There once was a convert to Catholicism who entered the Gethsemani Trappist Monastery in Kentucky when he was 27 years old. He died 27 years later, in 1968. He is one of the best-known Catholic writers of our time. He wrote books about theology and spirituality, and books about contemporary social issues (e.g., racism, war and nuclear proliferation). He was also a poet and photographer. To his brother monks in the monastery, he was known as Father Louis. But to his readers, he was known by his given name, Thomas Merton.
One of the things that I like about Merton is that he viewed life as a journey and believed that he could always learn more, always improve his understanding of himself and his relationship to God. As a Trappist monk, he was of course focused on prayer and deepening his understanding of God and his relationship to God. He studied the lives and writings of saints and spiritual writers who had preceded him. He learned whatever he could about monastic life. He was deeply committed to his monastic vocation. However, he was not constricted by the traditional structure of Catholic monasticism. He was always open to new ideas. Toward the end of his life, he became very interested in Eastern religions (e.g., Zen Buddhism, Sufism). In these religions, he saw monks who were able to achieve transcendence that was similar to the contemplative experience of God that those in the Western religious traditions might achieve. He believed he could learn from these Eastern monks lessons that would help enrich and complement his Catholic faith.
Contemplation was very important to Merton. He wrote a number of books that focused on that subject. But he also understood the need for Christian action in the world. I admire the way he respected both these important aspects of Christianity. Merton believed that solitude was very important in people’s lives. For himself, he advocated for years for the opportunity to live as a hermit. For the last 3 years of his life he was able to do this, living alone in a hermitage on the grounds of Gethsemani. For those of us not living in a monastery, Merton believed that contemplation and solitude could help us to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and focus on the important things of life. This contemplation and solitude help us experience God’s love in a deeper way and then lead us to bring God’s love to the world through social action.
One of the other things that I like about Thomas Merton is how down-to-earth he seemed. Despite his being a well-known author, whose books were read around the world, the other monks at Gethsemani typically regarded him as just a brother monk. And that is the way he saw himself. His journals show that he was anything but perfect. He struggled with obedience to his superiors throughout his monastic life. Other monks described how he could be curt and abrupt when he thought a conversation was not worth having. So, despite his great understanding of the spiritual life and his valuable writings that have guided so many others, we see Merton struggling in his spiritual journey, just as we do.
I admire Merton’s dedication to his faith, his journey to deepen that faith and draw closer to God throughout his life, his recognition of the importance of both contemplation and faith-driven social action, and a recognition of his ongoing struggle to become the best person he could be. His writings cover a wide range of topics, so there might be something for everyone’s interests. I’m listing some of them below.
Spirituality
Seven Story Mountain (autobiography from birth to life in the monastery)
New Seeds of Contemplation
No Man Is an Island
Contemplation in a World of Action
The Wisdom of the Desert
Social Action
Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander
Cold War Letters
Raids on the Unspeakable
Spirituality of the East
The Way of Chuang Tzu
Mystics and Zen Masters
Zen and the Birds of Appetite
Also, here’s a link to a webpage about Merton on the Abbey of Gethsemani website. It includes a picture of Merton.
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