Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton Born (1915-01-31)January 31, 1915 Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales, France Died December 10, 1968(1968-12-10) (aged 53) Bangkok, Thailand Residence Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, United States Occupation Trappist monk, author Known for The Seven Storey Mountain (1948) Father Louis, O.C.S.O. Orders Ordination May 26, 1949 Part of a series on Christian mysticism Mysticism Catholic spirituality Theologies · Philosophies Apophatic Ascetical Cataphatic Hellenistic Mystical Neoplatonic Practices Asceticism Contemplation Hesychasm Lectio Divina Meditation Monasticism Theosis People by era or century Early Christianity Origen Gregory of Nyssa Pseudo-Dionysius Desert Fathers Paul of Thebes Anthony the Great Arsenius the Great Poemen Macarius of Egypt Moses the Black Syncletica Athanasius John Chrysostom Hilarion John Cassian 11th · 12th Bernard of Clairvaux Guigo II Hildegard of Bingen Hadewijch 13th · 14th Dominican Dominic de Guzmán Franciscan Francis of Assisi Anthony of Padua Bonaventure Jacopone da Todi Angela of Foligno English Richard Rolle Walter Hilton Julian of Norwich Flemish Beatrice of Nazareth John of Ruysbroeck German Meister Eckhart Johannes Tauler Henry Suso Female Beatrice of Nazareth Bridget of Sweden Catherine of Siena 15th · 16th Spanish Ignatius of Loyola Francisco de Osuna John of Ávila Teresa of Ávila John of the Cross Others Catherine of Genoa 17th · 18th French Pierre de Bérulle Jean-Jacques Olier Louis de Montfort Others María de Ágreda Anne Catherine Emmerich Veronica Giuliani Francis de Sales 19th Catherine Labouré Mélanie Calvat Maximin Giraud Bernadette Soubirous Conchita de Armida Luisa Piccarreta Mary of the Divine Heart Thérèse of Lisieux Gemma Galgani 20th Pio of Pietrelcina Maria Valtorta Therese Neumann Marthe Robin Adrienne von Speyr Alexandrina of Balazar Faustina Kowalska Sister Lúcia of Fátima Thomas Merton Contemporary Papal views Aspects of meditation (Orationis Formas, 1989) Reflection on the New Age (2003) v t e Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O. (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Catholic writer and mystic. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion. In 1949, he was ordained to the priesthood and given the name Father Louis. Merton wrote more than 70 books, mostly on spirituality, social justice and a quiet pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews. Among Merton's most enduring works is his bestselling autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948), which sent scores of World War II veterans, students, and even teenagers flocking to monasteries across the US, and was also featured in National Review's list of the 100 best non-fiction books of the century. Merton was a keen proponent of interfaith understanding. He pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures, including the Dalai Lama, the Japanese writer D.T. Suzuki, the Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa, and the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, and authored books on Zen Buddhism and Taoism. In the years since his death, Merton has been the subject of several biographies.