Advent and Christmas with Thomas Merton

by A Redemptorist Pastoral Publication

Reflections for each day of Advent and the Christmas season begin with a scriptural quotation and continue with a thought from the writings of Thomas Merton on a timely the Incarnation, anticipation, angels, and many more. An appendix includes a suggested plan for using each days meditation as part of a morning or evening prayer. Paperback

Genres: Christmas, Nonfiction, Theology, Religion, Spirituality, Devotional, Faith

100 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2002

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

Second reading: Advent 2019

Merton's thoughts and insights are never old and are always worthy of contemplation.

**************
I enjoyed this advent devotional and will continue to use it in years to come.

[Jamie]

I really enjoy this Advent book. This is my second time using it. I decided this year to finish it on Christmas Day instead of reading through the remaining 12 days.

[Stephanie G]

This was a horribly disjointed devotional. The concept was brilliant and I wanted so much to like it! The verses and selections and prayers most times did not complement each other at all, and sometimes I couldn’t see any correlation whatsoever. The readings by Merton were poorly chosen and cut up in confusing ways. Such a disappointment. This book could have been great but the editors missed the mark by a mile.

[Karen Babri]

I generally liked the book. As a Protestant I had issues with the veneration of Mary in a number of places.

[Lbball27]

Merton & Christmas had to give 5 stars. Beautiful prayers and musings for all year.

[Irene Adams]

Used for Advent 2025

[Ptaylor]

This little book was a wonderful guide through Advent and the Twelve Days of Christmas. Through scripture, excerpts from Merton's books, and prayer, I began each day of the season with an effective and affective devotional.

[Jen]

The readings have repetitive themes EXCEPT that they should because this book is supposed to help bring a true Advent/Christmas spirit into the heart of the reader. While this would be excellent for someone who actually reads one entry a day, I only found myself sitting down with it twice a week and always playing catch up. So I decided to just go ahead and finish it even though I read ahead 10 days. so. to sum up. Helpful if you read a bit everyday, less helpful if you are "devotional" with it in big chunks. I did appreciate the prayers in it. (AND it has a rubric for morning/evening prayer in the back of it.) strong Catholic bent, but that was to be expected. I think I just need to sit down with a real book by Thomas Merton, instead of trying to just get a flavor for him from bits and pieces.

[Julia]

Very nice as a devotional for Advent, whether or not you are familiar with Merton. The bible verse, reading from Merton, and prayer make a very nice combination. Will definitely check this out again in the future.

[Frank]

This book has a reading from Thomas Merton's writings for everyday of Advent. It is a very short reading (6 min per day) and very good thoughts to prepare for Christmas

[Bec Matheson]

This was a little disappointing, not as much depth as I was expecting from having read other Thomas Merton stuff.