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The Inspirational Thomas Merton

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Thomas Merton, Trappist Monk

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) is, arguably, the most influential Catholic author of the 20th century. As a leading writer in the fields of contemplative and eastern spirituality, his work still resonates forty years after his death.

I relate to him in so many ways - as a photographer, lover of nature and solitude, and through his interest in contemplative and eastern spirituality. I would like to introduce more people to his life and work.

Image Credit: Photograph of Thomas Merton by Sibylle Akers. Used with Permission of the Merton Legacy Trust and the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

Contents at a Glance

The Seven Storey Mountain
Moments of Profound Impact
Becoming a Trappist Monk and a Writer
A Vision at the Corner of 4th and Walnut
Thomas Merton and Buddhism
More Thomas Merton Quotes
Soul Searching: The Journey of Thomas Me...
Thomas Merton, Poet
Merton as Friend and Mentor

about Thomas Merton

1. He was a Trappist monk who lived in a hermitage.
2. He enjoyed nature and photography.
3. He was a Catholic, also drawn to Zen Buddhism.

The Seven Storey Mountain

Thomas Merton's best-selling book

The Seven Storey Mountain

by: Thomas Merton

Amazon Price: $4.14 (as of 05/27/2012)
List Price: $16.00

It will inspire you!

Moments of Profound Impact

Visiting Rome in 1933

On his 18th birthday, Merton went on a trip through Europe and Rome that had a profound impact on him. He was an agnostic at the time, but on his visit to Rome he began visiting churches (not services, but just to see them). Here, he discovered ancient Christian Rome.

At one church in particular, he was drawn to a mosaic of Jesus Christ sitting in judgment that he found hard to leave. He bought a Bible and began reading the New Testament. For the first time in his life, he acknowledged the emptiness he felt and prayed to God to deliver him from it.

During that trip, he also visited a Trappist monastery and the thought came to him that he would like to become a Trappist monk, which of course, he eventually did.

However, after his trip, he entered Cambridge University, and after a few attempts at attending Episcopal and Quaker services, he again lost interest in religion. The rest of his time at Cambridge was spent drinking heavily and having several relationships with women.

At Columbia University

the conversion begins

In 1933, as a sophomore, Merton transferred to Columbia University in New York, and began to mature. It was here that he made life-long friends, became active in the peace movement, and was introduced to Catholicism.

While taking a class on medieval French literature, he read a pivotal book by Etienne Gilson, called "The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy." This gave him a view of God that made sense and led to reading other books on mysticism and Catholicism. Around the same time, both of his grandparents died and he found himself praying over them. Merton's thesis before graduation was on the poet William Blake, whose spirituality was evident in his writing.

Merton soon attended his first Mass, and after reading about Gerard Manley Hopkin's conversion to Catholicism, he met with a priest and began his own process of conversion. He entered the Church in 1938.

His journey continued as he worked on an M.A. and then a PhD at Columbia. Now, he knew that he wanted to become a priest.

Becoming a Trappist Monk and a Writer

at the Abbey of Gethsemani

After taking a teaching job at St. Bonaventure University, Merton's spiritual life continued to evolve. It was during a retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Bardstown, Kentucky that he felt a real pull to the life of a monk.

On December 10, 1941 he returned to Gethsemani for interviews and work and to find out if they would accept him as a novice. Ironically, December 10th was also the day that he died in 1968.

On March 19, 1944 he made his temporary profession of vows and on March 19, 1947 he professed his solemn vows. During this time, he was also writing a lot and had books of poems that were published. It was in 1948 that his book, The Seven Story Mountain, was published and became popular worldwide.

A Vision at the Corner of 4th and Walnut

in Louisville, Kentucky

In 1958, Thomas Merton had an experience on the corner of 4th and Walnut in Louisville, Kentucky which changed his life. As a monk who felt himself separate from the rest of humanity, he suddenly felt a deep connection with all people. Today that spot in Louisville is called "Thomas Merton Square." Here is an excerpt from his book "Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander."

"In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world, the world of renunciation and supposed holiness. The whole illusion of a separate holy existence is a dream...There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun....

I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God's eyes. If only they could all see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all of the time."

Image Credit: Photograph by Paul M. Pearson, Thomas Merton Center

Thomas Merton and Buddhism

Thomas Merton's Asian Journals

“We have what we seek, it is there all the time. If we give it time, it will make itself known to us.”

More Thomas Merton Quotes

Vote for your favorite or add your own.

The Inspirational Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton, Trappist Monk

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

3 Things You Should Know

about Thomas Merton

The Seven Storey Mountain

Thomas Merton's best-selling book

Moments of Profound Impact

Visiting Rome in 1933

At Columbia University

the conversion begins

Becoming a Trappist Monk and a Writer

at the Abbey of Gethsemani

A Vision at the Corner of 4th and Walnut

in Louisville, Kentucky

Thomas Merton and Buddhism

Thomas Merton's Asian Journals

“We have what we seek, it is there all the time. If we give it time, it will make itself known to us.”

More Thomas Merton Quotes

1

The deepest level of communication is not communication, but communion.

2

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.

3

Why can we not be content with an ordinary, secret, personal happiness that does not need to be explained or justified?

4

Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.

5

True freedom is openness, availability, the capacity for the gift.

6

Anxiety is spiritual insecurity. It is the fruit of unanswered questions.

7

The "spark" which is my true self is the flash of the Absolute recognizing itself in me.

8

Anxiety is the mark of spiritual insecurity. It is the fruit of unanswered questions.

9

By salvation I mean first of all the discovery of who he himself really is.

10

What do I mean by loving ourselves properly?

11

When we do not desire the things of this world for their own sake,

12

All sin is rooted in the failure of love.

13

To consider persons and events and situations only in the light of their

14

Music and art and poetry attune the soul to God because they induce a

15

Pure intention identifies our own happiness with the common good of all

16

It often happens that a man's true self is literally buried in the subconscious, and never has a chance to express itself.

17

The function of prayer is to deepen and strengthen and develop our moral conscience.

18

The deepest level of communication is not communication, but communion. It is wordless.

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Soul Searching: The Journey of Thomas Merton

A PBS Series

DVD from the PBS Series

Thomas Merton, Poet

The Selected Poems of Thomas Merton

No Man is an Island

A Classic Work by Merton

Merton as Friend and Mentor

More Thomas Merton Books

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