New Releases by Thomas Merton

This is the companion volume to Thomas Merton: The Development of a Spiritual Theologian, further exploring Merton''s writings and thinking.

This book contains the journal and letters Merton wrote during his Alaskan visit which were published in a limited edition in 1988 as The Alaskan Journal by Turkey Press.

Discusses Blake, Joyce, Pasternak, Faulkner, Styron, O''Connor, Camus, symbolism, creativity, alienation, contemplation, and freedom.

From the author of The Seven Storey Mountain, this book looks at an order of Catholic monks dating back to eleventh-century France. “The word ‘Trappist’ has become synonymous with ‘ascetic’ and definitely indicates a monk who leads a very hard life. But . . . Penance and asceticism are not ends in themselves. If monks never succeeded in being more than pious athletes, they do not fulfill their purpose in the Church. If you want to understand why the monks lead the life they do, you will have to ask, first of all, What is their aim?” In his bestselling memoir, The Seven Storey Mountain, Catholic poet, theologian, and mystic Thomas Merton chronicled his journey to becoming a Cistercian monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky. In The Waters of Siloe, he provides an enlightening account of the Cistercian Order, better known as the Trappists. With clarity and wisdom, Merton explores the history of the Cistercian Order from its founding in 1098, its development and waning, and the seventeenth-century reforms by the Abbé de Rancé, which began the second flowering that continues today. Throughout, Merton illuminates the purposes of monasticism and its surprising resurgence in America and elsewhere. “Only Thomas Merton could have written single-handed this history of Trappist monks, for it is a work of diverse gifts and skill, an ardent collaboration of scholar and story-teller, priest and poet.” —The New York Times

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) is the most admired of all American Catholic writers. His journals have recently been published to wide acclaim. Love and Living is a posthumously published collection of Merton''s essays and meditations centering on the need for love in learning to live. "Love is the revelation of our deepest personal meaning, value, and identity." Edited by Naomi Burton Stone and Brother Patrick Hart. A posthumously published collection of essays addressing racism, urban alienation, and the challenge of loving, and pieces on Christian Humanism.

"With the [publication of this book], an ever-wider audience may more fully appreciate the ... range of the poet''s technique, the scope of his concerns, and the humaneness of his vision"--Back cover.

Thomas Merton (1915-68) is the most admired of all American Catholic writers. His journals have recently been published to wide acclaim.

An exposition of the doctrines of St John of the Cross, the 16th century Spanish mystic, this volume provides interpretations of and insights into the Psalms, for those who view the Psalms as spiritual and those who regard them primarily as literature.

With simplicity, eloquence, and power Thomas Merton explores the mystery of the Risen Christ. Previously unpublished, this piece captures both the author''s energy and his vision of an authentic Christianity. It is pointless to view the Resurrection as a doctrine to prove or a problem to solve; it is the life and action of Christ alive in us. We are a pilgrim people. Our journey into the mystery of creation is in pursuit of real freedom. We are guided by the Law of Love and moved by the Spirit of God to serve our fellow man in response to the Risen Christ alive in us--from back cover.

Of the full-length prose works that Thomas Merton wrote before he entered the Cistercian Order in 1941, only My Argument with the Gestapo has survived--perhaps in part because it was a book that Merton never ceased wanting to see in print.

A Thomas Merton Reader provides a complete view of Merton, in all his aspects: contemplative, spiritual writer, poet, peacemaker, and social critic. In this closely knit volume are significant selections not only from his major works but from some lesser-known, yet equally valuable, writings as well. Presented here is a living Thomas Merton, expounding through prose and poetry on an abundance of important themes -- war, love, peace, Eastern thought and spirituality, monastic life, art, contemplation, and solitude. M. Scott Peck puts the writings included here into the context of Merton''s life.

In this classic text, Thomas Merton offers valuable guidance for prayer. He brings together a wealth of meditative and mystical influences–from John of the Cross to Eastern desert monasticism–to create a spiritual path for today. Most important, he shows how the peace contacted through meditation should not be sought in order to evade the problems of contemporary life, but can instead be directed back out into the world to affect positive change. Contemplative Prayer is one of the most well-known works of spirituality of the last one hundred years, and it is a must-read for all seeking to live a life of purpose in today’s world. In a moving and profound introduction, Thich Nhat Hanh offers his personal recollections of Merton and compares the contemplative traditions of East and West.

Life and Holiness is Thomas Merton''s classic text on incorporating spirituality into everyday life. Merton here makes clear that he was a monk who knew the world. Of course, Merton lived a secular life until he became a Trappist monk in his late twenties, but even in the monastery he was deeply engaged in the questions of his day. In this succinct and readily accessible work, he offers compelling thoughts on what it means to be holy in the face of the anxieties of the modern age.

Merton’s classic Faith and Violence makes a powerful case for a theology of resistance that speaks with enduring urgency. Violence in the modern world is a complex matter. The majority of the world’s most egregious acts of violence are not perpetrated at the level of the individual—rather, they occur at the hands of systematically organized bureaucracies. It is this “white-collar” violence that Merton addresses in Faith and Violence. Writing at the height of the Vietnam war, Merton masterfully illustrates the disastrous consequences of wielding and promoting violence. As an alternative, he proposes that Christians retrieve and embody a conception of love that seeks to win over one’s adversaries as collaborators rather than crushing or humiliating them. Merton’s poignant reflections deal with issues ranging from the Vietnam War to the civil rights movement and the mid-20th century Death of God movement.

In this series of notes, opinions, experiences, and reflections, Thomas Merton examines some of the most urgent questions of our age. With his characteristic forcefulness and candor, he brings the reader face-to-face with such provocative and controversial issues as the “death of God,” politics, modern life and values, and racial strife–issues that are as relevant today as they were fifty years ago. Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander is Merton at his best–detached but not unpassionate, humorous yet sensitive, at all times alive and searching, with a gift for language which has made him one of the most widely read and influential spiritual writers of our time.

This paperbook collection of his prose writings reveals the extent to which Thomas Merton moved from the other-worldly devotion of his earlier work to a direct, deeply engaged, often militant concern with the critical situation of man in the world.

Free renderings of selections from the works of Chuang-tzŭ, taken from various translations.

Collection of essays and meditations on the liturgical year

On spiritual rebirth through encounter with God in an expanded version, by the author of Seven Storey Mountain.

Examines the meaning and purpose of spiritual direction. Also provides insights into how to meditate.