For those who know Thomas Merton well

[christofirst]

Here is an interesting two-part talk from the late Fr. Matthew Kelty, OCSO, one of the monks who lived with Thomas Merton. He does not mention Merton’s interest in Eastern religions, but I think that is telling in itself. Thomas Merton was apparently interested in many things, religious and otherwise, and he would thoroughly study whatever he was interested in at any given time. The impression I get from these reminiscences is not that Thomas Merton was headed toward embracing Buddhism, but that he was a curious, intelligent and devout Catholic monk of the Trappist Order.

 

[Shakuhachi]

The impression I get from these reminiscences is not that Thomas Merton was headed toward embracing Buddhism, but that he was a curious, intelligent and devout Catholic monk of the Trappist Order.

Amen to that. There is nothing wrong with intelligent curiosity.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

What a fascinating man… Fr. Kelly, too!

 

[Dovekin]

Merton was ahead of his time and his ideas are primarily for people who are open to thinking a bit outside the box, which is not everybody.

I would have said the opposite, his ideas are primarily for those who are not open to thinking outside the box. Those who are already thinking with Christ do not need his writings.

The canonization of Thomas Merton started long before he died and will continue until it is official. Consider these remarks by Father Morey, ocso, on the 50th anniversary of Merton’s death last month:

Through his writing, Thomas Merton has touched many people. He seems to have been able to articulate what they have known deep inside themselves but have been unable to express. He has helped many people to see their own true face. In one of his most famous pieces, he describes seeing ordinary people going about their business on an ordinary day in an ordinary town as “walking around, shining like the sun.” He says, “It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation.” He saw himself and others as they truly were, fellow members “of a race in which God Himself became incarnate.” This has been his gift to many, many people, to show them who they truly are, to show them the face of Christ in themselves and each other.

What strikes me as so important, though, about the effect he has had on others, is that people want to share what Merton has meant to them, what Merton has done for them. Those who have been touched by Merton do not simply hold him close to their hearts as a private treasure. He makes people seek others out, to form various kinds of community. We have only to look around this very church to see this. Most of those gathered here this evening are here because they want to bear witness to how Merton has changed their lives, with other people who have felt the same way.

 

[Dovekin]

Link to Fr Morey’s homily on the anniversary of TM’s death

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Those who are already thinking with Christ do not need his writings.

Technically, we don’t NEED anyone but Jesus no matter how we are thinking.

Saints are helpful in that they’re not divine and keep us company along the way. Do I NEED Merton for anything? No. Might his writings help me anyway? Yes.

 

[minux]

No. Why would you ask if he drifted too far to Eastern mysticism? What books of Merton’s have you read?

 

[Roguish]

It’s been about a decade since I last read Merton, or even about Merton, but the impression his writings made on me back then were of a conflicted man–not just conflicted between West (Catholicism) and East (Buddhism), but conflicted in many ways. And I believe that to this day his writings appeal strongest to the many who are themselves conflicted, for Merton’s writings never quite resolve any conflicts, they only articulate them eloquently.

As for the possibility of sainthood, it puzzles me that some would consider that appropriate. Merton wasn’t a man of strong faith; he was a man with a strong urge to find faith. And his relationship with Catholicism was strained, both practically and theologically. I think that in his later years Merton stuck with his order mostly because he knew that if he abandoned it he’d be “out on the street”. All in all, he was an interesting character, but he was a witness to inner conflict more than a witness to unwaivering faith.

Here is one article that offers what I consider to be a fair and accurate assessment of Merton (but please disregard the defeatist final paragraph!):

The Modern Monkhood of Thomas Merton

Fifty years after his death, Merton’s contradictions have made his work all the more instructive.

www.newyorker.com

 

[Dovekin]

Merton wasn’t a man of strong faith; he was a man with a strong urge to find faith. And his relationship with Catholicism was strained, both practically and theologically. I think that in his later years Merton stuck with his order mostly because he knew that if he abandoned it he’d be “out on the street”. All in all, he was an interesting character, but he was a witness to inner conflict more than a witness to unwaivering faith.

How then is St Augustine a saint? Do you think he was not always seeking faith? Do you think his relationship with Catholicism was never strained? He was “drafted” intothe episcopacy, against his will, and stuck with it despite wanting to withdraw from public life? St Augustine was a witness to inner conflict, who has a book of his conflicts with himself.

If Thomas Merton cannot be a saint for the reasons you propose, neither can St Augustine. St Augustine, by his struggles, provided a foundation for the unwavering faith of others.

Or Aquinas, who chose his life aganst the wishes of his family, who considered many sides to every question and ultimately saw it all as straw. Do you think his relationship with Catholicism was not strained, prectically as well as theologically?

These are men who struggled, and by their struggles taught the Church to have a greater faith. If you do not think Merton was not like them, perhaps you still need to learn from him.

 

[minux]

The Merton connection to Buddhism is not a conflict. Did you ever read Seven Story Mountain or No Man is an Island? Clear representation on his journey towards Truth. To paraphrase Mark Twain, a classic is a book everyone knows of, but no one read. I find that many people make sweeping generalizations without studying the works in question. Merton’s explorations of non-Christian denominations and meditative techniques never detract from Christian faith. Like many apologists, Merton wanted to discover and explore the same thoughts we all have.

About Merton and Sainthood, what miracles did Merton perform? What criteria are people arguing Merton met for Sainthood?

