What do you think?
Rate this book
Thomas Merton, Brother Monk: The Quest for True Freedom
In this uniquely intimate portrayal of Thomas Merton's daily monastic life and spiritual quest, Basil Pennington brings to the reader a clear, living picture of both Merton the monk and Merton the quintessential spiritual model. These pages are filled with personal anecdotes and remembrances from his fellow monks.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
1 person is currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
M. Basil Pennington
101 books24 followersDom M. Basil Pennington O.C.S.O. (1931–2005) was a Trappist monk and priest. He was a leading Roman Catholic spiritual writer, speaker, teacher, and director.
Pennington was an alumnus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas Angelicum where he obtained a licentiate in Theology in 1959.[1] He also earned a licentiate in Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Pennington became known internationally as one of the major proponents of the Centering Prayer movement begun at St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, during the 1970s.
Pennington was an alumnus of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas Angelicum where he obtained a licentiate in Theology in 1959.[1] He also earned a licentiate in Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Pennington became known internationally as one of the major proponents of the Centering Prayer movement begun at St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, during the 1970s.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 1, 2018
Fr. Pennington, brother Cistercian, writer and spiritual guide, reflects on the life and witness of Thomas Merton with a particular emphasis on how Merton sought and found true freedom in the strict confines of the Cistercian Order. Not only does Pennington provide an insightful encounter with this spiritual master, but he also offers the reader insights into his or her own spiritual journey.
September 11, 2017
This biography outlines Thomas Merton’s personal journey like no other. Let me point out a few things about this monk that surprised me. I’ve read Seven Story Mountain, but this particular book tells us so much more about the man behind the ideas.
As it turns out thought, Seven Story Mountain was censored by priests within the church, and they felt it wasn’t flattering to have some of Merton’s personal life choices published, such as his youthful pranks of cutting up, drinking too much, and womanizing. He also fathered a son, clearly out of the norm of your average monk. Another personal note about Thomas Merton was that as a graduate student at Columbia University, he was known to support the work of Karl Marx which surprised many who didn’t understand why Merton was so interested in Karl Marx’s views on communism. In addition, as an undergraduate at Cambridge University, he loved to box and he was good at it.
In his youth, he studied Buddhism and Hinduism in Asia and was struggling with some of the perplexedly of the Buddhist texts, so he asked the Indian master to recommend some reading to help him along in his search for deeper spiritual understanding. He was taken aback with the direction he was given. Like all good masters, Bramachari encouraged the young man to stay within his own tradition and deepen his spirit there. He urged Merton to read the Confessions of Saint Augustine and the Imitation of Christ. He did. Both volumes became lifetime companions. The Confessions were in mind as Merton wrote the first draft of his autobiography, a fact that one of his censors did not appreciate. He would continue to read the Imitation regularly until he entered the monastery. Once there, it would be read to him each day at the end of the midday meal.
Merton became a powerful philosophical thinker; John Tracey Ellis would say that Thomas Merton was one of the five great original thinkers of the twentieth century. Once Thomas was ordained as a priest, he was given a new name as Father Louis.
Perhaps not everyone would be ready to recognize Father Louis because he doesn’t fit some of our more conventional pictures of the “holy monk.” To find him, just a few days before his death, spending his evening in the bars of Colombo and staying at the most deluxe hotel in a city plagued by much dehumanizing poverty is a cause of scandal for some. Others are scandalized to find this Catholic monk taking off his shoes and going barefoot and being reverent in a Buddhist sanctuary and, even more scandalous, experiencing God there in a profound way.
Merton was in the deepest sense of the word literate. Writing, reading, and books were big part of the fabric of his life. Oftentimes books had more impact on him than personal encounters, or at least they enabled experiences to surface and articulate themselves more clearly and powerfully.
This man fascinates me to know end, and would recommend it to everyone.
As it turns out thought, Seven Story Mountain was censored by priests within the church, and they felt it wasn’t flattering to have some of Merton’s personal life choices published, such as his youthful pranks of cutting up, drinking too much, and womanizing. He also fathered a son, clearly out of the norm of your average monk. Another personal note about Thomas Merton was that as a graduate student at Columbia University, he was known to support the work of Karl Marx which surprised many who didn’t understand why Merton was so interested in Karl Marx’s views on communism. In addition, as an undergraduate at Cambridge University, he loved to box and he was good at it.
In his youth, he studied Buddhism and Hinduism in Asia and was struggling with some of the perplexedly of the Buddhist texts, so he asked the Indian master to recommend some reading to help him along in his search for deeper spiritual understanding. He was taken aback with the direction he was given. Like all good masters, Bramachari encouraged the young man to stay within his own tradition and deepen his spirit there. He urged Merton to read the Confessions of Saint Augustine and the Imitation of Christ. He did. Both volumes became lifetime companions. The Confessions were in mind as Merton wrote the first draft of his autobiography, a fact that one of his censors did not appreciate. He would continue to read the Imitation regularly until he entered the monastery. Once there, it would be read to him each day at the end of the midday meal.
Merton became a powerful philosophical thinker; John Tracey Ellis would say that Thomas Merton was one of the five great original thinkers of the twentieth century. Once Thomas was ordained as a priest, he was given a new name as Father Louis.
Perhaps not everyone would be ready to recognize Father Louis because he doesn’t fit some of our more conventional pictures of the “holy monk.” To find him, just a few days before his death, spending his evening in the bars of Colombo and staying at the most deluxe hotel in a city plagued by much dehumanizing poverty is a cause of scandal for some. Others are scandalized to find this Catholic monk taking off his shoes and going barefoot and being reverent in a Buddhist sanctuary and, even more scandalous, experiencing God there in a profound way.
Merton was in the deepest sense of the word literate. Writing, reading, and books were big part of the fabric of his life. Oftentimes books had more impact on him than personal encounters, or at least they enabled experiences to surface and articulate themselves more clearly and powerfully.
This man fascinates me to know end, and would recommend it to everyone.
March 30, 2023
By far one of the best books about Merton I have read. The author is a fellow Cistercian, and his wisdom and perspective into the spiritual life of a monk is deeper than most other writings about Merton who only knew this life themselves from writings and not practice. This gives Pennington a unique vantage to discuss the depths of Merton, both literarily and contemplatively. The book centers around the quest for freedom, and positions the pursuit of freedom from the flesh (pleasure) and freedom from the world (myths and unrealities of culture/society/where we find worth/etc) as a pursuit into being free to love the world more fully. It presents his contemplative and ascetic life not as a march into austerity for its own sake, but for the love and service the world from a place of true inner freedom. We empty ourselves so that we may be filled with God's presence and his compassion and humility in how we love others. Pennington doesn't avoid the pitfalls of Merton's humanity, but does occasionally seem in his defense a bit too much for my cynicism radar to spike. All in all, my favorite book about the life of Merton, and it is sad it seems discontinued and only able to be read as a used book.
started-but-not-finished-2023
May 14, 2025Just dipped in & am returning the library book.
October 26, 2025
Loved this book. Very insightful look at an amazing Christian man who saw more deeply into the things of God than most.
December 3, 2009
There's some good insight here about the famous Trappist monk and author. Fr. Pennington was a contemporary of Merton's and offers a unique perspective on his life and times. If you like Merton, you'll like this book. If you don't know Merton, read "The Seven Storey Mountain" before you read this.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews