Having read a few Merton books and the 'Mountain.and discussions with my dad who has been reading him for around 50 years, I’ve formed a good idea of the guy. It’s basically this…
He grew up in a horribly corrosive environment where everyone around him hated Catholics for various reasons. I he read James Joyce and somehow, only the Lord knows, he decided to become Catholic. He had a real draw to the monastary because he was drawn into prayer.
He was also connected with the world around him unlike most CSSO monks, making him still a man of his times, not totally removed from current events, and this put a unique stress on his spirituality. In and around the time of World War II the far eastern oriental world was beginning to open up to the occidental world. There was a lot of mystery about this various forms of mysiticism and spirituality flooding into the west. He was open enough to see that there was a thread of truth in all of that… many mystical Catholics can see that the imprint of God is in everything. He kinda’ sorta’ got caught up in that.
He also sorta’ kinda’ got caught up in the changing social situation of the world: civil rights movements, feed the poor, etc. I’m not too sure but I doubt he was aware that the social revolutions were being used by the forces of evil to de-humanize the masses in a subversive plot by Satan to undermind the mission of the Church. The humanism of the mid-20th century is really what is still giving us so many problems today.
Merton can thus be seen as a liberal, but he really is not liberal at all. He was a staunch defender of the faith. Although in private letters and journals later published he was often seen as a bit of a gossip. I can understand how that happens. The ‘recounting of another’s sin’ is usually – almost always, the last habitual mortal sin to leave a man or woman (and often into old age). God’s plan really is mysterious as Merton never quite made it back; dying much younger than many people would have hoped. In some ways it may have saved his immortal soul.
I’ve known quite a few converts – good strong converts – who became Catholics via the writings of Merton. I’d say before reading too much Merton try to spread your wings into a healthy reading of the Catechism and don’t forget to pray for guidance and faith. Also, read some works by other Cistercians and Carthusians. Take these books one bit at a time they are very high level. I usually read two unrelated books at the same time, one easy and one harder. Its also a worthy piece of advice that when reading the works of people of a solitary lifestyle that you’re going to get everything that was going on in their heads. When they get back to their cell after hard work in the fields they have nobody to go off on. Observe the older unmarried men (or guys without girlfriends) you’ll see that they do complaining at work – and then their usually fine by the time they get home. This is the opposite of married men and women.
So, to anyone who thinks that Merton was a bad guy. Imagine if I wrote down everything we thought! We’d be driven out of town and shot… so let’s not discuss the Hanuman golden hindu monkey god that our president carries with him in his pocket. In all fairness of course, he does carry a Modonna and Child statuette on his person too. There is some audacious hope there I guess – pray for the president’s soul and conversion.
Back to Merton. Reading Merton’s alright. Don’t get caught up in his criticisms or social agenda.
