New Seeds of Contemplation

by Thomas Merton, Sue Monk Kidd (Introduction)

One of the best-loved books by one of the great spiritual authors of our time, with a new introduction by best-selling author Sue Monk Kidd. New Seeds of Contemplation is one of Thomas Merton's most widely read and best-loved books. Christians and non-Christians alike have joined in praising it as a notable successor in the meditative tradition of St. John of the Cross, The Cloud of Unknowing , and the medieval mystics, while others have compared Merton's reflections with those of Thoreau. New Seeds of Contemplation seeks to awaken the dormant inner depths of the spirit so long neglected by Western man, to nurture a deeply contemplative and mystical dimension in our lives. For Merton, "Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because men are not prepared to receive them: for such seeds as these cannot spring up anywhere except in the soil of freedom, spontaneity and love."

Genres: Spirituality, Religion, Nonfiction, Theology, Christianity, Christian, Philosophy

297 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Thomas Merton, religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. In December 1941 he entered the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani and in May 1949 he was ordained to priesthood. He was a member of the convent of the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, near Bardstown, Kentucky, living there from 1941 to his death.
Merton wrote more than 50 books in a period of 27 years, mostly on spirituality, social justice and a quiet pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews. Among Merton's most enduring works is his bestselling autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948). His account of his spiritual journey inspired scores of World War II veterans, students, and teenagers to explore offerings of monasteries across the US. It is on National Review's list of the 100 best nonfiction books of the century.
Merton became a keen proponent of interfaith understanding, exploring Eastern religions through his study of mystic practice. His interfaith conversation, which preserved both Protestant and Catholic theological positions, helped to build mutual respect via their shared experiences at a period of heightened hostility. He is particularly known for having pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures, including the Dalai Lama XIV; Japanese writer D.T. Suzuki; Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, and Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. He traveled extensively in the course of meeting with them and attending international conferences on religion. In addition, he wrote books on Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, and how Christianity is related to them. This was highly unusual at the time in the United States, particularly within the religious orders.

Reviews

[Andi · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a few years, I fostered a very robust fascination with Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk who was a prolific writer. I can’t remember how I found Merton, maybe some long ago professor of mine or a reference in someone else’s book, but since I started reading him almost a decade ago, he has, more than any other writer, influenced my way of seeing the world. He was a pacifist and a political activist, at least in the sense that he spoke out boldly against things he found immoral or unethical - like the atomic bomb. He also believed wholeheartedly in the need for a writer to have space to think and be alone - what he called “silence and solitude.”
In New Seeds of Contemplation, Merton introduces his readers to the idea of contemplation as a way of life. He urges us all to dip deeper into our thoughts and to slow down from our action, to turn away from that which distracts us and to open up to that which reminds us of true reality, true creation, and true life.
If you have ever wanted a model for how to write about thought, this book is for you. Even more so, if you have ever wanted to think about how to slow down, catch your breath, and by do doing, live your life more fully, this book will capture your spirit and heart.

[Lesa Engelthaler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a huge crush on Merton. He is the grace my Abba gave me in the silence. I weep when I read him and sigh, and say, I feel exactly the same way...over and over again. Read him, if you doubt, if you wonder, if you wander, if you think about your faith.

[Michael VanZandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok,so, let me say to begin that I think Thomas Merton is a brilliant mind. If there were a dozen more Mertons in the world, I'm convinced there would be peace on earth.

That being said, Brother Tom plunges into a book in which he attempts to lay the groundwork, or to set the vibe for one's odyssey into contemplation. Tricky thing is that you cannot really describe contemplation. Merton says so himself. The best we can do is to label it "the darkness" and say, well, it's not that, and it's not and it's not that ... you get the picture. Merton is not deterred. Bless his heart, he wants us all to become saints. Or maybe more accurately, he wants us all to want to become saints.

