Pope Francis Praises Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton

  • Thread starter Thread starter JimR-OCDS
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

JimR-OCDS

Guest
I just finished watching Pope Francis address to Congress.

He gave great praise to Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton.

When he spoke positively about Thomas Merton, I thought about this forum, where the man is not so welcomed.

I hope that Pope Francis words will help people to read what Thomas Merton wrote and keep an open mind and heart to his contemplative style.

Jim
 
I don’t think it’s fair to say that Thomas Merton is “not so welcomed” here on CAF. Many, if not most, acknowledge his great contribution to contemplative spirituality, especially in his earlier years. To note that he seemingly went a bit astray later in life is not to diminish his earlier contributions.
 
Corki said:
I don’t think it’s fair to say that Thomas Merton is “not so welcomed” here on CAF. Many, if not most, acknowledge his great contribution to contemplative spirituality, especially in his earlier years. To note that he seemingly went a bit astray later in life is not to diminish his earlier contributions.
Click to expand...
Well, you must not have been around years ago when there were heated attacks on Thomas Merton in this forum.

Heck, the method of prayer that he taught is a banned topic in this forum.

Hopefully, people will open their hearts and minds to his works and that of his brothers in the Trappist order.

Jim
 
Corki said:
To note that he seemingly went a bit astray later in life is not to diminish his earlier contributions.
Click to expand...
Hi,

He did NOT go astray!

he was tempted later in life and prevailed!

it is quite amazing that Catholics here will focus on the “astray” part and not on the fact he prevailed!

Supposedly he fell in love with a woman but did not break vows and resolved it in a spiritual manner. If we could all use this as a model!

A spiritual life is not easy nor is an easy road promised; generally the opposite is the fact.

Not sure if he ever wrote on the events but they are just part of the path…

EP
 
Teabag said:
In what way did he go astray? I have read one of his books
Click to expand...
Our fellow poster El Paso’s scandalous assertion is nowhere near what I was referring to. :tsktsk::tsktsk:

Thomas Merton’s later writings pointed toward Syncretism or, at least, nondifferentialization, in terms of his personal relationship with Catholicism. It has been said that he was drawn in by his interest in Eastern spirituality and went too far, blurring the lines between Christian and non-Christian beliefs.

There is an excellent article in Catholic Answers magazine that points out the contrast between his brilliant earlier writings and his later work.

catholic.com/magazine/articles/can-you-trust-thomas-merton
 
Merton merely wrote on the common beliefs Eastern Religions have with Catholicism, but also on the different ways they communicate those beliefs.

He at no time lost faith in his Christianity, but sought to live it as Christ did.

Pope Francis praised Thomas Merton today.

Jim
 
I thought it a great way to bring cohesion to his talk by highlighting four Americans who all contributed in different ways. I’d bet it was deliberate on his part to choose from the uncanonized since he was addressing a larger audience than just Catholics.

I could connect Day with the 3rd pillar of the Catechism on Life in Christ and Merton with the 4th pillar on Prayer. I’m still trying to figure out how Lincoln connects to Creed and King to Sacraments. 😛
 
JimR-OCDS said:
He at no time lost faith in his Christianity, but sought to live it as Christ did.

Pope Francis praised Thomas Merton today.

Jim
Click to expand...
Many historical figures in the Church can be “praised” for their very good contributions - but without such praise being an endorsement of all they said or did.

I have much of Merton on my shelves but I do not recommend all that he wrote. Nor do I wish to get into such a discussion. I simply wish to note what I have noted.

Heck one can praise the Dali Lama -but that does not mean a Christian is endorsing all that he says or writes.

Pope Benedict too saw the good in figures and the good of their work - without endorsing the person or their work in its entirety.
 
Bookcat said:
Many historical figures in the Church can be “praised” for their very good contributions - but without such praise being an endorsement of all they said or did.

I have much of Merton on my shelves but I do not recommend all that he wrote. Nor do I wish to get into such a discussion. I simply wish to note what I have noted.

Heck one can praise the Dali Lama -but that does not mean a Christian is endorsing all that he says or writes.

