Through Columbia Theological Seminary’s Center for Lifelong Learning, I’m teaching a course on the wisdom of Thomas Merton as a spiritual guide. We will explore selected readings from Merton, and reflect together on how to integrate Merton’s wisdom on prayer, contemplation, interfaith dialogue, and social justice into our own spiritual practice. This is an online course and it...
I’m so pleased to be returning to Ignatius House for my first in-person retreat since before the pandemic! I’ve been asked to revisit one of my most popular retreats, which pairs the spiritual wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola with the twentieth century mystic, Thomas Merton! Come to Ignatius House, a truly beautiful and restful oasis in the Atlanta metropolitan area, for this time of...
Cynthia Bourgeault’s latest book, just published this year, is a brief statement of her faith; the book is called The Corner of Fourth and Nondual. If you have been exploring contemplative Christian spirituality for any time now, you probably saw the pun in this title with no problem. But if not, no worries! Perhaps this post will shed some light for you. “The Corner” that...
Thomas Merton is one of the towering figures of contemplative spirituality over the last century. This Trappist monk was a gifted writer and a brilliant interpreter of the Christian spiritual tradition, making the case for how contemplative spirituality remains relevant — and not just for monks and nuns. Our day of reflection will focus on three key “epiphanies” or moments of profound...
Speaking to the Shalem Institute a few years back, Richard Rohr told an amusing story about a retreat he gave to the monks of Gethsemani Abbey (where Thomas Merton lived) early in his ministry. Feeling a bit intimidated by leading a retreat where his audience was mostly older than him and represented a lifetime of monastic observance, Rohr peppered his talk with quotes from Merton — but he found...
Like many people who are blessed with material abundance, I have more books than I have time to read them. I was so gratified when I recently learned of the Japanese word tsundoku, which loosely translated means “books piling up faster than you can read them.” The idea is that owning lots of unread books can be a sign of curiousity and intellectual humility: knowing that there is more knowledge...
The following message was shared with the congregation of Unity Atlanta on Sunday, June 30, 2019. I was the guest preacher for a “multi-faith Sunday” and so I geared my message toward celebrating the commonalities between Christian mysticism and Unity. I would like to begin by sharing with you a quote I found online from an Episcopal Bishop, who has written many books; his name is...
A reader named Dave recently sent this question to me: Hi Carl, could you please give me some suggestions on reading for the false self/ego? Just going through early chapters of New Seeds of Contemplation and it’s really gripped me to dive deeper. He didn’t specify what passage(s) in New Seeds…... Read more at Patheos
Christianity has a long history of contemplative practice. But many scholars and spiritual teachers within the faith recognize that in the centuries immediately preceding and following the Reformation, the church (at least in the west) largely lost its contemplative heart. Theologian Robert Davis Hughes III addressed this topic in his…... Read more at Patheos
About ten miles or so from Thomas Merton Square in Louisville, KY — the street corner where Merton had his famous “Fourth and Walnut” epiphany in 1958 — is a Hindu house of worship, Swaminarayan Temple. Earlier this week, the temple was vandalized. The crime was described this way in the Louisville…... Read more at Patheos
Here’s a trailer for a forthcoming short film about Thomas Merton and the hermitage he lived in at the end of his life. Take a few moments and watch this. It’s a treat. And be sure to watch it to the end. “Most human speech is devised to evade being,…... Read more at Patheos
Recently I posted this on Facebook: In response, a reader made this comment: Carl, it took time, but about 10 years ago I finally fell In love with silence and the heart of God I find there. This past week though, as so many people on the national stage are…... Read more at Patheos
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