An astounding review of Thomas Merton as a monk and ...
595928
An astounding review of Thomas Merton as a monk and as a poet!  As a Merton reader (I have many of his books), II can't tell you how much I am enjoying this book.
4088891
This book is so much more than a "biography" of Saint Silouan, although biographical information is included.  Here we get the teachings of two Eastern Orthodox ascetics about the experience of living an authentic life. This is a book not only for Orthodox monastics.  It can be useful to anyone who is searching, or even curious, about the Orthodox mode of thinking about salvation.  Staretz (Elder) Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) was a contemporary and friend of Saint Silouan; so in this book we get the wisdom of two modern day Orthodox ascetics.
3646826
This is a great book that clarifies a lot about meditation and contemplation. Every Catholic should read this book so that they are able to learn how or what it all means to have a relationship with God and all the levels it takes on. The author is clearly a Thomas Merton fan, because she quotes him a few times. According to OUR SUNDAY VISITOR in an article published 5-27-2015 The Complex Spirituality of Thomas Merton, it says that only the writings that are done before 1958 are okay to read, "The Seven Storey Mountain" and "Seeds of Contemplation." (by him only). After 1958 he got into some shady stuff. It is interesting because of the controversies regarding his life and his writings, with him having great fans like Fr. Barron and great critics like Father Hardon, who associates Fr. Merton with starting the New Age movement. THIS BOOK ITSELF HAS HELPED ME ALOT TO UNDERSTAND THIS PROCESS and I'd highly recommend this book. Even if she uses the earlier stuff of Thomas Merton, which I like to think of it like using the earlier stuff of Father Corapi before he strayed...still good solid stuff.
3946329
My first encounter with Trungpa Rinpoche was in the mid-seventies when while in graduate school I was given a copy of Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. A wonderful and fascinating read, the book propelled me to learn more about its author and his thinking by further exploring his writings. I knew about Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado, which he founded in 1974. And I went to a lecture in New York City where I had a first-hand experience of the incredible power of emptiness of mind when while walking down the aisle to my seat I gazed upon him at the front of the room and experienced a moment of radical nothingness for perhaps the first and last time in my life. I thought I knew a lot about him but Crazy Wisdom opened up a window into his life and work that expanded my knowledge greatly. It is a well-made film by a documentarian who clearly relishes in her subject. He was quite a guy: Monk, philosopher, psychologist, teacher, exile, sensualist and addict, and a unique figure in the crossover of Eastern religion into the late middle twentieth century American cultural terrain of vapid striving for wealth and fame and the pervasive desolation of a bankrupt moral compass. He died at the age of forty-seven in 1987. Crazy Wisdom, a 'camera is there' film, lavishes us with a wonderful assortment of archival footage and a thoughtful and illuminating narrative structure. It does Trungpa justice!
4481227
When my local public library purchased Professor Jenkin's study of anti-Catholicism I was ambivalent.  I checked out the book with the intention to skim through it, but soon I began to more deeply read individual chapters, and eventually ended up reading the entire book.  Prof. Jenkins (a non-Catholic) presents a solid and balanced portrayal of the radically changing face of American anti-Catholicism, as well as how American Catholics have both combatted and contributed to this anti-Catholicism in the past and present.  The superficial similarities and profound differences between modern anti-Catholicism and past prejudice is simultaneously astounding and unsurprising.  The only book I know which surpasses this one in presenting the history of American anti-Catholicism is out of print ("John F. Kennedy and American Catholicism").  Coincidentally, that other work was also written by a non-Catholic (a Jewish scholar to be exact).  I highly recommend this book to Americans of all backgrounds who wish to understand the story behind American anti-Catholic prejudice today.
1338096
A stunning and brilliant work - Christ as the hinge of history and culture.  When I was choosing btw books by Chesterton, I asked for advice from Fr. John McCloskey, then head of the Catholic Information Center in Washington, DC.  I was considering "Orthodoxy" and "The Everlasting Man," and I asked Fr. M which one he'd recommend, if I had to choose.  He said 'they are both excellent, but..."The Everlasting Man" is Chesterton at the height of his maturity.
1913838
One of Merton's earlier books regarding the monastic life. The descriptions of life as a Cistercian monk, its simplicity and deep spirituality soothe the reader with a balm of peace. Historical context is woven throughout, and provides an understanding of the methods used to this day to keep a religious community together both physically and spiritually. Merton came into controversy in his later actions and writings, but he was a very compelling writer and this was written in the earlier, and more joyful period of his Cistercian life. My favorite books by Merton are this, The sign of Jonas, and The Seven-Storey Mountain.
3275349
Thomas Merton wrote "Seeds of Contemplation" when he was a young, relatively inexperienced contemplative. "New Seeds" is his reworking of that text, written after twelve years of intense spiritual effort.
Among other things, "New Seeds" is a great companion piece to St. John's "Dark Night of the Soul." I struggled mightily with that book, due to the complexity of thought and of the writing itself. Merton goes through these same stages of spiritual awareness and development in language I found far easier to understand.
But "New Seeds" is not merely a reworking of "Dark Night". I can't judge the value of his insights as they would apply to a true contemplative, but I suspect he offers much. For a worldly person who seeks spiritual growth, there is no question of this book's value.
Merton's major theme is humility. Only through humility can we discover faith. Only through humility can we rid ourselves of the distractions that separate us from God. Materialism, pride, sensuality, and the like are so well accepted in our society that we seldom see on how deeply they disrupt our souls. Merton's uncompromising reflections are a cold slap in the face.
"New Seeds" is also a moving defense of mysticism. God cannot be found through reason alone. He cannot be understood by reading or thinking. In fact, He cannot be understood at all. The emptying that we must do, the shedding of our selfish skins, can only begin when we decide to relinquish our selves to His will. Again, in a materialistic society, such ideas seem absurd; Merton conveys them with a power that makes any other idea seem absurd, even to the most rational reader.
Finally...even though Merton cautions us against excessive emotion as a false measure of interior progress, he writes at times with majesty that cannot help but inspire: "As a magnifying glass concentrates the rays of the sun into a little burning ray of heat that can set fire to a dry leaf or a piece of paper, so the mystery of Christ in the Gospel concentrates the rays of God's light and fire to a point that sets fire to the spirit of man...Through the glass of His Incarntation He concentrates the rays of His Divine Truth and Love upon us so that we feel the burn, and all mystical experience is communicated to men through the Man Christ."
3075996
Coming out of Catholicism and into all sorts of protestant denominations, this read about Zen into Catholicism will be intriguing. I have a deep respect for Merton and this was a writer he knew, talked with and endorsed.
3961914
A Review by Anthony T. Riggio of the book The Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton;  1/14/15

