Reading Invokes a Response

As Merton recalled of one of his favorite authors, “The Providence of God was eventually to use Blake to awaken something of faith and love in my own soul – in spite of all the misleading notions, and all the almost infinite possibilities of error that underlie his weird and violent figures.”[1]  God can use any avenue to bring people to his presence.  Blake was not always a man of faith, and therefore his poems were not strewn with Christian illusions.  Yet God used Merton’s love of literature to draw him nearer; He might use art or even sports to do the same for another.  It just so happened that Merton had a consistent stream of books which held his interest and therefore God entered the pages to come to life through his persistent reading.

So “just as his reading helped him in moving toward these goals, so our reading of Merton’s works can do the same for us.”[2]  We can take his example and draw nearer to God through reading, if that is a love of ours.  Spiritual reading as a whole can “assist in the reformation of our hearts and minds into the likeness of Jesus Christ.”[3]  Utilizing books for this purpose involves interacting with the words for the personal formation aspects rather than the head knowledge that can be gleaned. 

 

After his conversion, Merton wrote “to help people to be better Christians”[4] just as so many writers before him had done.  He appreciated the custom of Saint John of the Cross, who wrote out “short meditative phrases…that could be used as a meditative preparation for contemplative attention.”[5]  Merton utilized such a practice to help young monks approach meditation.  His theological writing assisted the deepening of faith for his fellow monks as well as superiors and even for readers today.  This practice was used in Merton’s own practices as one of his favorite things to do was to meditate “in silence on a spiritual author.”[6]  I think this is a very practical takeaway from how Merton utilized his love of literature to further his spirituality.

The act of reading is not merely for pleasure, but it invokes a response.   Personally, I have found certain quotes from Merton helpful in my own spiritual journey as I am able to contemplate his words as they relate to the Christian life.  He was able to “juxtapose whatever he reads and contemplates…with the reality of his monastic existence.”[7]  Likewise, the reader of Merton works and other spiritual writings can contemplate the words on the page in their own setting.  I, too, can appreciate the aspects of creation that are touched upon in Blake’s poems and the vividness of Hopkin’s verses.  Writers have the unique gifts to bring to life things that are often passed by without much thought since “words can travel beyond their confines into the mystery of God.”[8]  The importance of spiritual reading is to see how God works through these writers to bring his people closer to Him.  This was evident in Merton’s life as he became the same literary influence that other writers had been to him.

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[1] Merton, Seven Storey, 97.

[2] Shannon, 122.

[3] Roller, xii.

[4] Cunningham, 30.

[5] Ibid, 40.

[6] Ibid, 131.

[7] Kountz, 156.

[8] Llavador, 1.

Dual Vocations: How Merton balanced the writer and monk within him (part 7)

Thomas Merton

Merton’s influence through his writing is special because it is tremendously detailed as well as open and honest, allowing his readers to experience the ups and downs in life with him.  His written life allows me to somewhat live vicariously through him, feeling as though I am right alongside him facing the same things.  The vivid imagery he utilizes captures the reader, pulling them into the broader spiritual autobiography.  This detail, coupled with intimate feelings, is what makes Merton’s writing so unique. 

Just as “his literary background and interest influenced the way he wrote about spirituality (and made it so different from other writers in the field), so his literary works – in a more hidden yet no less telling way – reflect and embody his spirituality.”[1]  Merton’s own writings have had profound influence on the generations following his life.  “Christian readers enjoyed a certain frisson in reading about the life of a person who turned from sin and evil to a life of graced conversion.”[2]  The Seven Storey Mountain, his first big success as a writer, was an honest reflection on his spiritual journey.  Not only that, but it was relatable because of its modernity; people could share in his intellectualism and jazz-loving ways.  

