Customer Reviews

A Year with Thomas Merton: Daily Meditations from His Journals

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Thomas Merton is one of the great spiritual writers of the twentieth century. His works such as NO MAN IS AN ISLAND and THE SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN provide enduring reflections on a journey of faith and devotion.

This volume contains selections from his journals arranged to be read as meditations and contemplation. Each offer insight and grace for the reader seeking to develop a closer connection with the Creator.

The illustrations - Merton's own photographs and drawings - offer additional sources of reflection. This is a fine book and provides a course of guidance throughout the year.

The excerpts read like passages from his daily journal. They are out of context. They can be quite mundane. It might be 3 paragraphs about his living situation, or where something has been moved. If you are looking for a daily devotional reader, this is not it. I would rather recommend Seeds of Contemplation which is an excellent collection of spiritual readings.

Yes, read Merton. But this is not the best collection of his work.

I am admirer of Thomas Merton and his writings. Being a fan of his work and finding inspiration in it, I was disappointed with this book. Rather than serving as a means of spiritual enlightenment, this book comes off as poetry and miscellaneous scribblings. There is very little here of spiritual substance. The writing itself is not particularly bad. However, most people do not buy a Thomas Merton book for random poetry without context. They buy Merton's for the religious context. Why would a book of daily meditations not acknowledge the religious holidays on the appropriate days? Because this is a collection of rare writings published more than thirty years after his death, the book borders on being exploitive.

There are many great works by Thomas Merton with great meaning that foster spiritual development. This is not one of them. This is merely a collection of journal reflections with less than the desirable amount of spiritual substance.

I have read a number of Merton's works, including: The Seven Storey Mountian, Thoughts in Solitude, and No Man is an Island. I was first introduced to his writings by a parish priest and friend over ten years ago, and have remained permanently touched, consoled, challenged, and moved by Merton. To be given the privilege to reflect daily on writings from his own personal journals is a blessing and an insightful window into the heart of a tremendously inspired man. I highly recommend this book to anyone, particularly perhaps those first "getting to know him."
However, these meditations are particularly more powerful AFTER having already read the Mountain - since you will be able to see the dates of his writing and perceive them in even greater context. After only a few months of his meditations, I so very hope to have the humble privilege of reading from his published journals directly.

Rather than write my own words. I'll offer a selection from this amazing collection. This is from his journal on September 7, 1958.

"This beautiful day, with the quiet sun shining on the bronze paint of the Garden Virgin and on the marigolds and the weeds and the hills. Crickets everywhere. Nothing moving in the garden but the wind, a butterfly, and my pen.

"Fair day of recollection in the new novitiate chapel, and I was happy in it and accepted its imperfections, and accepted everything. That is all that is needed. When you accept what you have, you see all you have received is more than enough and you are overwhelmed. I desire other things because I fear to be content with what I have-I fear it is inglorious. In the last few days I have seen what matters is to be humble enough to admit I am content with just this. Leave the rest to God."

Enjoy.

The book came in great time. I think I only waited a week...maybe less. The book is in better condition that they had said, which is great.

A very good compilation of Thomas Merton's spiritual reflections, life insights, and observations. Whether you are an avid follower and reader of Merton or just want a taste of a genuinely great spiritual thinker from a man who, with all his admitted human flaws and contradictions, you'll appreciate this book. Merton always satisfies the thirst for spiritual focus and perspective, eschewing any notion that the contemplative life - which he so intensely sought - meant running away from the ways of the world. Merton's journey through life was one of spiritual growth and maturity which always meant examining new spiritual discoveries and using his stature as a successful spiritual author to address social injustice, engaging the world beyond the walls of the monastery.

Some who have written less than glowing reviews of this volume may have missed that it expresses Merton's daily struggle to find God in solitude. It is a very good insight into his own thoughts and the difficulties he had between the world and the life he chose to live. It describes just how necessary it is for us to be silent and look for God as revealed in God's creation, yet how drawn we are to the conflicting influences of the world. Suprisingly, Merton was not immune. It is a volume of hope and insight for those seeking to understand this difference as he experienced it. It is not an easy, 1-2-3 follow these simple steps to spirituality book. But then that was not what Merton was about either is it?