I finally read this book after years of my wife Micheline telling me that this was such wonderful book and well written by Thomas Merton, a Cistercian Monk, i.e., a cloistered monk who dedicates his life to silence and the devotion to God in all labors at the monastery.

After reading My Life with the Saints by James Martin, SJ, he listed Thomas Merton as one of those saints (though not canonized) and his review sparked my interests de novo.
I purchased the Kindle edition and read it.  One of the reviews was quite negative about typographical errors and I did take the time to report the typos to Kindle and I certainly hope they have corrected them as promised.

Thomas Merton led a most interesting life being born in France at the foot hills of the Pyrenees  Mountains in 1915 to Bohemian parents, both artists but adhering to no religion.  They had two sons Thomas and John Paul. The father, an impressionistic artist was a bit of a vagabond and they moved often.  Mertons mother dies soon after the birth of John Paul,  the father moves to England and changes schools from the French version to the English system.  These moves had a very big impact on both sons but Thomas, who is quite intelligent benefits from the hurdles of learning both a new culture and a new language. Soon the Father moves his boys to live with his parents in Douglaston New York where both must start over living with the grandparents.

After a couple of years of the father travelling and painting in Europe, he returns to the United States and takes only Thomas back  with him to France where Thomas continues his secondary education  in both France and England.  He then enters Oxford for his college education, and  begins his search for his life goals and discernment as to his spiritual goals.

Under the British system of education he takes courses in both Greek and Latin and a healthy regiment of philosophy and eventually obtains his BA and commences a course of study towards his MA.  During this period, his father dies and he is on his own and travels a great deal in Europe during his studies.  For a reason not specifically outlined in his auto biography of the Seven Story Mountain, Thomas Merton is caused to leave Oxford;  it is suggested he return to New York to complete his studies.

Upon returning to New York in the mid 30s, he enrolls at Columbia University to complete his MA and his PhD.  While at Columbia, Merton goes through a complex discernment process to determine his relationship with God and eventually becomes a Catholic.  He is both intelligent and a pursuer of the deep issues of life and his readings, which he started as a very young man are both challenging and certainly not the usual fare, even then, for a young scholar.  They are varied and full of searching themes, evolving from the philosophical the lives of the Saints, including Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.

