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Thomas Merton on Prayer
- Narrated by: Thomas Merton
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Lecture
- Categories: Religion & Spirituality, Christianity
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Born in the fourth century, Saint John Cassian (AD 360 - 435) lived when tensions between the traditional and innovative peaked. A monk and theologian, Cassian made the Christian tradition relevant for the needs of his day in his spiritual works. Indeed, his spirituality remains essential today; he influenced Saints Benedict and Ignatius of Loyola, and his works continue to be read worldwide.
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For Merton, being contemplative meant living out the essential elements of the spiritual life. Having lived out the challenges and triumphs of a contemplative life, Merton had a plethora of practical advice to offer. If the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is truly at work daily, then what does it look like? How can we identify its authentic presence? If it's important to spend time in silence with God, how do we go about entering into it fruitfully?
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We often think of saints as rare individuals whose gifts far exceed our own, and St. Francis is no exception. But for Fr. Richard Rohr, a prolific author and renowned speaker, the life and teachings of this beloved figure offer an authentic spirituality we can all embody.
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Thomas Merton’s Path to the Palace of Nowhere
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First presented at a series of popular retreats, this full audio program takes a participatory approach to Merton's most useful teachings, helping us to discover our true self...to disappear into God; to be submerged into his peace; to be lost in the secret of his face, as Merton said, through daily practices including contemplation, prayer, and faith. In the end we find ourselves in what the Taoist sage Chuang Tzu called the Palace of Nowhere, where all the many things are one.
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Quite Profound
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Summary
Renew your prayer life with Thomas Merton.
Thomas Merton was one of the great spiritual masters: a Trappist monk, profound mystic, and brilliant writer. He inspired men and women from all walks of life with his dedication to prayer and contemplation.
In 1967, near the end of his life, Merton gave a powerful set of lectures on prayer to the Sisters of Loretto. He channeled a lifetime full of wisdom, piety, and prayerfulness into these erudite yet down-to-earth talks. Now, you have the rare opportunity to hear Merton's moving lectures, deepening your own life of prayer with one of the great modern spiritual masters.
This series has been remastered and made available for you to enjoy. In these heartfelt talks, Merton reaches out across the decades to inspire your spirit. He will lead you on a powerful journey, giving you new insights into praying contemplatively. You will explore such topics as religious poverty, philosophy, and monasticism. As you do so, you will discover what it means to truly live as a Christian today.
Recorded half a century ago, these talks remain as powerful today as ever. Merton will transform your life with his timeless insights into contemplation, the search for meaning, and more. Join him on this life-changing experience.
Photograph of Thomas Merton by Sibylle Akers. Used with permission of the Merton Legacy Trust and the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University.
What listeners say about Thomas Merton on Prayer
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- J. Still
- 15-01-21
A joy to hear Merton speak
There is some truth in reviews on here that this doesn't seem to be a book "on prayer," although Merton's point when he *does* talk about it, is that prayer isn't what most people think it is. If you were hoping for a kind of self-help book on how to do prayer, then fair enough, this probably isn't it, but then that isn't Merton either.
If, like me, you are already a Thomas Merton fan, and have already read his books, this recording, and the others here, are an amazing find. I had no idea that they existed until I found them on a website (for considerably more than they cost on Audible). They are a joy to listen to, if for no other reason than to hear a voice that you may have imagined in your head so many times as you read his work. As someone else has pointed out, you can hear Merton's own sense of openness to uncertainty in his hesitations. It also seems such a piece of luck that he recorded these at all, when his life would end so prematurely not long after.
A lot of the thoughts expressed here I recognize from "Contemplation in a World of Action," but to hear Merton speak his mind out loud on those topics makes what he says seem even more challenging; the impact is all the greater when you realize that Merton really speaks like this in person, it's not just well-written prose.
In summary then, if you're looking for a definitive book on prayer with 21st century production values, then you probably won't enjoy this. If you know and love Merton and his work already, this is a welcome expansion of his published writing. Worth noting that there are also several other recordings of Merton on here—search for Thomas Merton as narrator to find them.
3 people found this helpful
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- David Mullins
- 16-10-18
Excellent
A true joy to listen to Merton in his own words. You hear his clarity but also his hesitation, his recognition that his is not the final word in the spiritual life as so many of his more 'enthusiastic' admirers would have you believe. What comes across more than anything else is his kindness.
2 people found this helpful
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- Isaac M. Taylor
- 09-07-19
Not Much on Prayer
Half way through and not much on prayer. A lot about difficulties of the monastic life and social commentary from the 1960's. Perhaps interesting in their own right, but I was expecting the book to be focused on prayer.
6 people found this helpful
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- Docking Bay 94
- 24-02-19
Not too much on prayer
These are recorded musings of Merton to some Loreto nuns. Very little is on prayer like the title suggests. Contains his view on deinstituitionalization of the Church in the years after Vatican II and on Vietnam. Not really relevant to me or what I was expecting.
5 people found this helpful
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- A. Chan
- 04-12-17
Extraordinarily Relevant
Thomas Merton's own words spoken over 50 years ago are as meaningful in today's world as if they were spoken 5 minutes ago.
6 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 19-07-21
Superb Timely Spiritual Direction
As applicable today as it was when written in the late 1960s. Honest, insightful, and focused analysis of contemplative spiritual direction for any Christian, whether living a cloistered contemplative life or a secular life committed to spiritual growth in the power, love, and spirit of Jesus Christ.