 

[InThePew]

I have read most of Merton’s works including all of his letters and journals. He is certainly a complex individual (as are we all) but I think where people go wrong is that (a) they tend to equate musings in a journal with theological argument; and (b) they tend to treat anything which is non-Christian as being suspect. Merton’s interest in Asian mysticism stemmed from his interest in contemplative prayer and non-violence - something which Eastern religions have been engaged in far longer than us in the West. Merton remained a priest in good standing and a monk of Gethsemane Abbey until they day he died. Granted, some of his theological musings may have ventured too far but then Merton was not, and never claimed to be, a theologian. He was however, very steeped in theological learning. Granted, he had a notoriously stormy relationship with his Abbott, James Fox (who was definitely not strictly traditional - this being a source of the tension between the two who ended up being buried side-by-side) and also engaged in a (somewhat) platonic relationship with a nurse. This is however, what makes him accessible - he was by no means perfect and indeed would never have claimed to be. However, despite (or perhaps because of) his status as a cloistered monk he showed a very astute understanding of the world at a time of considerable social upheaval. In particular, he understood the need to dialogue with the world and a broad understanding of other cultures and viewpoints - and this is what led him on his fateful trip to Asia (with, I might add, the permission of his abbot). Finally, I should add the Bishop Robert Barron is a fan.

@Mrs_cloisters_OP I had no idea you ever met the man himself! You are indeed blessed!

 

[JimR-OCDS]

It should be noted that most of the books by Thomas Merton, received the Imprimarture. Meaning it’s that a publication which is true to the Church’s teachings on faith and morals, and free of doctrinal error.

The one book I have which does not have the Imprimatur, is “Zen and the Birds of Appetite,” which wouldn’t get the Imprimatur, because it was a look at the similarities between Buddhism and Catholicisms, but also their differences. There may be some other works, but I’m not familiar with them.

Lastly, I understand that Thomas Merton upset some of the old guard monks at Gethsemani, when he told them they were not Contemplatives, but Introverts.

Anyway, Merton will not be canonized, I’m sure of that. Most monks in cloisters are not canonized, despite living devote holy lives, because other than the monks a the monastery, no one knows them or the works they may have done.

Jim

 

[Dovekin]

Anyway, Merton will not be canonized, I’m sure of that. Most monks in cloisters are not canonized, despite living devote holy lives, because other than the monks a the monastery, no one knows them or the works they may have done.

Yes, this is why there are no entries on New Melleray Abbey’s list of Cistercian Saints.

And of course, no one knows Thomas Merton or the works he has done.

This was, of course, a major contradiction in Merton’s life. The anonymity he sought as a monk eluded him. There is no reason to pretend that the International Thoms Merton Society does not exist, just because it contradicts Cistercian ideals of anonymity. The contradiction is part of who he was.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

To Jim’s point, all the st. monks listed on that link died in the 13th century or earlier.

There is one saint who died in 1967, and he was an Oblate…

 

[Dovekin]

There is one saint who died in 1967, and he was an Oblate…

I am not sure you understand what Oblate means in this case. From the bio at New Melleray:

He studied architecture in Madrid, but left a promising career to enter the monastery of San Isidro in 1934. Due to diabetes, he was obliged to leave the monastery three times but each time he returned despite the heroic immolation that such re-entries exacted of him. He made a total and absolute offering of himself to God in hiddenness and silence. After his death, his virtues and writings became known and the cause for his beatification was introduced.

He was a monk “in hiddenness and silence.” By Jim’s argument, he could not have been canonized.

Thomas Merton never had the “hiddenness and silence” of St Raphael, so it seems even less likely that hiddenness will work against his canonization. Other things might, but not that.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

He was a monk “in hiddenness and silence.” By Jim’s argument, he could not have been canonized.

Not what I said and you’re being rude.

Not going to argue with you about Thomas Merton

Jim

 

[mrsdizzyd]

I understood it fully. He was someone who wanted to be a monk, but due to his health was in and out of the monastery a few times before he died. As an oblate he lived as much as a monk as his health would permit.

No need to be rude.

 

[BlueMaxx]

He was a monk “in hiddenness and silence.” By Jim’s argument, he could not have been canonized.

I have found great solace and learned many things not only about my faith as a Catholic but about myself from Merton.

So I am always perplexed how some feel Merton was not only inherently wrong on most everything but pictured as nearly outside Catholic dogma…

Reading Merton is reading of a real man with honest struggles. At time his writings are punctuated with small victories and often with moments of intense reflection on how wrong he was about some things.

I however detest that nearly every so often a thread like this pops up and some folks want to argue and debate the same things over and over…it saddens me.

Also, a lot of folks not from his era forget that the Vietnam war was being waged and it had a great impact on Merton. Some things cannot be learned form a history book.

 

[Shakuhachi]

Didn’t his brother die in a war?

 

[BlueMaxx]

Yes…he died in WWII after his plane crashed…

John Paul Merton 1918-1943

He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1941, intending to get involved in the Second World War and the United States was not yet committed. He went by the nickname “Mert”. One of the correspondents in these letters, Thomas O’Brien, gave his flight training. John Paul visited Thomas Merton at Gethsemani during a leave in July of 1942. He expressed interest in becoming baptized Catholic and received expedited instructions from Thomas and Dom James Fox because he had only a week’s leave. He was baptized July 26, 1942. In August 1942, John Paul was sent into action in England. While on leave in England, he met Margaret May Evans and married her in February of 1943. On April 16, 1943, he embarked in a Wellington bomber over the English Channel. For unknown reasons, the plane lost altitude and crashed. John Paul’s back was broken, but he was taken aboard a dinghy with some survivors. He died the 17th, which was the Saturday of Passion Week. The others were rescued Holy Thursday, and Thomas Merton learned of his brother’s death on Easter Tuesday. Thomas Merton responded with the poem, “For My Brother Reported Missing in Action, 1943”, which concludes the The Seven Storey Mountain . (Source: The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia , pp. 294-295.)