Peter Kountz discusses the importance of Merton’s dual vocations as writer and monk.  He states that “the two vocations affected each other, ultimately making the monk more worldly and the writer more contemplative (monastic).”[3]  Though he tells his own story, Merton draws the reader into the monastic life and thus into a closer union with God.  Merton’s influence spans the depths of what it means to be a contemplative.  One’s gifts can be utilized to further their life within the faith, rather than taking them out of it.  William Shannon articulated Merton’s influence through his writing perfectly in the following passage:

“Had Merton been forced to stop writing he would have shriveled up as a monk, perhaps even left the monastery.  God does not give gifts for us to throw them away.  Moreover, if Merton had persisted in believing (if he ever really believed it) that were he to use his gift as a writer he could not be a contemplative, his most important message for the contemporary world would have been muted.  For if one cannot be both a contemplative and a writer, it would follow that one could not be both a contemplative and a housewife, a contemplative and a truck driver, a contemplative and a teacher, a contemplative and a worker on the assembly line.”[4]

Merton’s main task, as Henri Nouwen put it, was “the unmasking of an illusion.”[5]  Though he would have done well to be in the frontlines of the civil rights movement, he was able to influence countless others through his writing for the purpose of bringing light to certain situations.  He allowed his readers to engage in the contemplative life regardless of various other pieces of their lives that could hold them back.  He wanted to help others approach prayer and solitude to dismantle the illusions the world had put in place.  He was aware of the power of language to oppress or to emancipate”[6] and used a bold approach with topic choices to do just that.

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[1] William H. Shannon, ed. “Preface.” In The Courage for Truth: the Letters of Thomas Merton to Writers, (New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1993), viii.

[2] Cunningham, 33.

[3] Peter Kountz, Chicago Studies in the History of American Religion, vol. 11, Thomas Merton as Writer and Monk: a Cultural Study, 1915-1951 (Brooklyn, NY: Carlson Pub., 1991), xxviii.

[4] Shannon, 35.

[5] Nouwen, 54.

[6] Fernando Beltrán Llavador, “Brother Silence, Sister Word: Merton’s Conversion and Conversation in Solitude and Society”, Thomas Merton Society (1996): 1, accessed May 20, 2014, http://www.thomasmertonsociety.org/fernando.htm.

William Blake's Influence (Merton's Love of Books - part 6)

William Blake

Part of his enticement was likely the nostalgia of his father who introduced him to Blake’s writing when he was ten, but by the time he was sixteen Merton “liked Blake immensely” and “read him with more patience and attention than any other poet.”[1]  He was moved by the depth and power of Blake’s words, especially because he could not quite figure him out. 

Something about Merton was drawn to the mystery of Blake, and I think that is carried on through his drive towards the monastic life and Scripture in and of itself. He later acknowledged his debt to him in The Seven Storey Mountain, stating “through Blake I would one day come, in a round-about way, to the only true Church, and to the One Living God, through His Son, Jesus Christ.”[2]  God utilized his appreciation for literature – secular or Christian – to draw him nearer to Him. 

His love for Blake did not cease throughout his childhood, but rather held strong as he entered adulthood.  While studying at Columbia, Merton decided to write his thesis on Blake’s poems and fondly recalled “what a thing it was to live in contact with the genius and the holiness of William Blake that year, that summer, writing the thesis!”[3]  Merton appreciated Blake’s deepness in thought and verse, acknowledging his imperfections as characteristics of his talent. 

Through his studies, he came to the revelation that Blake “had developed a moral insight that cut through all the false distinctions of a worldly and interested morality.”[4]  He consistently discovered new meanings behind Blake’s words.  In his earlier secular journals, Merton wrote how Blake once told someone his poems were dictated by the angels.  He responds by stating that “we have to be very careful and guard our position against anything above that – angels, or God.”[5]  Though this was before his conversion, Merton still wrestled with such thoughts of writers he appreciated, attempting to come to a conclusion himself.

"The Poet's Dream" - William Blake

As he did with Gerard Manley Hopkins, Merton attempted to figure out the man behind the words.  He wanted to figure out what he believed and preached and how that was applicable to his own life.  “The key to Merton’s attraction to and treatment of William Blake lies in identifying in the life of Blake.”[6]  Because Blake was drawn to Catholicism through Dante’s writings, recognizing it as “the only religion that really taught the love of God,”[7] Merton recognized that truth that could be found through literature.  Studying Blake’s life also allowed him to see a change in his demeanor after conversion where he died with “great songs of joy bursting from his heart.”[8]  Such a strong desire burned within Merton as well, who became more aware of the need for faith in his own life.  Of him, Merton states, “I think my love for William Blake had something in it of God’s grace.  It is a love that has never died, and which has entered very deeply into the development of my life.”[9]  Pieces of Blake’s writing is even scattered throughout The Seven Storey Mountain, further exemplifying how much of an influence he had on Merton. 

