MERTON'S MESSAGE
ITS VALUE TO INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY

Thomas Merton's remarkable and enduring popularity indicates that he speaks to the minds and hearts of people searching for answers to life's questions. For many, he is a spiritual guide; for others, a place to retreat to in difficult times. He invites people to explore deep places within themselves and offers insight to the paradoxes of life. He wrestles with how to be contemplative in a world of action, yet offers no quick fix, no ten easy steps to a successful spiritual life.

At the core of Thomas Merton's spiritual writings is the search for the true self and the need for relationships with God, other people and all of creation. He finds that when we are apart from God, we experience alienation and desolation. He concludes that we must discover God as the center of our being to which all things tend and where all of our activity must be directed.

Merton's writings were prophetic, for they address the major issues that confront society today, and they illustrate the alienation he foresaw. Whether it is war, social and racial injustice, violence, or religious intolerance, the source of the problem is that man has become alienated from his inner self which is the image of God.

The degree of humanity's alienation is reflected in the unrelenting violence of our time. Wars and acts of nations around the globe caused the death of more than 500 million people in the 20th century. Closer to home, schoolchildren kill their fellow students in schools, and incidences of racial and domestic violence and child abuse occur with appalling frequency. The violence permeates our world. We must change direction or perish. This requires a social conversion, a turning away from destructive behavior. The first step is a transformation of consciousness, and Thomas Merton is a preeminent guide to us in this first step.

There is in the world today a thirst for God. People are seeking a reversal of the trends toward consumerism and materialism, prejudice and violence. They are discovering that their actions must be a means of both self-fulfillment and service to others.

Throughout history, the role of spiritual master has been recognized and valued. Thomas Merton is a spiritual master whose influence crosses generations and religious affiliations. His message offers us bracing and brotherly advice on becoming conscious and attentive to God, so that we may hear the answers to the difficult questions in our lives.

Thomas Merton's message and life can help us build a new paradigm for living, one that integrates the contemplative in each of us with our external activities. His message can become the source of deep change in a world of superficial solutions, a window through which we see the possibilities for a peaceful and just future.

 

Thomas Merton's Writings

Address the transformative work required to awaken to our true selves, to bring God into our lives through contemplation, and to develop compassionate relationships with others and our environment. Living in such right relationships results in a life of unity reflecting the undeniable and essential connection between them.

Bridge the gap between the sacred and the secular, between contemplation and action, between spirituality and religion by helping to reconcile the differences and clarify what it means to live a spiritual life.

Are grounded in everyday experience and in a God-centered spirituality, as distinguished from popular secular spiritualities that appropriate or promote spiritual practices primarily for the physical and material benefit of the practitioner.

Are inclusive in their examination of our contemplative nature as understood by the world’s major religious traditions.

 

Merton's Hermitage
Photograph by Thomas Merton
© Abbey of Gethsemani