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The City of God 38 reviews
Saint Augustine
Modern Library, 1977
Tough going, but worth it
It took me about five months of off-and-on reading to slog through City of God--it was time well-spent. Here is one of the rare 1000-page books that not only deserved its length, but could have been longer.
What astounded me about reading St. Augustine was how relevant he is, even after 1600 years. The vast majority of what he discusses throughout this monumental book still matters--only the ...
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Raids on the Unspeakable 2 reviews
Thomas Merton
New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1966
Best book I ever read!
This was Merton's favorite book (of his own writing), and my favorite book as well. He was a scholar and a poet, and his essays reflect that: he does not write down to his audience. Merton was that great rarity: an existential mystic. He had incredible insights; his writing had a profound influence on ME. These essays are meant to be disturbing. Written in the Sixties, they are as meaningful ...
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A Book of Hours17 reviews
Thomas Merton
Sorin Books, 2007
Thomas Merton - A Book of Hours
The whole world should read and believe Thomas Merton! This is an artfully put together book. It adds that needed something for every day. It is one of the best inspirational works I have seen or read or used on a daily basis! If you haven't seen it - find it and use it. It will not only change you as an individual but if we could get everyone to believe the truth held here, it could change the ...
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Thomas Merton: Essential Writings (Modern Spiritual Masters Series)6 reviews
Thomas Merton
Orbis Books, 2000
ORBIS SENDS US THIS VERY USEFUL SAMPLER BUT GET THE PRIMARY SOURCES
We must ever be grateful to the long standing Catholic Publisher Orbis Books, an arm of the MAryknoll Missioner Society, for the excellent catalogue it has developed over the decades. What Orbis published in the eighties is without compare in the world of CAtholic printings, yet much is now lost and no longer available, tragically, as long gone as Pope Paul VI's crucial encyclical Populorum ...
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Thoughts in Solitude25 reviews
Rosetta, 2007
Reflections in a Life of Solitude
Perhaps meant more as his inner reminders of purpose than for the general public, Merton's "Thoughts in Solitude" show him to be reminding himself of his mission. As is implied in the title, this book discusses Merton's thoughts about the solitary life as he journeys though that life. Told in chapters that average 2-3 pages long, these passages are easy to digest for the average reader.
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New Seeds of Contemplation (New Directions Paperbook)42 reviews
Thomas Merton
New Directions, 2007
New Seeds for the times!
New Seeds of Contemplation is a much needed book for our times. It is a guide to help seekers establish a connection between themselves and the divine. It is an extremely important counter-weight against the Fundamentalism that we are seeing today. Thomas Merton is a great guide and teacher to all those who are seekers.
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Peace In The Post-christian Era2 reviews
Thomas Merton, Patricia A. Burton
Orbis, 2004
Merton's Voice is Sorely Needed In Today's Post-Christian world
This book is another of the most soul searing missives that I have had the good fortune of stumbling across. I read this one straight through. i would have done it in one sitting if I didn't have responsibilities that distracted me from it. This is one of those books that, although written decades ago, is still relevant, fresh and much needed in the toxic political and turbulent geopolitical ...
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Merton & Buddhism: (The Fons Vitae Thomas Merton series)
Paul M Pearson, James A. Wiseman, ...
Fons Vitae, 2007
Divided into three sections, this insightful volume of essays by numerous scholars focuses on Thomas Merton’s interest in and transformation through Buddhism. In addition to analysis of how Merton's studies of Buddhism affected his work in the arts, the study also offers information about his Asian journey as well as a complete bibliography of secondary materials. Contributors include Judith Simmer-Brown, Roger J. Corless, Rubin L.F. ...
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CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER17 reviews
THOMAS MERTON
DARTON,LONGMAN TODD LTD, 1973
An excellent guide to contemplative prayer
Thomas Merton was a monk, and in this book he explains ways that the non-monastic can live a life of prayer. In doing so he provides exercises for the contemplative novice (like me) and warns against bad habits of prayer that are easy to fall into. Here is his explanation of the purpose of monastic prayer: "To prepare the way so that God's action may develop this 'faculty for the supernatural,' ...
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The Seven Storey Mountain93 reviews
Thomas Merton
Harvest Books, 1999
Beautiful, beautiful book!
I just bought a copy of this book. It is so beautiful I finished reading
it word for word from cover to cover in 2 days. I am hooked on Thomas Merton! Looking forward to more of his works.
