Happy Birthday Thomas Merton! 100 Years and Still Making Waves

Trappist Father Thomas Merton pictured in an undated photo. (CNS photo/Merton Legacy Trust and the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University)
Trappist Father Thomas Merton pictured in an undated photo. (CNS photo/Merton Legacy Trust and the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University)
Writer, student, bohemian, activist, poet, traveler, artist. Thomas Merton wore many hats during his 53 years of life on this earth. He played many of these roles throughout his restless youth before finally discovering a faith that spoke to his inner most needs, transforming him into the figure we best know him as today: a Catholic Trappist Monk — a role he would flee from and return to again and again. As a monk and prolific writer, Merton managed to connect ideas from Buddhist meditation with Catholic reflection to create a deeper level of connection between self and God. Across several generations, Merton has been inspiring young spiritual seekers to follow his journey and explore his methods while finding their own paths. We’re celebrating the 100th birthday (January 31) of this highly influential, refreshingly human individual by putting together a few of our favorite articles about him. Enjoy these while praying for your own spiritual journey and those of all the restless young souls out there who might still find inspiration from this modern saint.


01merton-large“Thomas Merton: Pivotal Modern Contemplative” by Phil Fox Rose
Merton’s most engaging quality was his honesty about his own imperfection. Through the memoir form we, as readers, are invited into his head — his egotism, petty rivalries, fears, and joys laid bare for us to recognize in ourselves and then join him for the rest of the journey, into spiritual growth… (click here to read more.)


merton-fathers-day-inside1-325x244“Thomas Merton and Our Dad” by Peter Williams and Joe Williams
According to Dad, Merton’s talks would center on world affairs, prayer in one’s personal life, and the hermitic spirituality of devotion and silence. He would begin discussing a religious subject and always seem to get off topic somehow. Dad remembers him as a good man: fair, smart, open, and sociable… (click here to read more.)


findinggod-inside“Finding God in a Fragmented Society” by Kate Clancy
Even when I broke out to pursue my own spiritual path — which favored Eastern philosophies over what I considered, in my loving non-judgmental state, “stupid insane repressive Catholic dogma” — Merton’s teaching stayed with me. His questions were my questions… (click here to read more.)


“What Works: Meditation” by Phil Fox Rose
We call meditation a practice. Think of your daily meditation as practice for life, practice for being in the moment, practice for letting go, practice for attuning to God… (click here to read more.)


“Busted: Morgan Atkinson” by Bill McGarvey
It is no surprise that a young seeker — as Morgan Atkinson was back in the mid-1970s — would be interested in the life of Thomas Merton. Merton’s journey from poet, artist and bohemian to poet, writer, artist, activist, mystic monk has all the required elements of adventure, risk and creativity that easily sets fire to the imagination


jim martin“Busted: Jim Martin, SJ” by Renée LaReau
Rev. James Martin: “My hope was that people would come away from the book realizing that sanctity is not about perfection; it’s about being human. As Thomas Merton says, ‘To be a saint means to be myself.’” (click here to read more.)