Journals of Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton's journals take up here in the momonastery in Gethsemani abbey in Kentucky in the 1940"s. An expurgated version of these entries has previously been published as THE SIGN OF JONAS,my personal favorite before the publication in the late 1990's of these unexpurgated diaries.Here we see the dutiful young monk, full of the zeal of the newly converted, seeing all of his brothers as "signs of God's wonder and Mercy." Needless to say, the tomne shifts slightly as the aura of conversion wears a bit, and Merton is given time to write. One of his most famous pieces done while he was on watch in the abbeys fire tower is included here, without the editing. Firewatch in and of itself is worth the price of the book. We begin to see here Mertons wish for a life of more seclusion, and here he mentions the Carthusians and the camaldolese as possible places he could find that solitude.{a wish that he held,apparantly until the end of his life]Merton's insaitable curiousity,his honesty in dealing with himself and his foibles, and his crystaline perceptions on the life of the spirit are being formed here in this volume. Indispensible for Merton fans, and welcomed to any who seek the path trod by a spiritual giant, and a very honest man.

When Thomas Merton retreated from the civilized mainstream to enter the Trappist Monastery at Gethsemani, an unknowing observer might view his spiritual struggle as ending, becoming completely lost in the routine of monastic life, its repetition and overt acceptance of spiritual discipline. The battle against personal desire versus group obedience to higher powers beyond flesh and blood one would assume to have been a forgone conclusion. Merton brilliantly shows us, however, that within the souls of men the battle still rages. And it is how he dealt with that struggle that makes this book so marvelous. His caring and loving approach to life and others is tempered with griping about the choir's proficiency, the demands of writing within the monastic framework, the lack of understanding by superiors and comrades in spiritual arms concerning his shifting spiritual needs, for solitude, quiet and letting God sort things out for him, vice pushing his own, highly tempered will into the whirling mixture that made up this complex, brilliant man. The writing is first rate, his descriptions of the surrounding countryside are marvelously genuine as is his analyis of himself and his motives. (like to move onto a more strict, Carthusian order to reach the apotheosis of perfect contemplation). This book is a good building block for future reading of this author and I would recommend reading the entire biography/journals before even wandering into the not so clearly written efforts of Merton's theological books. Many thanks to the publisher for finally making such great writing available!!

The second of Merton's private journals in a series of seven, editor John Montaldo brings out the struggle that Thomas Merton, already a noted writer and critic, endured during his earliest monastic days (1940-early 1950s). Merton tackles a sort-of internal battle between the man who writes in the wee hours, and communicates with his New York society friends (among them was poet Mark van Doren!), and the monk who seeks to live out the Rule of St. Benedict to its fullest extent. First time Merton readers might be lost, but Montaldo skillfully fills in the details so that all readers will be able to focus on the struggle between man and Creator. Seasoned Merton fans will be given a deeper appreciation for the writer and devout monastic that emerged as a result of that internal confrontation. Not something to pass over!