“Life is simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time.  This is not just a nice story or a fable, it is true.”
—Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton's Legacy

Few religious scholars have been the subject of as much scrutiny and interpretation as Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk, contemplative, social critic, ecumenist, and prolific author of The Seven Storey Mountain as well as 20+ other books. Even fewer have embodied the paradox of earthly devotion as fully as Merton, a man committed to a life of withdrawal from the world, of silence and solitude—who nonetheless spoke out about the abuses of power, civil rights, the environment, nuclear weapons, and Vietnam. Fifty years after his death, he remains a surprisingly contemporary figure, addressing time and again the issues that matter to us and to our world.

 Social Justice

Merton referred to race and peace as the two most urgent issues of that time, and he was a strong supporter of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which he called "certainly the greatest example of Christian faith in action in the social history of the United States." 

Art and Silence

Merton's abstract drawings and exercises in quiet reflection convey something of the awareness through silence that he was always eager to explore. His drawings invite us to stop and reflect, and surprise ourselves by new depths of awareness and understanding.