The third volume of Thomas Merton's journals chronicles Merton's attempts to reconcile his desire for solitude and contemplation with the demands of his new-found celebrity status within the strictures of conventional monastic life.
Description: Merton loves poetry because it is the means of making contact with the inwardness of things. In this audio recording you will hear him tell his young monks how poetry helps religious development.
The journal kept by Merton during 1964 and 1965, containing his daily meditations during the crucial and difficult period in which the permission he had awaited so long -- to live alone in his hermitage -- was finally given. These pages reveal his reflections as a hermit on the joys and dangers of a life of solitude in the woods.
Description: Thomas Merton on Ascetism and Solitude (4 Titles, 4 CDs) In these live audio CD recordings you will hear Thomas Merton's own voice discussing his thoughts on prayer with visiting novices during his stay at the Abbey of Gethsemani.
TRUE FREEDOM The purpose of self-denial is freedom. Asceticism frees us from compulsion so we can respond to reality with our whole self. Asceticism wakes us up so we can face reality to respond fully.
THE PARADOX OF JOY AND SORROW Sorrow and joy are intimately and paradoxically joined. If we accept sorrow, we can find true joy, based on what is real. Merton explains that asceticsm is; breaking the barriers between us and what is real, between us and God.
SOLITUDE AND RESURRECTION Merton loved solitude, not just to be alone, but to try to immerse himself in the mystery of the resurrection. He says that solitude is to realize and witness the power of the resurrection of Christ.
SOLITUDE: BREAKING THE HEART In these memorable talks, Merton explains his decision to become a hermit. In the process he articulates a profound theology of solitude and prayer.
