Thomas Merton on Sufism

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.

Join Thomas Merton in exploring one of the most influential figures in the history of spirituality. 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.

What can your spiritual ancestors teach you about holy living today? Although they led ascetic lives centuries ago, St. Benedict, the Desert Fathers and Mothers, and other early Christian saints have much to teach everyone in the 21st century. Through their enduring writings, they created blueprints of the spiritual life that remain as powerful in our time as ever.

The rarely heard sermons and reflective talks in this set attest to the depths of Thomas Merton’s brilliance. You’ll witness the evolution of Merton’s thought as he moved away from a narrow, cloistered mindset to an ecumenical and socially engaged outlook. This curated collection spans five years of his life and comprises four talks that showcase the themes close to Merton’s heart: the authentic Christian life, contemporary society, contemplation, Marxism, and the relationship of literature to religion.

This anonymous fourteenth-century text is the glory of English mysticism, and one of the most practical and useful guides to finding union with God ever written. Carmen Acevedo Butcher’s new translation is the first to bring the text into a modern English idiom - while remaining strictly faithful to the meaning of the original Middle English. The Cloud of Unknowingconsists of a series of letters written by a monk to his student or disciple, instructing him (or her) in the way of Divine union.

Long ago, Old Filth was a Raj orphan - one of the many young children sent 'home' from the East to be fostered and educated in England. Jane Gardam's novel tells his story, from his birth in what was then Malaya to the extremities of his old age. In so doing, she not only encapsulates a whole period from the glory days of British Empire, through the Second World War, to the present and beyond, but also illuminates the complexities of the character known variously as Eddie, the Judge, Fevvers, Filth, Master of the Inner Temple, Teddy and Sir Edward Feathers.

You are invited to sit at the feet of a contemplative master. After a radical conversion experience, Thomas Merton became a Trappist monk in the Abbey of Gethsemani. At the heart of Merton's transformative conversion was contemplation. Now, this series invites you into that profound contemplative experience in six remastered conferences delivered by Merton. As you listen to Merton in his own voice, you will encounter his most profound teachings on prayer and contemplation.

What is the function of the contemplative in the modern world? This question lies at the root of Thomas Merton’s extended contemplation of Franz Kafka’s dystopian novel, The Castle. Now, you have the rare opportunity to hear Merton - the English professor-turned-monk and a literary genius in his own right - discuss The Castle as a metaphor for the monastic life. Originally recorded in 1967 and newly remastered to enhance your listening experience, this audio set collects four talks on Kafka that Merton delivered during the month of June. 

This is an abridged edition of a classic text on Rumi and Sufism which was first published in London in 1920 under the title The Persian Mystics and authored by F. Hadland Davis. This special edition contains selections from the poetry of Rumi. Also included is an analysis of Sufism and the concept of love. Edited by Professor David Christopher Lane, PhD.

The 13th-century mystic Meister Eckhart was the most brilliant Christian scholar of his day, but he was also legendary for the way that he opened listeners to the direct experience of God during his public talks. Today, his written wisdom remains alive as ever, ready to illuminate us. With Meister Eckhart's Living Wisdom, James Finley, one of today's best-known teachers of the Christian contemplative tradition, invites us into Eckhart's insights in the same way that this luminary teacher delighted in sharing them.

On May 8, 1373, 30-year-old Julian of Norwich, sick and near death, had a series of visions of Christ. In these 16 visions she learnt about God's loving nature. God in Julian's visions was not angry and wrathful. Instead, the three properties of God were presented as life, love and light, and all of His creation was good, including his servant, man. In Julian's version, Man is not to blame for his sin; instead it is something that he must experience and overcome in his spiritual journey with God.

New Seeds of Comtemplation 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 to those of Thoreau.

Islam once gave birth to a great civilization that respected religious diversity, freedom of conscience, and scientific thought, and Islamic knowledge contributed to the birth of humanism in the Renaissance. Here, renowned spiritual teacher and Sufi sheikh Kabir Helminski gives us a compelling interpretation of spiritual or holistic Islam that will hearten contemporary Muslims looking for a faith suited for our times, and providing non-Muslims a brilliant introduction to this rich spiritual tradition.

Richard Rohr leads us through the social, political and environmental setting out of which Matthew brought Christ’s radical message of a new world order. He explains Matthew’s challenge to let go of the conventional wisdom that comes with contemporary American culture. Each of seven talks brings us closer to the heart of the Sermon.

You are invited into the classroom in which Thomas Merton delivered some of his most impassioned lectures on a timeless topic. In 1962 at Gethsemani Abbey, Thomas Merton taught an extraordinary course on the heart of Benedictine spirituality.