Thomas Merton: In My Own Words [Hardcover]

Jonathan Montaldo (Compiler), The Merton Institute For Contemplative Living (Compiler)

Book Description

Series: In My Own Words | Publication Date: November 1, 2007

Thomas Merton is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential American spiritual writers of the past century. Thousands of readers have drawn strength from his words and the witness of his life. His autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain appears on lists of the 100 most important books of the century.

Merton is distinguished among contemporary spiritual writers by the depth and substance of his thinking. He was able to distill the best writings of theologians, philosophers, and poets over the centuries, from both the West and the East, and presented their ideas in the context of the Christian worldview.

Thomas Merton: In My Own Words provides a portal into the monastic vocation of Thomas Merton and gives us a snapshot of his entire life. His words encourage readers to embrace their own vocation as baptized Christians, as members of the human family, and as people in relationship.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Liguori Publications (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764816713
• ISBN-13: 978-0764816710
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #425,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I have been reading Thomas Merton since I was thirteen, now for over fifty-six years. I wrote a Masters Thesis in theology and literature at Emory University in 1974, a study of Merton's autobiography entitled "Toward the Only Read City in America: Paradise and Utopia in the Autobiography of Thomas Merton". As I look back, my life has been rich with different experiences: a Jesuit seminarian in the New Orleans Province; service in Vietnam and Italy in the Navy; teaching high school; working for the government; founding and growing a ten-store retail operation with two partners (still going); and then formal work with Thomas Merton's legacy since 1988 that included being the director of the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky; a term as President of the International Thomas Merton Society; and administering a small retreat house, Bethany Spring, one mile away from Merton's Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky, where I presented retreats on many topics but most were based on the ten-booklet series for small-group dialogue that I created entitled "Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton". My favorites among the many editions I produced of Merton's writing include "The Intimate Merton", "Dialogues with Silence", "A Year with Thomas Merton", and "Choosing to Love the World: Thomas Merton on Contemplation". "Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton" is perhaps the best work that I've done to bring Merton's teachings on "contemplative living" to a wide audience. "Bridges" is perhaps my most useful contribution to Thomas Merton's legacy.