Pope Benedict too saw the good in figures and the good of their work - without endorsing the person or their work in its entirety.
Click to expand...
👍

The Pope praised Dorothy Day who was a self-proclaimed socialist, had an abortion, and a child out of wedlock at some point in her life. That doesn’t diminish the good she did during other parts of her life nor does it mean that the Pope is somehow ignoring the blemishes.
 
Corki said:
👍

The Pope praised Dorothy Day who was a self-proclaimed socialist, had an abortion, and a child out of wedlock at some point in her life. That doesn’t diminish the good she did during other parts of her life nor does it mean that the Pope is somehow ignoring the blemishes.
Click to expand...
And who later become a Catholic (and thus rejected past evils…) (to note for readers).
 
Bookcat said:
Many historical figures in the Church can be “praised” for their very good contributions - but without such praise being an endorsement of all they said or did.

I have much of Merton on my shelves but I do not recommend all that he wrote. Nor do I wish to get into such a discussion. I simply wish to note what I have noted.

Heck one can praise the Dali Lama -but that does not mean a Christian is endorsing all that he says or writes.

Pope Benedict too saw the good in figures and the good of their work - without endorsing the person or their work in its entirety.
Click to expand...
It wasn’t just some admirer who praised Thomas Merton, but Pope Francis and he deliberately highlighted Thomas Merton before the United States Congress.

This wasn’t just some one talking off the cuff.

Jim
 
Merton’s interest in other religions which developed throughout his life should not be so easily dismissed, in my opinion. The Holy Father did not praise only “Early Merton” making sure we would properly distinguish some of his work from what came later, as I often see on these forums. There is perhaps a lesson for us in the way Merton positively viewed religions other than his own Catholic faith, and since the Holy Father recommends him, it might be worthwhile to consider.

Dorothy Day perfectly exemplifies Pope Francis’ challenging message of both mercy and caring for one another. Despite her shaky, even sinful beginnings, she found God’s forgiveness and committed herself totally to the care of others. You can disagree with her pacifism or voluntary poverty and communal lifestyle, but her devotion to Our Lord and His Church and all of humanity cannot be denied. It is her kind of passion I think the Holy Father would like to see in more of us. With prayer, I eagerly await her canonization (even though she said she was not interested in being called a saint).

I was pleasantly surprised when Pope Francis singled out these two.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
It wasn’t just some admirer who praised Thomas Merton, but Pope Francis and he deliberately highlighted Thomas Merton before the United States Congress.

This wasn’t just some one talking off the cuff.

Jim
Click to expand...
And he did it again tonight in his homily during Evening Prayer at St. Patrick’s in NYC.

Dave 🙂
 
christofirst said:
Merton’s interest in other religions which developed throughout his life should not be so easily dismissed, in my opinion. The Holy Father did not praise only “Early Merton” making sure we would properly distinguish some of his work from what came later, as I often see on these forums. There is perhaps a lesson for us in the way Merton positively viewed religions other than his own Catholic faith, and since the Holy Father recommends him, it might be worthwhile to consider.

Dorothy Day perfectly exemplifies Pope Francis’ challenging message of both mercy and caring for one another. Despite her shaky, even sinful beginnings, she found God’s forgiveness and committed herself totally to the care of others. You can disagree with her pacifism or voluntary poverty and communal lifestyle, but her devotion to Our Lord and His Church and all of humanity cannot be denied. It is her kind of passion I think the Holy Father would like to see in more of us. With prayer, I eagerly await her canonization (even though she said she was not interested in being called a saint).

I was pleasantly surprised when Pope Francis singled out these two.
Click to expand...
As a non-Catholic, I have loved Dorothy Day for her vocation to the poor and marginalized. She was indeed a socialist and an activist and very much a feminist. I read the Catholic Worker all throughout my college years. She was loved in the 60’s and by people of the 60’s, don’t you think?

