Customer Reviews

Discovering the Hidden Ground of Love (Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton)

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Discovering the Hidden Ground of Love is the fourth of eight booklets in the series "Bridges of Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton." Like its predecessors, it contains eight sessions consisting of a psalm passage; an introduction; excerpts on the topic from Merton's work and that of another spiritual writer; and reflection questions. Suggestions for individual and group use, a facilitator's guide, and optional closing prayers are included.

In reviewing the first three booklets, I focused primarily on the passages from Merton's work. This time, I will take a closer look at the session introductions prepared by editors Jonathan Montaldo and Robert G. Toth. My first example is from Session One, Wisdom for Contemplative Living. In the selection from Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Merton writes, "paradise is all around us," as he contemplates the point between darkness and daylight. The editors use the image of God as "the beautiful spider who webs us to connection with every line of His creation" to introduce the readings. In the reflection section they ask how we attend to "the web of life of which we all are an intricate part." Their opening to Session Three, Our Poor Selves and God's Mercy, prepares us for Merton's ideas on our dual identities, external masks, and hidden inner selves: "To love one another and God, and thus to find and love our true selves, is a consistently fragile enterprise."

I highly recommend this booklet and the entire series to small groups and individuals who appreciate rich language and deeply spiritual insights.