[1] Merton, Seven Storey, 95.

[2] Merton, Seven Storey, 97.

[3] Ibid, 207.

[4] Ibid, 222.

[5] Thomas Merton, Secular Journal of Thomas Merton (New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1960), 5.

[6] David D. Cooper, Thomas Merton's Art of Denial: the Evolution of a Radical Humanist (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2008), 100.

[7] Merton, Seven Storey, 208.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid, 94.

Thomas Merton & Gerard Manley Hopkins (Merton's Love of Books - part 5)

Thomas Merton not only enjoyed the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, a poet from the mid-nineteenth century, but also held a number of similarities to the man.  Hopkins, like Merton, converted to Catholicism during his time in college and focused his efforts primarily on writing.  He utilized complicated rhythms within his poetry and focused upon the beauty found in nature. 

Merton was first introduced to his poetry through his Headmaster.  Though he had never heard of the man up until this point, Merton recalled how his poetry “was original and had a lot of vitality and music and depth.”[1]  Years later he found himself picking up more of Hopkins writing, absorbed not only in his verse but also in his life as a Jesuit, which prompted questions of what priests’ lives consisted of.  This writing sparked an interest in the faith and Merton was actually “reading a biography of Hopkins when he made the decision to become a Catholic.”[2]  The similarities found between their lives actually prompted Merton’s conversion. 

As he read more and more of Hopkins, his appreciation for the man prompted his own attempts at writing verse and his intention to “write a Ph.D. dissertation on Hopkins” while living in New York.[3]  Merton was influenced not only by his writing but also by his life as a devout man of faith. 

Gerard Manley Hopkins struggled with the effects writing could have on his faith.  He was “concerned that his poetry was preventing him from concentrating fully on his faith,” and therefore “burned his poems and stopped writing poetry entirely for seven years.”[4]  It was not until he was asked to write a poem by his superior that he picked his pen back up to commemorate those who died for their faith.  Similarly, when Merton “first entered the monastery he expected he would not be allowed to write.”[5]  He did not think it was a viable option for someone called to be a contemplative. 

However, his superiors recognized this gift within him and ordered him to write.  Merton was able to “see his writing as a help to his contemplation instead of its rival.”[6]  He found strength through it, which empowered his readers as well.  Hopkins’ poetry “captures the beauty of ordinary things and helps us to see them in a new way, a way that gives glory both to God and to creation.”[7]  Both Hopkins and Merton were willing to give up their love of writing for the sake of the gospel, but they were rewarded by their faithfulness and utilized these gifts for the empowerment of the kingdom. 

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[1] Merton, Seven Storey, 110.

[2] Julia L. Roller, ed., 25 Books Every Christian Should Read: A Guide to the Essential Spiritual Classics (New York: HarperOne, 2011), 274.

[3] Merton, Seven Storey, 257.

[4] Roller, 273.

[5] Shannon, 35.

[6] Shannon, 35.

[7] Roller, 275.

Thomas Merton & James Joyce (Merton's Love of Books - part 4)

Merton was first introduced to the writings of the novelist and poet James Joyce through his book Ulysses.  Though this book had been read a few times in his young life, Merton recalled the impact Portrait of an Artist had on him. 

Originally he had found the parts on Joyce’s spiritual crisis depressing, but later he was drawn to “the expertness of the sermon” on hell which “stimulated and edified”[1] Merton.  Through this knowledge of Joyce’s writings, he found himself “naturally making mental comparisons”[2] with what Joyce wrote and what the priests taught in mass.  Apparently there was more influence on him than he even realized.  He recalled how “there was something eminently satisfying in the thought that these Catholics knew what they believed, and knew what to teach, and all taught the same thing, and taught it with coordination and purpose and great effect.”[3] 

It was through this appreciation of the subject matter that his fascination grew and James Joyce became a prominent influence on Thomas Merton’s own beliefs in the Catholic life.  In fact, years later Merton told a priest “that reading Joyce had contributed something to [his] conversion.”[4]  It certainly helped fuel his interest in the Jesuits and what they had to offer the faith he was now considering.

