Thomas Merton

THOMAS MERTON

Oneofthe odditiesofMerton'sautobiographywasthe suggestion that the Trappist life wasn'tdemanding enough. Maybeifwartime conditionshad not prevented it,he would haveentered a Carthusian monastery.

ThomasMerton'sautobiography,The Seven StoreyMountain, appeared in1948,whenitsauthorwasthirtythreeyearsold.Ittold the storyofa young manwho,fromnoreligionatall,became a Catholic, thoughtofentering the Franciscans,and then,atthe ageoftwentysix, entered the OrderofCisterciansofthe StrictObservancethe TrappistsatGethsemaniAbbeyinKentucky

MertonwasborninFrancein1915 ofa New Zealand father,who wasanartist,and anAmericanmother buthe wasorphaned early.He was raised inFrance,inEngland,inthe United States,and,inthe years preceding hisconversion,wasanaspiring writer,politicalradical,campus cutup,and vagabond lover.

Whenhisbook appeared,inthe yearsafter World War II,the campuseswere swarming withveteranswhose wartime experienceshad aged ifnotmatured them;Mertonspoke withthe authorityofsomeone whohad done everything you had, and maybe more,and,inthe great traditionofreligiousconversion,had thendone a 180 degree turnand become a monk,determined tobe a saint.

The impactofthisbook onyoung Catholics,and notonlythem,in

thiscountrycannotbe overestimated. Mertongave voicetothe longing for contemplationwhichislatentinanyhumanheart.He putbefore one a spiritualand ascetic idealthatwentagainstthe grainofthe ageasithas gone againstthe grainofeveryage.Following the storyofhislife thathad led himtoa monasteryinruralKentucky,readerssaw possibilitiesintheir ownlivesthatmightotherwise have escaped them.Mertonprovided a dramatic meditationonthe unavoidable question: Whatisthe pointand meaning ofa humanlife?

Itisnottoomuchtosaythat,more thananyone else,Thomas Mertonwasresponsible forthe amazing growthofthe TrappistOrderin thiscountryNew foundationssprang up acrossthe countryand were quicklyfilled witheager novices

Iwasanundergraduate whenIread Merton'sautobiographyand its impactonme wasindelible, althoughnotineverywaythe one he wished to makeThe descriptionofhiseffortstowrite and publishnovelsfascinated me almostasmuchasthe descriptionofhisreligionsvocationThathe and hisfriendswould spend the summer ina rented cottage,plugging awayat theirnovels,titillated myimagination.Later,in1969,one ofMerton's failed novelswould be printed:My Argument with the Gestapo.A Macaronic Journal Itwasdifficulttoavoid the thoughtthathe would have starved asa novelist.He wasa better poet,and indeed collectionsof hispoemswere published byNewDirectionsbefore the autobiography

And here layone ofthe greatironiesofhislife. Whenhe entered the Trappists,he putbehind himallhissecular ambitions,including thatof becoming a writer,yethe wasdestined tobecome a world famousauthor asa Trappist,thoughhe published under hissecular name.Itwasnothis ideatowrite asa monk,butwhenhe wasasked todoso,he wentatitwith greatgusto,and booksflowed outofGetsemaniuntilhe died in1968 at the age offiftythreeindeed,the flow continued after hisdeath.His range wasenormousand he had a knack ofmaking animmediate contact withhisreader,speaking withthe voiceofanolder brother,a spiritual director,someone like and unlike.

One ofthe odditiesofMerton'sautobiographywasthe suggestion thatthe Trappistlife wasn'tdemanding enough.Maybe ifwar time conditionshad notprevented it,he would have entered a Carthusian monasteryAlifelong tensionbetweenthe cenobitic and hermetic idealsof monasticismbegan,and Mertonwould eventuallyargue thatthe Trappists themselveswere originallymeanttobe more hermetic thancenobitic.In anycase,he waspermitted tobuild a hermitageinthe woodsofthe monasteryand tospend increasing amountsoftime alone.Itwasinthe hermitagethatJohnHoward Griffintook the famousphotographsof JacquesMaritainand Merton.Iused the hermitagefora scene inmynovel The Noonday Devil.

The twoessentialbiographiesofMertonare byMonicaFurlong and byMichaelMott.We learnsomething Mertonhad beenadvised to leave outofThe Seven StoreyMountain Asa studentinEngland,he had a child butthe boyand hismother were later killed during the airraidson London.ThisunderscoresMerton'ssense thathe entered the monasteryto dopenanceforhispastlife.

