armand-Jean Le Bouthillier de Rancu00e9.
What is the meaning of Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time?
u201cArt enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time,u201d wrote the great spiritual writer Thomas Merton. We’ve all stood in front of that special image that sang to our soul; art allows a person to express themselves completely.
How did Merton died?
A young man named Thomas Merton was received as a novice by the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky on December 10, 1941, and died by accidental electrocution in his room at a retreat center in Bangkok, Thailand, exactly twenty-seven years later.
Who wrote The Seven Story Mountain?
Mertonnoun is a place name in England derived from the words “lake” and “settlement.”