There are moments of poetry here. There are also moments when I sat, thinking I believe that this is nearly identical to what he said two chapters ago. Yet, Merton offers us two paths -- our glorious fundamental option of faith. So there is the shadowy mask of the ego, clinging to the carousel of idols, of created things, of the material, of mammon, and then there is nothingness and emptiness -- union with God's will. Do not get me wrong when Merton describes nothingness, it actually does not sound half bad. In fact, it riles me up like a good Naomi Klein anti-corporate activist rallying cry. I do not want to downplay this aspect of Merton's work: he sees the hollowness of the American system decades ago. Only when we lose our sense of self, in the eyes of society, whomever we attach to that broad group, do we find our true identity. It is a fascinating worldview, which Merton gives a justifiably nuanced treatment.

At times, beautiful and breathtaking. Other times, I felt like skipping some pages, but did not expecting an epiphany to leap from the page. It is not burdened with dense theological terminology, but helps to be a seasoned reader of theology.

[Hundeschlitten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I acknowledge that Thomas Merton probably had a true connection to God, that he was a holy man who by all accounts walked the walk as well as talked the talk. I also acknowledge that "New Seeds of Contemplation" is an engaging explanation of some of Merton's core ideas, as well as a compelling argument for the spiritual value in leading what Merton terms a "contemplative" life (more exactly, a life in contemplation of God's will and your purpose within that will). However, nothing I've read in a long time has done as much to make me doubt components of my faith and even wonder whether I am really that much of a Christian.

In this series of short, interconnected essays, Merton takes on all comers, from over-earnest monks to the vagaries of the modern business world, and he is a compelling advocate for a life spent in earnest contemplation of God. But then come the particulars. For Merton, the beliefs of the Church, in this case the dictates and dogmas of the Roman Catholic church, are to be accepted without question, in part because we all need to follow the instructions of our spiritual leaders, even when we believe them to be wrong, and partly because God is the source of Christian dogma and tradition, thus these beliefs, at least generally speaking, must be right.

Worse, buried within this advocacy for a contemplative life lies a condescension that I found grating. According to Merton, anyone who loves the things of this world is deluded. The corporate world faces particular criticism, as do those in search of sensual pleasure. But I thought: What about the prostitutes and the tax collectors? Jesus seemed to prefer their company over all the sanctimonious priests. Why would he be on the priests' side now? And then my mind drifted towards Plutarch and his more nuanced understanding of our moral and spiritual failings. I contrasted Plutarch with other Christian thinkers, from Luther to Kierkegaard, and how almost all of them have this cocksure view of the world. Merton was just another in this long line.

I liked "New Seeds of Contemplation." It was engaging, at times vibrant and beautiful. But if it provides a map to the contemplative life, it is a narrow map, perhaps indicative of the narrowness of this vision. I found myself feeling a pagan's hunger, craving a more expansive view of life than the one Merton was offering. And I find that thought kind of scary.

[Bill on GR Sabbatical · Rating 3 out of 5]

You will never find interior solitude unless you make some conscious effort to deliver yourself from the desires and the cares and the attachments of an existence in time and in the world.

One of the most popular of the famous Cistercian monk's writings, New Seeds of Contemplation is also dense, difficult, and rambling. Like many, I find passages that speak to my heart, mind and soul, like the one above.

Other chapters and passages reflect Roman Catholic dogma or rules of Cistercian monastic life that are not part of my faith and don't move me. Another difficulty with the book, acknowledged by Merton, is the impossibility of putting the encounter with God into the feeble vessel of words.

[Kyle Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I think this might have been the best (at least the most meaningful) book I've ever read, so I am not exactly sure what to say here. I will provide the caveat to that high assessment that I would not have loved or even liked this book at other points in my life for varied reasons, so keep that in mind should you choose to pick it up. Nevertheless, this becomes an immediate classic for me that I will return to many times in the future.

"Ultimately the only way that I can be myself is to become identified with Him in Whom is hidden the reason and fulfillment of my existence."

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could rate this as higher than 5 stars, I would. This is probably the most impacting and thoughtful book I have read (aside from the Bible), and I keep coming back to it over and over again for fresh insight.

Thomas Merton was both a contemplative monastic as well as a radical activist. His life of solitude and contemplation did not cause him to turn inward, but called him to look out into the world. He was an advocate of civil rights, a critic of Vietnam and nuclear proliferation, and an author and literary critic. His spiritual insight became the foundation of his public voice, knowing that only the truth found in God would be powerful enough to overcome the powers and structures of this world.

While other writings of Merton's are more outward oriented, this book contains many devotional reflections on the inward life, finding the hidden places of the Spirit where deep calls unto deep. He writes: "Every moment and every event of everyman's life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men." God is awakening us, bringing us into the light, and Merton, through his writings, encourages us to come alive in the Spirit.

An amazing book!

[Celia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas Merton has written many books about Contemplative Prayer. This beautiful edition is introduced by Sue Monk Kidd.

Kidd's introduction starts:

"With a stretch of time to myself, I settled at the desk and pulled New Seeds of Contemplation from my bag. In its pages I discovered Merton’s powerful evocations on the true self."

I knew from these words that not only would I be learning more about contemplation, but I would also be learning about and reflecting on my own self.

Contemplation is the act of looking at something thoughtfully for a long time.

Here are a few quotes to get you thinking about contemplation:

"To enter into the realm of contemplation one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance into a higher life. It is a death for the sake of life, which leaves behind all that we can know or treasure as life, as thought, as experience, as joy, as being." (1)

"Contemplation is also the response to a call: a call from Him Who has no voice, and yet Who speaks in everything that is, and Who, most of all, speaks in the depths of our own being: for we ourselves are words of His." (3)

"FOR me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self." (33)

5 stars

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have some mixed feelings about this book.

It reads like one long prayer, which is lovely. Thomas Merton clearly has a very intimate, very passionate relationship with God. And of course, there were some things that were relevant to me, and some that were not. However, sometimes when I was reading, I just felt lost. Like I was missing something. Maybe some of it was just over my head, because I don't have that kind of relationship with God. I partly wish that Merton would have used simpler language in expressing his "seeds of contemplation."

On the other hand, as the title implies, this book absolutely does its job in provoking ideas for contemplation. I especially loved the chapter called "Sentences" which, unlike the other chapters, just contained short, proverb-like expressions instead of long paragraphs on a given subject. I found these very inspiring and excellent for meditation.

I would recommend this to someone who is working on deepening his/her prayer life. I don't think I'd recommend this to a new believer.

[Greg Bae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate Merton’s iconoclastic style given his position as an old school catholic priest. He comes across as wise but his judgements against religious zealots backfires and it casts his teachings in a self righteous light.

I read this as it was referenced several times in Richard Rohr’s book Falling Upwards. Ultimately that is a much more coherent and compelling narrative.

[Stormie Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began reading this book in 1996, completing it perhaps a year later. I was completely captivated! At a time in my life when my soul yearned for some sense of reason beyond my daily encounters - Thomas Merton's New Seeds of Contemplation struck a timely cord. The soul that seeks truth, no doubt will find it. To engage truth becomes one's life time endeavor. New Seeds of Contemplation is not a book that can be read without times of ardent reflection. When the soul is in a place of transitioning - that being, re-examining its core beliefs & principals for living - contemplation becomes the portal/pathway of revelation. An exceptional life altering read!!
New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I began reading this book in 1996, completing it perhaps a year later. I was completely captivated! At a time in my life when my soul yearned for some sense of reason beyond my daily encounters - Thomas Merton's New Seeds of Contemplation struck a timely cord. The soul that seeks truth, no doubt will find it. To engage truth becomes one's life time endeavor. An exceptional life altering read!!



View all my reviews

[Ihor Kolesnyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Це текст містика. Томас Мертон насичений цим містичним досвідом контемпляції Джерела, із якого до нього приходить віра, надія і багато любові. Це текст, який схожий до сповіді Августина у певних відтінках близького, інтимного діалогу із Богом, але у сучасній версії ближчий мені. Цікаво, що у Мертона немає постійного самоприниження та знецінення життя перед обличчям Творця цього ж життя (аналогічно щодо тіла).

Мушу також визнати, що за усієї симпатії до практики Мертона і його живого досвіду, для мене залишається чужим саме християнський спосіб вплітання містичного переживання у слова. Це не той категоріальний апарат, не ті сенси, які я знаходжу для себе важливими. Напевно навіть молитва дерева, моху і грибків на продуктах із холодильника мені ближча, ніж християнське богослів'я, яке надто далеко витає над світом, що для мене є святим.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a difficult book for me to rate. There are many profound insights into spiritual life worthy of deep and extended meditation. Morton’s prose is lucid, vibrant, and often beautiful. In some places the book reminded me of Augustine’s Confessions. But the book is also marred by heavy Roman Catholic dogma, especially concerning the role of Mary (see ch. 23). I also find some his language (e.g. “clear darkness of God” or “obscure knowledge” etc.) almost non-sensical. I think the book is at its best when giving practical advice and when talking about self-denial and the renunciation of the “false self” (which I take in Pauline terms to be the “old self”). So, I’d give the book four stars when at its best, but only one or two in its weaker elements.

[Pat]

The Dao touches us with a touch that is emptiness and empties us. The Dao moves us with a simplicity that simplifies us. All variety, all complexity, all paradox, all multiplicity cease. Our mind swims in the air of an understanding, a reality that is dark and serene and includes in itself everything. Nothing more is desired. Nothing more is wanting. Our only sorrow, is sorrow be possible at all, is the awareness that we ourselves still live outside The Dao.

Did you enjoy that passage from the Dao De Jing, the classical Chinese text supposedly written by Laozi around the 4th century BC? Well what if I told you that this is actually a passage written by the modern Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, on page 227 of his book New Seeds of Contemplation but I switched out every mention of "God" with "The Dao." Here's a translation of an actual passage from the Dao De Jing:

The Dao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in our employment of it we must be on our guard against all fulness. How deep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the Honoured Ancestor of all things! We should blunt our sharp points, and unravel the complications of things; we should attemper our brightness, and bring ourselves into agreement with the obscurity of others. How pure and still the Dao is, as if it would ever so continue! I do not know whose son it is. It might appear to have been before God.

The primary topic of New Seeds of Contemplation is . . . Contemplation! The first two chapters of this book "What Is Contemplation?" and "What Contemplation Is Not," do their very best to define Contemplation and dispel any misunderstandings. Unfortunately, the reader comes to learn that Contemplation is apparently quite nebulous and seemingly full of paradoxes. And so, it is almost easier to say what Contemplation is NOT rather than what it precisely IS. Contemplation

is a more profound depth of faith, a knowledge too deep to be grasped by images, in words or even in clear concepts. It can be suggested by words, by symbols but in the very moment of trying to indicate what it knows the contemplative mind takes back what it has said, and denies what it has affirmed. For in contemplation we know by "unknowning." Or, better we know beyond all knowing or "unknowing."

(Pages 1 - 2 ).

This is the point that I started to realize how heavily Thomas Merton was influenced by eastern philosophy and religion. Those last two sentences may as well be from a book about Zen Buddhism. But over the course of the book Merton weaves his method of contemplation into the Catholic tradition with extended discussions on God, Jesus, the Holy Trinity, and the Virgin Mary. So this book may simultaneously be too heretical for staunch Catholics and too religious for the "spiritual" types, both of whom would be no doubt drawn to Merton's teachings.

I personally enjoyed this book. I particularly liked how Merton dispelled the notion that to be a successful ascetic one must shut themself away from the rest of the world and engage in strict fasting and prostration. There are also many valuable lessons about ones true "self" (the "I"), humility, and conflict that I won't attempt to explain here. A reader doesn't need to be in search of any spiritual or theological lessons to get something from this book.

Here is a quote that I will likely never forget:

If you can never make up your mind what God wills for you, but are always veering from one opinion to another, from one practice to another, from one method to another, it may be an indication that you are trying to get around God's will and do your own with a quiet conscience.
. . .
You are always making resolutions and breaking them by counterresolutions. You ask your confessor and do not remember the answers. Before you finish one book, you begin another, and with every book you read you change the whole plan of your interior life.

Soon you will have no interior life at all. Your whole existence will be a patchwork of confused desires and day dreams and velleities in which you do nothing except defeat the work of grace . . . .

(Pages 260 - 61).

[Josiah Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

In all honesty, this book is not for the average person—me, you, probably anyone I know reading this review. It’s for people that truly want to enter this life of contemplation Merton talks about. That doesn’t mean of course, there isn’t some good ol’ wisdom to glean.

Merton speaks with so much authority, yet not in a way that makes you feel he hasn’t earned it. It feels at times he is simply transferring some divine knowledge to the page and doesn’t even remember writing it down.

This book is true mysticism. Which I’ve always been fascinated by and read excerpts of the mystics, but this was my first full dive in. Anyways, all to say this book is wild and worth the ride. It’s not so much heady in the sense that it is hard to understand, but that it is a call to a life that I can’t even begin to describe. Merton doesn’t even want to describe it because he says that would be missing the point of contemplative prayer, yet he does. And he does it well.

I think if you want to read some Merton, start with The Seven Storey Mountain. I haven’t read it, but I’ve heard that’s where to start, and I see at least, that starting with this is quite the plunge.

“When God begins to infuse His light of knowledge and understanding into the spirit of man drawn to contemplation, the experience is often not so much of fulfillment as of defeat.”

“But contemplation lifts us beyond our sphere of our natural powers. When you are traveling in a plane close to the ground you realize that you are going somewhere: but in the stratosphere, although you may be going seven times as fast, you lose all sense of speed.”

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the last few years, I have found it beneficial to include reading a bit from different spiritual masters each day. I've been reading a chapter of this book each morning, and it is absolutely fantastic. The first 2/3 of the book was a wealth of thought provoking spiritual depth. This book could easily be included in my top ten books of all time. The last 1/3 started to get away from me. I'm not sure how to explain it. Merton is writing on a different level of spiritual connection with the Divine, a level I am sure I've never experienced. I know Merton would not want his book to be read an forgotten, so I think I need to spend more time chewing on his words (and the words of scripture, and sitting in silence and other spiritual disciplines). In essence, you can't just read about contemplation without putting yourself in a place to experience it. I look forward to a time, maybe when I'm around fifty, and I pick this one up again and hopefully, with a dose of grace, the whole book hits me the way the first 2/3 did this time.

[Lydia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Merton wrote this book in 1939 at age 24, the year he was planning to become a Franciscan monk. There is a lot of wandering in the desert: this is not this and that is not this and that is not that. I wanted to count all the "not"s in the book. The book and the search is frankly above/beyond me, but it answered some questions. I found it interesting since the book went through many printings, and created a whole movement of men and women flocking to monasteries in the mid-twentieth century. I discovered that selfishness is the Original sin, that faith is an intellectual assent, and that true solitude is a complex and dangerous thing. You can almost hear him struggling to find his path in this book. The main theme is to get away from all worldliness and self promotion and to figure out how to live for others as one humanity through God. This is not a useful book for anyone actually trying to answer philosophical questions. Merton wrote over 70 books in his short life.

[Samcwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

"If you regard contemplation principally as a means to escape from the miseries of human life, as a withdrawal from the anguish and the suffering of this struggle for reunion with other men in the charity of Christ, you do not know what contemplation is and you will never find God in your contemplation."

One of my favorites and I’d recommend it to everyone.

[Noah Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5/5)
Excellent book. So many of Merton's chapters are incredible and deserve to be contemplated. He articulates his theology in a beautiful and fresh way. He is a great writer.
He offers so much wisdom for not just contemplation but the spiritual life in general. I found that I agreed with him more often than I expected.
I would say he only falls short in the sections where he really leans into the mystical tradition (i.e. St John of the Cross or Teresa of Avila). One of his main beliefs about contemplation is that it can not be described with words, yet he does his best to get as close as he can. This results in a lot of paradoxical language. But I guess you have to give him credit for trying, and this is kind of par for the course with mystical theology so I guess I'm fine with it lol
Anyway, I would definitely recommend this book and I will definitely be reading more Merton in the future.
oh and dave, you can have it back now, I bought my own copy.

[Gideon Yutzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vacillated between profound and esoteric; when it was the latter it was still nice to take in, as a kind of soft ambience. His high emphasis on self-discipline was a salutary reminder for me, since I think I had allowed myself to become a little sloppy with it in my thought and practice. Yet even while he promotes self-discipline he by no means advocates moralism or priggishness. Merton holds firmly to both mystery and discipline which was a refreshing and welcome blend.

[Michael Forsyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a lot here, I have been working through it slowly for a year. It is truly seeds, and well above my pay grade, but wonderful food for prayer and meditation. In many ways it seems to be a very personal spiritual journal.

[Yuri Karabatov · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often regret I'm not classically educated. When finding solutions to everyday problems rising from the workings of the mind, it's apparent that smart people like Merton have already figured out all of them, and what to do about them.

Started to read it on a whim while I had a migraine, and the premise seemed interesting as I'm trying to deal with something similar in my own life. Don't regret picking it up as it turned out provocative, deep and—unlike many purely philosophical works—approachable, with advice I wouldn't hesitate to call practical.

Having read this book, I'm now interested in his thoughts about Eastern-style meditation.

[Ellison Rhea · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this seminal work, the semimodern sage explores the theme of contemplation while embracing the paradox that nothing definite can be said about contemplation. Sometimes essay, sometimes vignette, sometimes proverb, this deep collection of wisdom provides multiple jumping-off points for personal meditation and explorative understanding of the Divine.

I think I was a Merton fan before I ever read him. All throughout this first reading, I found myself asking, "Thomas, have you been reading my diary?" I wondered, through the first 20 pages or so, whether I was a fan or simply an egomaniac; he simply articulated my divine understandings better than I could. Finally, though, he said some things which tested my fan status-- things I didn't agree with-- and he passed; I still loved him. His view of God is truly humbling, putting man in his place of profound ignorance when it comes to 'knowing' God. It also undoes popular paradigms which make God into object. These things being understood, Merton shares the necessity of a life of detachment, and genuine exploration of one's own unique holy path within the context of church structures and historically tested disciplines. These are only inadequate and probably misleading summaries of a few of his abundant talking points, but they give a taste of some of his themes.

Still, Merton is mortal, and imperfect. For all his talk of humility, he often sounds a little too confident that he has ascertained ultimate truth. I also wonder whether Merton, living so firmly in a male world at his monastery, ever imagined that his writings would reach such a wide and diverse readership-- and if he had, whether he would've used such dishearteningly exclusive gender language, not only about God, but about humanity. As a female theologian, I had to constantly suspend my awareness that I was not his intended audience in order to enjoy and benefit from the text, which might be a prohibitively frustrating task to the gender-sensitive.

Over all, I am incredibly thankful to have crossed paths with this text. It's prepared me to ask the right questions about God and my own spiritual life, and often punched me in the gut with its poignant quotes and passages. Here are a few:

"In such a world the true 'I' remains both inarticulate and invisible, because it has altogether too much to say-- not a word of which is about itself." (8)

"There is 'no such thing' as God because God is neither a 'what' nor a 'thing' but a pure 'Who.'" (13)

"So much depends on our idea of God! Yet no idea of Him, however pure and perfect, is adequate to express Him as He really is. Our idea of God tells us more about ourselves than about Him." (15)

"Hence a saint is capable of talking about the world without any explicit reference to God, in such a way that his statement gives greater glory to God and arouses greater love of God than the observations of someone less holy, who has to strain himself to make an arbitrary connection between creatures and God through the medium of hackneyed analogies and metaphors that are so feeble that they make you think there is something the matter with religion." (24)

"The saints are what they are, not because their sanctity makes them admirable to others, but because the gift of sainthood makes it possible for them to admire everybody else." (57)

"Do not be too quick to assume your enemy is a savage just because he is your enemy. Perhaps he is your enemy because he thinks you are a savage... and perhaps if he believed you were capable of loving him, he would no longer be your enemy." (177)

"If you have money, consider that perhaps the only reason God allowed it to fall into your hands was in order that you might find joy and perfection by giving it all away." (179)

"Before you can be a saint you have got to become human." (256)

Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation. New York: New Directions Books, 2007.