The biographiesdisturboursense that,whenMertonentered the monastery,the old life wasleftbehind and a new one,the one that producedSeedsofContemplationand a whole seriesofbooksdepicting advancementinthe spirituallife, began.Life, evenmonastic life,isnever thatsimple.Itseemsinescapable thatMerton'sabbotcame tofind hima paininthe neck,and notwithoutreasonMertonfelthe wasunfairlydealt with,butitiseasytobe struck byhow patientlythe abbotand hisfellow monksendured Merton'sidiosyncracies.

The literarylife beyond the wallsinvaded the monastic redoubtThe hermitageseemed lessrather thanmore demanding thancommunitylife. Reading ofMertonworking there,listening toJoanBaez records,drinking wine,wemightthink thatatthe time we were more monkishthanour favorite monkishmentorHe had visitorsHe engaged ina vastand global correspondenceHisinterestinpoliticalmattersgrewand he allied himself withantiwarand pacifistgroups.Increasingly,he romanticized such involvements,calling hismissive tothe outside worldCablesfrom the Ace

Merton'sinterestinEasternmysticismgrew and took onodd dimensionsNorwashe spared the temptationsofthe fleshMotttellsusof Merton,inhospitalinLouisville, falling inlove witha nurse and readyto deserthisvocationand marryher.Thathe did notowed more toher maturitythanhis.

Frankly,Iwasshocked whenIread ofthisfaltering,buton reflectionIhave come tothink thatitisanessentialelementinMerton's influence.We laypeople are wonttomakeimpossible demandsonthe clergyand religious,asiftheywere alreadyin patriarather thanin viawith the restofusThere issomething pharisaicalinoursurprise thateventhose whohave giventheirlivestothe questofperfectionoftenfallshortNo doubtitwould have beenbetter ifMertonhad notsuffered thisfoolish lapse inLouisville. Butitshould notobscure the factthat,despite it,in some waysbecause ofit,he hung inthere and wastrue tothe vocationto whichhe had beencalled.

Hedied inBangkok,electrocuted bya faultyconnection,and was returned toGethsemaniforburial.The immortalityhe soughtwasnotthat ofauthorship buthisbookswillgoondoing good formanyfora long time tocome.Inpartthisisdue tothe devotionofhisadmirers, whohave refused toletobscurityclaimhim.

Brother Patrick Hart,a fellow Trappistwhoserved assecretaryto

Severalvolumeshave alreadybeenpublished:Run to the Mountain, 19391941,edited byBrother Patrick, andEntering the Silence,19411952,edited byJonathanMontaldo.Future volumeswillbe edited by Christine Bochen,LawrenceCunningham,RobertDaggyand Victor Kramer.Brother Patrick himselfwilleditthe finalvolume.The journals have beenmined forparticular publications,the mainstoryofMerton'slife isknown,butthe complete journalswilldeepenourunderstanding ofthis remarkable man,notre semblable,notre frere.

WhenIfirstreadSeven StoreyMountain,inthe yearofits appearance,Iwasoverwhelmed and somewhatshamed bythe freshness and awe withwhichMertonspoke ofthingswhichhad become matteroffacttome.Doubtlessthe convertwillalwaysopenthe eyesofthe cradle Catholic tothe marvelshe takesforgranted. ButitwasMerton's enthusiasmforCatholic culture, particularlythe spiritualand intellectual patrimonyofthe Church,thatawoke inme a desire toassimilate and be gratefulforthatgreattradition.

WasMertona good poet?Iamnojudge, ofcourse, buthe does

© RalphMcInerny,2005. Merton,hasearned the gratitude ofusallforhisselfeffacing and tireless efforttokeep the flame alight.Brother Patrick hasedited the letters of Mertonand broughttogether hisliteraryessaysButhismonumentwill surelybe the projected sevenvolumesofMerton'sJournalsofwhichhe is the generaleditor

seemuneventome. Hewrote freeverse, tenniswithouta net,but sometimesitworked. Oftenitdid not,and hissimileswould notcohere. Oddly,the failureshappened whenhe wasunder the influenceofthe psalms.

Hiscontinuing role isthatofa spiritualtype, a gifted authorof protreptic worksthatawakena deep longing forthe inner life.The complete journalswillgive us the man,wartsand allPerhaps,aswiththe desaccharinizing ofthe Little Flower,thiswillmakehimevenmore appealing tol'hommemoyen sensuel.Mount'sbiographyshocked me a little and Iindulged some pharisaicalthoughts.Anyflaw insomeone striving forsanctitysetsoffthe humofcriticisminthose ofuswhocould nothave lived a dayofthe life towhichThomasMertongave twentyseven yearsofhis.Itisgood tosettle downagainwiththismarvelousand saintly author.

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