The Living Bread

by Thomas Merton

The whole problem of our time is the problem of love. How are we going to recover the ability to love ourselves and to love one another?We cannot be at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we cannot be at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God.There is a distinction between a contrite sense of sin and a feeling of guilt. The former is a true and healthy thing, the latter tends to be false and pathological.The man who suffers from a sense of guilt does not want to feel guilty, but at the same time he does not want to be innocent. He wants to do what he thinks he must not do, without the pain of worrying about the consequences.The history of our time has been made by dictators whose characters, often transparently easy to read, have been full of repressed guilt. They have managed to enlist the support of masses of men moved by the same repressed drives as themselves.Modern dictatorships display everywhere a deliberate and calculated hatred for human nature as such. The technique of degradation used in concentration camps and in staged trials are all too familiar in our time. They have one to defile the human person.

Genres: Religion, Theology, Spirituality

146 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1956

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

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, read it; for those who do believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, read it.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

MERTON'S SUMMARY OF CATHOLIC TEACHING ON THE EUCHARIST

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was a Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, as well as a best-selling writer, poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion. Tragically, he was accidentally electrocuted while in Thailand at a conference of Christian and non-Christian monks. He wrote in the Prologue of this 1956 book, "This book was written primarily as a summary of the Church's teaching on the Eucharist... the central theme... is the intimate connection between the two mysteries of the Eucharist and of the Church... This book is not a defense of a doctrine, but a meditation on a sacred mystery." (Pg. 28-29)

He laments, "The great tragedy of our age is the fact... that there are so many godless Christians---Christians, that is, whose religion is a matter of pure conformism and expediency." (Pg. 21-22)

He asserts, "we must be reminded that our view of the Sacrifice of the Mass must not be distorted and caricatured by too close a contact with pagan and natural ideas of sacrifice." (Pg. 69) Later, he adds, "True contemplation of the mystery of the Eucharist is not possible, in the last analysis, if we do not resist the temptations to anthropomorphism or to spiritism which beset us when we try to explain to ourselves the real presence and its consequences." (Pg. 80)

He states, "The life of every man is a mystery of solitude and communion: solitude in the secrecy of his own soul, where he is alone with God; communion with his brethren, who share the same nature, who reproduce in themselves his solitude, who are his 'other selves' isolated from him and yet one with him." (Pg. 146) He optimistically suggests, "We live, perhaps, on the threshold of the greatest eucharistic era of the world---the era that may well witness the final union of all mankind. If that is true, then we are within the reach of a tremendous fulfillment: the visible union close to the whole world in Christ." (Pg. 158)

One of Merton's more "orthodox" and mystical works, this will be of considerable interest to his fans.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a beautifully written understanding of the Holy Eucharist, I highly recommend everyone interested in the Christian faith to read it and begin the journey into a deeper relationship with Christ through the Eucharist.

[Aaron Cliff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I would enjoy this alot more if I were Catholic. For what it was it made me want to become catholic, if only to partake of the blessed sacrament.

[James Violand · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a profound explanation of the Holy Eucharist and is written for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. A very worthwhile read.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book fair book but what a classic.Thomas Merton a favorite author of mine. Brings a understanding of the Eucharist so That the average person can understand its mystery. As Catholics we believe when we receive the Eucharist we receive the body of Christ. "The Holy Communion, then, it is not we who transform the Body of Christ into ourselves, as happens with ordinary food: He on the contrary assimilates us and transforms us into HIMSELF. But how? by incorporation, through charity, in His Mystical Body. While we (eat) the substance of the true Body of Christ under the sacramental species, we ourselveves are eaten and absorbed by the Mystical Body of Christ.We become as it were perfectly part of that Body, assimilated by it, one with its spiritual organism"