It is important to note, that Merton, though living an unusual and self-filled and directional  life, albeit poor finds himself almost frantically searching for his vocation which he believes is a complete devotion to God as a priest or as a contemplative monk. He eventually goes to the Gethsemane Cistercian Monastery where he lives out his life.
He presents a warm and loving picture of his life as a cloistered and contemplative life and dies while on a mission in 1968 of an unexpected accident in Thailand.

I loved this book and found it an easy read, even when Merton writes about his deep love of God, which reflect his lifelong study of philosophy and spirituality.  While I personally would never consider the cloistered and silent life, I could easily understand Mertons fulfillment there and how each experience in his own life led him to the monastery.

I gave this book five stars out of five and highly recommend it to anyone searching for spirituality and God.
1700386
Fr. Murray Bodo has compiled a multi-faceted look at prayer which reflect his Franciscan background as well as his experiences resulting in a life dedicated to prayer.
Topics vary from contemplation; to the need for discussion of spiritual growth and teaching amongst ourselves; to spending a week Thomas Merton's hermitage in Gethsemani, KY; to an east - west conference where he spent time with the Dali Lama; interviewing an American Indian spiritual healer; to reflections on his remembering his father after his going home to the Lord.
I enjoyed reading this book. I take away that we need to enter into the mystery of God, be still and attempt to listen. For it is there that the soul is changed, transformed without us ever being aware that anything is happening.
Thank you Fr. Bodo for your writing and sharing your faith so that others may learn.
727230
This was a really interesting and honest account of a personal retreat at the Abbey made famous as being the home of Thomas Merton.
2891763
I was prepared to really like this book, based on the front cover blurb: "Thomas Merton's 1968 journey to Alaska, a shared story about spiritual seeking." I have lived in Alaska for many years and was already aware of Merton's visit to the Great Land. Kathleen Tarr has done a superb job of weaving together details of that visit with her own spiritual journey - her affinity with Merton comes through in poignant and affecting ways. What I was not prepared for was the fact that I would be unable to put this book down until I finished reading it, which I did in a couple of days. I was not prepared to learn so much from the author about the place I call home, to be so drawn to the places she describes, but which I have never visited - Yakutat, Dillingham, and Nikolaevsk, to name a few. The author's ability to make the reader long to visit these places definitely makes her spiritual memoir even more compelling.
2683580
"He who beholds the Church really beholds Christ" says St Gregory of Nyssa; "Any soul, in cultivating its vineyard, cultivates that of his neighbour as well. The two are so closely united that no one can do good or evil to himself without doing good or evil to his neighbour at the same time. Together you form but one single, universal vineyard" (Saint Catherine of Siena). These are but two of the many many quotes of the patristic age and of the middle ages that De lubac cites and explains to lead us to an inner understanding of the mystery of catholic and orthodox christianity. The effects of subjectivisim and individualism, so prevalent in our culture, can affect us all in insidious ways. De lubac points to the deep mystical social nature of the ecclesia catholica. This is a treasure to be read and re-read with the wisdom of the centures at one's finger tips, so to speak. The one irritant is that some of the footnotes are in latin, which is a little off putting.
220352
If it were up to me, Fr. Knox, born just two years before the death of Cardinal Newman, whom he resembles in his life's journey, would be on his way to official sainthood, if only because of his preaching skills. This series, given at retreats oh so many years ago, is astounding in depth and theology. The last one I read, about death, the death of Christ and our own deaths, not a finish, but an achievement--for our future in heaven becomes secure if we understand what His death really meant--is so splendidly presented as to provide on the spot hope. Monsignor Knox has become a constant companion. To me, this is as meaningful a book as the Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis.
4031621
The whole world should read and believe Thomas Merton! This is an artfully put together book.  It adds that needed something for every day.  It is one of the best inspirational works I have seen or read or used on a daily basis! If you haven't seen it - find it and use it. It will not only change you as an individual but if we could get everyone to believe the truth held here, it could change the world!
2234434
"Drunks and Monks" is the gripping story of bright and sophisticated lawyer's radical conversion to Catholicism after numerous divine encounters with the Living God. A successful entertainment lawyer with a beautiful wife living in an exclusive Palos Verdes estate, John Carmichael had it all. Or so he thought. One twist of fate leads to another, and John turns to partying and wild living, soon soaking in all that the world had to offer. John's adventure of the senses soon turned into an out-of-control lifestyle without any rules or limits. In John's wholehearted search for the truth and meaning of life, the hand of the Living God reached down and introduced John to the undeniable truth of Catholicism. God saves John from himself- and forever changes him as a man and a professional. John now lives his life to tell the world of the truth and the power of Catholicism. "Drunks and Monks" is that rarest of documents, a genuinely profound book.