Thomas Merton was an American Trappist monk, and a hermit to boot, but he became something of a superstar on the Christian scene of his era. He converted to Christianity in a rather unlikely manner and wrote a bestselling book about his spiritual journey called The Seven Storey Mountain.
Through the years he wrote more than seventy books on scripture and contemplation and social justice and interfaith dialogue. He was in conversation with the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh long before they became prominent names in the West. Merton died accidentally in 1968 while attending a conference in Thailand which involved Christian and non-Christian monks, so this is the 50th anniversary of his death.
Thomas Merton also loved the natural world and wrote poetically of the natural world he experienced daily in the tiny hermitage he lived in the woods at Gethsemane Monastery in Kentucky. There is a gem of a book called When the Trees Say Nothing by Kathleen Deignan which is a collection of Merton's reflections on the world of solitude and creation beauty around him. This book has been a companion on many walks through the years. I'll sit and read a passage or two from an eloquent kindred spirit.
As the death of Merton is recognized through the year I'm grateful to God for his legacy, which is enduring, and for his celebration of God's good Earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment