Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "Thomas Merton" - New World

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==Life==
 
==Life==
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He was born in [[Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales|Prades]] in the [[Pyrénées-Orientales]] ''[[département]]'' of [[France]] to perpatetic Bohemian artists. Ruth, his mother, was born to a wealthy Long Island American [[Quaker]] family and [[Owen Merton]], hid father, was a [[New Zealand]]artist from Christchurch. They met while studying art in Paris and had Thomas within the year.  Within the next year, young Thomas has his first cross Atlantic journey.  He was educated in the [[United States]], [[Bermuda]] and [[France]] before attending [[Oakham School]] in [[England]]. His mother died when he was six  
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He was born in [[Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales|Prades]] in the [[Pyrénées-Orientales]] ''[[département]]'' of [[France]] to perpatetic Bohemian artists. Ruth, his mother, was born to a wealthy Long Island American [[Quaker]] family and [[Owen Merton]], hid father, was a [[New Zealand]]artist from Christchurch. They met while studying art in Paris and had Thomas within the year.  Within the next year, young Thomas has his first cross Atlantic journey.  In 1916, Owen refused to join the military in France, and the family moved to the United States. Thomas was educated in the [[United States]], [[Bermuda]] and [[France]. His mother died when he was six years old.
  
 +
Thomas' father was a wanderer by nature and an artist by temperment, and became the boy's source of religious development. At times the two of them hiked many trails in nature and the boy's mystic sense of oneness with nature grew. It was difficult, however, for the wanderer in Owen to really take care of his son so he spent his childhood between his father, grandparents, an aunt and uncle and being at boarding school. and his father when he was sixteen. Thomas and his brother were in a dismal lycee in France where young Thomas absorbed some of the Midieval Catholicism of the region when Owen told them to pack up and they were to move to England. Thomas was overjoyed. Thomas attended the [[Oakham School]] in [[England]].
  
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and his father when he was sixteen. After a disastrous first year at [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]], during which time he allegedly fathered an illegitimate child, Merton moved back to the United States to live with his grandparents. He proceeded to take his bachelor's and master's degrees at [[Columbia University]], where he made the acquaintance of a group of artists and writers who would remain his friends for life.
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As it turned out, Thomas did not enjoy England any better as the smug wealth of 1920 England repelled him. He developed his writing while here and was quite popular and joined in with the boys athlectics. Within a few years, his father developed brain cancer and suffered a long, painful death.  During this time Owen had a conversion experience that led to some later speculations on the part of his son about the relationship to suffering and spiritual development.  The death of his father weighed heavily on Thomas, and he and his brother moved to be with their grandparents in [[Long Island]], [[New York]].
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 +
The young Thomas Merton got a small scholarship to the [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]], so under the direction of a guardian, Tom Bennet, he traveled and lived in England once again. He led a boisterous life that was no better or worse than most undergraduates but he fathered an illegitimate child at this time., Merton moved back to the United States to live with his grandparents. He proceeded to take his bachelor's and master's degrees at [[Columbia University]], where he made the acquaintance of a group of artists and writers who would remain his friends for life.
  
 
Merton converted to [[Catholicism]] at [http://www.corpus-christi-nyc.org/ The Church of Corpus Christi] in his early twenties during the period he was writing his master's thesis on [[William Blake]]. His desire to enter the [[Franciscans]] being thwarted, he taught at [[St. Bonaventure University | St. Bonaventure's College]], in [[Olean, New York]] and, following a retreat at the [[Trappist]] (Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, O.C.S.O.) [[Abbey of Gethsemani]] near [[Bardstown, Kentucky]] during Easter 1941, he came to a crisis with call up looming and was finally accepted as a postulant to the choir (with the intention of becoming a priest) at Gethsemani on [[December 13]]th, [[1941]] (the Feast of [[Saint Lucy]]).
 
Merton converted to [[Catholicism]] at [http://www.corpus-christi-nyc.org/ The Church of Corpus Christi] in his early twenties during the period he was writing his master's thesis on [[William Blake]]. His desire to enter the [[Franciscans]] being thwarted, he taught at [[St. Bonaventure University | St. Bonaventure's College]], in [[Olean, New York]] and, following a retreat at the [[Trappist]] (Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, O.C.S.O.) [[Abbey of Gethsemani]] near [[Bardstown, Kentucky]] during Easter 1941, he came to a crisis with call up looming and was finally accepted as a postulant to the choir (with the intention of becoming a priest) at Gethsemani on [[December 13]]th, [[1941]] (the Feast of [[Saint Lucy]]).

Revision as of 09:10, 5 September 2006


Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist priest/monk, poet and author incorporating mystic vision with social action. He was recognized as the greatest monastic figure of the twentieth century. His autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, was a literary sensation and catapulted him to celebrity status. Merton wrote more than 50 books, 2000 poems, and scores of essays, reviews, book introductions, cartoons, translations and lectures. His personal struggles made him a symbol for our search for meaning in the modern world, his resolutions in joyful relationship with God gave renewed faith in the Divine.

Life

He was born in Prades in the Pyrénées-Orientales département of France to perpatetic Bohemian artists. Ruth, his mother, was born to a wealthy Long Island American Quaker family and Owen Merton, hid father, was a New Zealandartist from Christchurch. They met while studying art in Paris and had Thomas within the year. Within the next year, young Thomas has his first cross Atlantic journey. In 1916, Owen refused to join the military in France, and the family moved to the United States. Thomas was educated in the United States, Bermuda and [[France]. His mother died when he was six years old.

Thomas' father was a wanderer by nature and an artist by temperment, and became the boy's source of religious development. At times the two of them hiked many trails in nature and the boy's mystic sense of oneness with nature grew. It was difficult, however, for the wanderer in Owen to really take care of his son so he spent his childhood between his father, grandparents, an aunt and uncle and being at boarding school. and his father when he was sixteen. Thomas and his brother were in a dismal lycee in France where young Thomas absorbed some of the Midieval Catholicism of the region when Owen told them to pack up and they were to move to England. Thomas was overjoyed. Thomas attended the Oakham School in England.

As it turned out, Thomas did not enjoy England any better as the smug wealth of 1920 England repelled him. He developed his writing while here and was quite popular and joined in with the boys athlectics. Within a few years, his father developed brain cancer and suffered a long, painful death. During this time Owen had a conversion experience that led to some later speculations on the part of his son about the relationship to suffering and spiritual development. The death of his father weighed heavily on Thomas, and he and his brother moved to be with their grandparents in Long Island, New York.

The young Thomas Merton got a small scholarship to the Cambridge University, so under the direction of a guardian, Tom Bennet, he traveled and lived in England once again. He led a boisterous life that was no better or worse than most undergraduates but he fathered an illegitimate child at this time., Merton moved back to the United States to live with his grandparents. He proceeded to take his bachelor's and master's degrees at Columbia University, where he made the acquaintance of a group of artists and writers who would remain his friends for life.

Merton converted to Catholicism at The Church of Corpus Christi in his early twenties during the period he was writing his master's thesis on William Blake. His desire to enter the Franciscans being thwarted, he taught at St. Bonaventure's College, in Olean, New York and, following a retreat at the Trappist (Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, O.C.S.O.) Abbey of Gethsemani near Bardstown, Kentucky during Easter 1941, he came to a crisis with call up looming and was finally accepted as a postulant to the choir (with the intention of becoming a priest) at Gethsemani on December 13th, 1941 (the Feast of Saint Lucy).

During his long years at Gethsemani (where he was encouraged to write) Merton changed from the passionately inward-looking young monk of his most famous book, the autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain, to a contemplative writer and poet who became well known for his dialogue with other faiths and his stand on non-violence during the race riots and Vietnam War of the 1960s, and finally achieved the solitude he had long desired in a hermitage in 1965. During these years he had many battles with his abbot about not being allowed out of the monastery, balanced by his international reputation and voluminous correspondence with many well-known figures of the day.

A new abbot allowed him the freedom to undertake a tour of Asia at the end of 1968, during which he memorably met the Dalai Lama in India. He also made a visit to Polonnaruwa (in what was then Ceylon), where he had a religious experience while viewing enormous statues of the Buddha. There is speculation that Merton wished to remain in Asia as a hermit. However, he died in Bangkok on 10th December 1968, having touched a badly-grounded electric fan while stepping out of his bath. His body was flown back to Gethsemani where he is buried. Since his death, his influence has continued to grow and he is considered by many to be an important twentieth century Catholic mystic and thinker. Merton's letters and diaries (and, to a lesser extent, the books published during his lifetime) reveal the intensity with which Merton focused on social justice issues, including the civil rights movement and proliferation of nuclear arms.

Merton put a ban on publishing much of his work until 25 years after his death. After that time his diaries were published.

In recognition of his close association with Bellarmine University, the official repository for Merton's archives is the Thomas Merton Center on the Bellarmine campus in Louisville, Kentucky. The Thomas Merton Award, a peace prize, has been awarded since 1972 by the Thomas Merton Center for Peace and Social Justice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Selected bibliography

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Forest, Jim, "Living With Wisdom" (ISBN 088344755X) A profusely illustrated biography of Thomas Merton.
  • Mott, Michael, The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton (ISBN 015680681) A comprehensive biography.
  • Shannon, William H., Christine M. Bochen, Patrick F. O'Connell The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia (ISBN 1570754268) published by Orbis Books


External links


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