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[1] Merton, Seven Storey, 231.

[2] Ibid, 238.

[3] Merton, Seven Storey, 231-2.

[4] Ibid, 425.

Thomas Merton & T.S. Eliot (Merton's Love of Books - part 3)

Merton acknowledged the fact that his life as a young man was one of “a great rebel.”[1]  He believed his intelligence allowed him to rise above the pettiness of an average life and spent this time drinking beer, smoking cigarettes, listening to records and reading modern literature.  “Popular literature of the time was centrally occupied with the analyses of the loss of the individual self.”[2]  

One such modern writer he approached who focused on this culture was T.S. Eliot, a popular poet and cultural critic.  In an effort to stay above modernity, Merton recalled selling T.S. Eliot’s essays “in a conscious reaction against artiness”[3] as if he had surpassed the writers of the day.  

Nonetheless, Merton still wanted Eliot’s opinions and prepared an article for his magazine Criterion which stopped publication during that time.[4]  His impact held steady regardless of what Merton thought of the poet, which infiltrated Merton’s own future writing.

Though Merton was drawn to Eliot’s writings in his life prior to conversion, he later critiqued the literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century because it was “deeply concerned with authenticity and the problem of finding one’s ‘true self’ in an artificial and inauthentic society.”[5]  As a more mature Christian at the time of this critique, he recognized the problems with Eliot’s use of “traditional spiritualities and symbols to rise above identity”[6] and to find freedom through oneself.  Nevertheless, the poetry of T.S. Eliot still influenced Merton’s spirituality.  

According to Lawrence S. Cunningham, after entering the monastery Merton “treasured the quiet moments when he could find a quiet place to sit while he read slowly something like Eliot’s Four Quartets which “had profound influence on him.”[7]    His attempts at crafting complex poems like, Cables to the Ace, was heavily influenced by Eliot and even utilizes similar imagery of urgency.  Later in life he even had correspondence with Eliot, yet did not heed advice given to “write slowly and with great care and publish less.”[8]  Merton was less invested in polished pieces of work, but rather focused his efforts on getting his thoughts down on paper to share with others.  

Still, his interactions with T.S. Eliot influenced the way he wrote whether he acknowledged it or not.

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[1] Ibid, 103.

[2] Cunningham, 83.

[3] Merton, Seven Storey, 152.

[4] Ibid, 235.

[5] Thomas Merton, Contemplation in a World of Action, (Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1998), 37.

[6] Ibid, 37.

[7] Cunningham, 43.

[8] Ibid, 159.

Merton's Love of Books - part 2

His intense love for literature sparked the desire to be a writer.  Similarly, I have found that the more I read the more I want to write, and vice versa.  Merton had a lifelong devotion to writing which is evident through his journals, editing, books, critiques and contemplations.  

His early diaries allow readers to “see Thomas Merton as an intelligent, well-read and well-traveled ‘graduate,’ who with poignant sarcasm perceives his surroundings and gives his commentary on them.”[1]  His vulnerability and honesty is evident through his diaries as well as later published books such as Contemplation in a World of Action where he reacts and wrestles through his own beliefs and practices. 

“Writing out of a deep experience of the reality of God gave Merton a kind of instinct for the presence of grace in the world.”[2]  

He utilized his gift for the building up of the kingdom, allowing others to experience God through him the way he had through so many writers before him.

There are many authors Merton attributed his learnings to including Dante, John Dryden, D.H. Lawrence, Aldous Huxley, Ernest Hemingway, Etienne Gilson, William Faulkner, Wendell Berry, Meister Eckhart, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Boris Pasternak, Richard Crenshaw, Rainer Maria Rilke and many others.  

Specifically through the literary influences of T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, Gerard Manley Hopkins and William Blake, Thomas Merton found himself gradually coming to a deeper appreciation of the Christian faith.  

These writers, along with Merton’s influence on spiritual writing, will be focused upon in the coming posts.

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[1] Henri J.M. Nouwen, Thomas Merton: Contemplative Critic (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1981), 11.

[2] Cunningham, 188.