[Misael Galdámez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, and I want to read more Merton and contemplatives. This book pairs nicely with Schmemann's "For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy" or Robert Farrar Capon's The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection.

Though I'm far from a contemplative, I'm in the process of learning that God actually desires for me to delight in his world, and for me to see Him at work in it. This book reminded me that God created this world out of delight, that we might know Him; that the image of God is in each man; that we can encounter Christ in everyone.

“Contemplation is the highest expression of man’s intellectual and spiritual life. It is that life itself fully awake, fully active, fully aware that it is alive. It is spiritual wonder. It is spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life, of being. It is gratitude for life, for awareness and for being... Contemplation is, above all, awareness of the reality of that Source [of life]. It knows that Source...”

The bits in this book about the "unknowing" and "the darkness of God" are sometimes obtuse, but this book is rich nonetheless.

[Kenny Kidd · Rating 5 out of 5]

And now, to finish off this monstrous marathon Goodreads catch-up, my favorite book I read for my Senior Sem for English and probably my favorite book written about the Christian faith :)

I won’t be able to do it justice by detailing the points he makes, his soulful prose, his humility, his wisdom, his universal love for all creation and desire to preserve and unify it all through love and peace, etc., so I won’t try. Rest assured though, this is a series of beautiful, beautiful reflections on the interconnectedness of all mankind, the destructiveness of tribalism, the limitations of human reasoning and need for faith and dependence on love. It appeals to my skepticism, my potential agnosticism, my universalism and my Christianity in equal measure, and Thomas Merton is an absolute gift to the universe ❤️

[Kathleen Basi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book to put on your nightstand and read slowly, a few pages at a time. And then take a break to process it, and read again. So much of what Thomas Merton talks about in this book made my heart race, because I recognized it. I hope someday I am able to experience the parts I have not--yes, even the "deserts" and "darkness" he references routinely. His grasp of the human person and resistance to God makes so much clear about the world today, especially attitudes among both self-righteous religious and anti-religious.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just can't seem to get enough of Thomas Merton, this is a book not to be rushed but savored slowly. Often I found I had to re-read a passage to get the meaning and once I "got it" the lightbulb shone brightly! I wouldn't recommend this book for the new believer because it delves heavily into the inner spiritual life. The concepts and spirituality he discusses might discourage or confuse a new believer in Christ. I am a forever fan of his and I have been slowly building my personal library of his books.

[Lisa Lewton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad I read this book, and would pass it along to anyone wondering about prayers and meditation. There were a couple of chapters and some parts of the book I glossed over because I am reluctant to believe it is possible to arrive at perfection as a contemplative. And this book would be a challenge to someone who gets stuck on the male gender assigned to God, but I personally did not find that inhibiting. I consider Merton to be a sage of our time, encouraging us to find God and the will of God in the quiet stillness and in our daily work and interactions.

[César · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un tarro de esencia mística, oleaginoso concentrado de oración contemplativa. Es duro Merton, no suaviza ni un ápice el itinerario. No es ninguna broma el camino místico: primero, la vía purgativa; después, la vía iluminativa; y, por último, la vía unitiva. Las tres explicadas con rigor y claridad, sin dejar espacio a las ambigüedades y los autoengaños.

[James Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Merton is an intense person who is searching and striving for connection with God and true self through Catholic and Buddhist contemplative practices and self understanding. The God he presents here is formed by his social and religious life. Foremost is the tragedy of losing his mother as a child and his father when 16. Secondly his training and intellectual formation as a trappist monk in the 1930-1940s in America.

There are deep insights here. I read and re-read sections that hit home.There are other parts where he makes comments that are rooted catholic theology and i could sense he was speaking to his own community. His growing appreciation for buddhism and a conviction that the interior life of a christian contemplative and buddist practice are compatible creates inconsitencies and confusion in later chapters.

Despite this, it is a very good read with lots of beautiful prompts to love and know god and confront human stupidity and shotsightedness.