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Wisdom of the Desert (New Directions)7 reviews
Thomas Merton
New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1970
Perfect for What it sets out to do
As another reviewer notes, Merton's selections are not as comprehensive as Helen Waddell's, and his introduction does not provide nearly as detailed an account of the historical and literary context of the desert fathers' sayings. This is not Merton's purpose. He is trying to give us a sense of the spiritual essence of the fathers, and he does it brilliantly. Although he is not as elegant ...
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Spiritual Direction and Meditation4 reviews
Thomas Merton
Liturgical Press, 1986
Sound, sensible advice on the practice of prayer
As one who recives spiritual direction, I am constantly on the lookout for books that make sense of a discipline that can all too easily be shrouded in a fog of verbiage. This is one of the very few books that fits the bill; it speaks to the reader directly, in simple, straightforward prose, and its content speaks directly to the spiritual needs of beginners in meditation like me. In ...
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The Seven Storey Mountain - Autobiography
Thomas Merton
Harcourt Brace and Company, 1948
The autobiography of a young man who led a full and worldly life, and then, at the age of 26, entered a trappist monastry.
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The Golden Age of Zen: Zen Masters of the T'ang Dynasty (Spiritual Masters of East and West) 2 reviews
John C.h. Wu
World Wisdom, 2004
Overview of the Zen masters
A complete overview of the Zen masters, wonderfully written, and definately worth it. Dr. Wu is very insightful and was friends with Lin Yutang. The preface may mention christianity but the meat of the book is an excellent overview, insightful. One of my favorite books in my large zen/dao collection.
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The Way of Chuang Tzu (Shambhala Library)18 reviews
Thomas Merton
Shambhala, 2004
Like a fine wine ...
Like a fine wine, this collection is best consumed slowly. As it is clearly stated in the foreward, this is not a faithful reproduction of Chuang Tzu but a collection of personal and spiritual interpretations of his work. Readers that expected otherwise might consider reading the description of the book before purchasing it. It would seem embarassing to write a negative review of a product ...
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The Sign of Jonas9 reviews
Thomas, Merton
Harcourt, 1979
A Glimpse Into The Life of Merton As Monk And Writer
THE SIGN OF JONAS is a collection of journal entries written by Thomas Merton between 1946 and 1952. The purpose of the book was to introduce readers to the daily life of a monk, though the gifted Merton was hardly a typical monk of his day or any other. Readers will get a glimpse into this spiritual seeker and see the ups and downs of the life of someone who was truly in search of union with ...
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When the Trees Say Nothing: Writings on Nature4 reviews
Thomas Merton
Sorin Books, 2003
Spiritually rewarding for readers of all faiths
Compiled and edited by Kathleen Deignan ( Sister of the Congregation of Notre Dame), enhanced with drawings by John Giuliani (Founder and Overseer of The Benedictine Grang, a spiritual center in West Redding, Connecticut), and featuring an informative foreword by Thomas Berry, When The Trees Say Nothing: Writings On Nature is an impressively thoughtful and thought-provoking collection of ...
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Mystics and Zen Masters 4 reviews
Thomas Merton
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999
Valuable for students of Asian religion and mysticism
Although this book is a collection of essays over a range of subjects, and therefore not a continuous work, it is a very valuable work for understanding Chinese religion, Zen, and European mysticism (the main topics it addresses). The essays are classicaly Merton, although they are written in a more academic style -- and perhaps this is why the book has drawn criticism from the other reviewers. ...
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Praying the Psalms (By Thomas Merton)10 reviews
Thomas Merton
Liturgical Press, 1956
Beyond the Liturgy of the Hours
As one who has recently discovered the beauty of praying the Liturgy of the Hours, I have found Thomas Merton's little treatise on praying the Psalms to be both enriching and encouraging... encouraging me to look to the whole Psalm for the fullness of the meaning intended by each Psalmist (the LofH often uses only part of a psalm for the daily reading.)
His listing of the various types of ...
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The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton4 reviews
Thomas Merton
New Directions, 1973
Fascinating journal of Christian monk encountering the East
This book is a must-read for fans of Merton, and for anyone interested in encounters between Western Christianity and Eastern religions (particularly Hinduism and Buddhism). Merton achieved incredible realizations and great insight into Buddhism despite the fact that he lived most of his life as a monk and hermit isolated at Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky, USA. At the end of his life, invited to ...
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