And Merton. The contemplative in me has loved him from the first time I read Seven Storey Mountain. The longer he lived and ventured out into the greater world, the more I devoured his works. Even as he ‘dialogued’ with those in the Eastern tradition, he somehow brought together the prayer and meditation of the east with the monastic west. He pushed boundaries and in doing so, showed us how it was all moving toward integration. I can probably count a dozen of his books on my shelf now. Time to go back and read him again.

SO very grateful for Pope Francis and the models of the faith he has raised for us.

“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.” Merton
 
ComplineSanFran said:
As a non-Catholic, I have loved Dorothy Day for her vocation to the poor and marginalized. She was indeed a socialist and an activist and very much a feminist. I read the Catholic Worker all throughout my college years. She was loved in the 60’s and by people of the 60’s, don’t you think?

And Merton. The contemplative in me has loved him from the first time I read Seven Storey Mountain. The longer he lived and ventured out into the greater world, the more I devoured his works. Even as he ‘dialogued’ with those in the Eastern tradition, he somehow brought together the prayer and meditation of the east with the monastic west. He pushed boundaries and in doing so, showed us how it was all moving toward integration. I can probably count a dozen of his books on my shelf now. Time to go back and read him again.

SO very grateful for Pope Francis and the models of the faith he has raised for us.

“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.” Merton
Click to expand...
Yes, indeed, it is true they were both much loved, sometimes maligned, and often misunderstood. They were polarizing figures, both of them, which makes Pope Francis’ choice of Merton and Day all the more remarkable, and encouraging from my perspective.

The Pope specifically mentioned the contemplative aspect of Merton’s life in his recommendation, so as Jim points out in this thread, it follows that this is an endorsement of Merton’s way of prayer. Does this mean it is the only way of prayer, or necessarily the best way for everyone? No, but it is a legitimate way, nonetheless. This is good news for many of us, coming from the Holy Father.

And that is a beautiful quote you provided from Merton, too. Thank you! Happy reading to you. I just finished *The Waters of Siloe * last month myself, my first time reading that one.
 
From the transcript of Pope Francis address to the US Congress;
A century ago, at the beginning of the Great War, which Pope Benedict XV termed a “pointless slaughter”, another notable American was born: the Cistercian monk Thomas Merton. He remains a source of spiritual inspiration and a guide for many people. In his autobiography he wrote: “I came into the world. Free by nature, in the image of God, I was nevertheless the prisoner of my own violence and my own selfishness, in the image of the world into which I was born. That world was the picture of Hell, full of men like myself, loving God, and yet hating him; born to love him, living instead in fear of hopeless self-contradictory hungers”. Merton was above all a man of prayer, a thinker who challenged the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and for the Church. He was also a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples and religions. washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/transcript-pope-franciss-speech-to-congress/2015/09/24/6d7d7ac8-62bf-11e5-8e9e-dce8a2a2a679_story.html
Click to expand...
Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
It wasn’t just some admirer who praised Thomas Merton, but Pope Francis and he deliberately highlighted Thomas Merton before the United States Congress.

This wasn’t just some one talking off the cuff.

Jim
Click to expand...
Yes I know.

I never said it was someone talking off the cuff. And I said it was Pope Francis.

He also spoke of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and President Lincoln and Dorthy Day. Such was not an endorsement of all they said or wrote or did. He was using American historical Figures to highlight certain things he wished to say there in Congress.

Popes have spoken well of many persons who we would not accept all that they wrote or said or did.

Pope Benedict XVI (my favorite Pope after Peter) included.
 
Bookcat said:
Yes I know.

I never said it was someone talking off the cuff. And I said it was Pope Francis.

He also spoke of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and President Lincoln and Dorthy Day. Such was not an endorsement of all they said or wrote or did. He was using American historical Figures to highlight certain things he wished to say there in Congress.

Popes have spoken well of many persons who we would not accept all that they wrote or said or did.

Pope Benedict XVI (my favorite Pope after Peter) included.
Click to expand...
He gave Thomas Merton an entire paragraph in his speech and the context of that paragraph is of interest to those of us who love Thomas Merton.

I’m sorry this upsets you to the point that you can’t refrain from your negative posts.

I have to wonder why you’re even bothering with this thread ?

Jim
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top