Showing results by author "Thomas Merton" in All Categories

In this audio program, Merton will challenge you with questions about man's individual destiny, the human condition, prayer, and the nature of time. Originally delivered in 1965, these timeless lectures have been remastered and released as a set for your enjoyment. Delivered with wit and profound insight, these recordings will transport you into the abbey where Merton taught and imparted his spiritual wisdom.

These are some of the most fascinating Thomas Merton lectures ever recorded. Recorded in the last year of his life, these talks capture Merton as he ponders profound questions in an accessible, down-to-earth way. You will glean insight from Merton on a wide range of subjects, all held together by his conviction in our call to live in freeing obedience to the Holy Spirit.

Recorded in 1964 at his monastery, Thomas Merton gave these lectures to novice Cistercians. Today, you are invited into Merton’s classroom for an intimate discussion about one of Christianity’s most influential figures. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. (1090 - 1153) is one of the most important figures in the history of Christianity: a founder, reformer, and Doctor of the Church.

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.

Join Thomas Merton in spellbinding lectures on two essential philosophical topics. In this audio program, you will learn about the meaning of life and the essence of beauty with Thomas Merton, one of the 20th century's great thinkers. Delivered with unrivaled brilliance and insight, these remastered recordings of Merton himself will transport you into the abbey where he taught and imparted his spiritual wisdom.

Follow the contemplative path with Thomas Merton as your guide. In 1942, Thomas Merton relinquished a promising academic career to join the Abbey of Gethsemani. Instead of running away from the world, however, he actually developed his most profound wisdom about it.

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.

Three men laid the groundwork for Christianity’s philosophy, theology, and learning. Seventeen centuries later, Thomas Merton, a spiritual visionary, taught gripping classes on these Church Fathers.

Explore the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas with Thomas Merton as your guide. While he was a student at Columbia University, Thomas Merton stumbled upon The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy by renowned neo-Thomistic philosopher Étienne Gilson. An essential work on St. Thomas and other Christian philosophers, it led him down a path of spiritual seeking that would culminate with his conversion to the Catholic Church and entrance into a Trappist monastery.

New York Times best-selling author and monk, Thomas Merton, exploring the literature and spirituality of 20th century’s greatest novelist: James Joyce. Born in 1882 to a Catholic family in Dublin, James Joyce wrote some of the most acclaimed masterpieces of modern literature: Ulysses, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Dubliners, and Finnegans Wake. Educated by Jesuits and deeply influenced by Thomas Aquinas, Joyce wove Catholicism into his works.

A leading Christian intellectual and a global citizen, Thomas Merton was known for his mission to understand and learn from other cultures’ worldviews and philosophies. Now, as you listen to these nine captivating talks on Chinese and Greek philosophy, your own interest in these ancient schools of thought, Eastern and Western, will be ignited.

Study a premier Jewish writer of the 20th century with one of the century’s most important Catholic authors. This digitally remastered recording is part of Thomas Merton’s spoken word legacy, and it presents his voice at its most spiritually edifying. Originally recorded in February of 1968 at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, Thomas Merton on The Mystical Life and Martin Buber unpacks Buber's resonant Hasidic tales one at a time in a discussion-heavy class setting.

Join monk and mystic Thomas Merton on a journey through monastic and contemplative history. In these talks delivered by Thomas Merton, you will gain a rich introduction to the monastic period of church history, encountering such figures as St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Benedict, John Cassian, Basil, and Charlemagne. As you will come to discover, the history of monasticism is deeply intertwined with the greater history of Europe and the Christian contemplative tradition.

Travel into the desert with Thomas Merton as your guide. In the third century, men and women journeyed into the deserts of Syria and Egypt. Turning away from the world, they sought to find salvation in solitude. By doing so, they developed new forms of monasticism and spirituality. Now known as the Desert Fathers and Mothers, their wisdom remains as inspirational today as ever.

In the summer of 1967, religious communities around the world were experiencing a time of renewal and reflection. As monasteries sought to adopt practices prescribed by the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI asked two Cistercian monks to compose a message about the contemplative life. Those monks in turn sought the contributions of a fellow monk and master of contemplation - Thomas Merton.

Hear Thomas Merton’s spiritually edifying voice. Originally recorded in August of 1965 at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, Greek Tragedy: Suffering Leads to Wisdom considers the parallels between ancient Greek models of suffering (with Sophocles’s play Antigone as an exponent) and Judeo-Christian ideas about suffering and the creation of meaning. This was among the last classes that Merton ever gave to the novice monks at Gethsemani.

William Faulkner was undoubtedly one of the greatest American writers. Now, you can take Thomas Merton as your personal guide in discovering the literary and spiritual genius of Faulkner’s works.

This set of captivating talks brings you face-to-face with an intimate side of Thomas Merton - the monk, poet, scholar of literature, and social activist who rocked the 20th century. As with so many of the talks that Merton gave to his novice monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani, these talks put the progression of his thinking - from cloistered monastic life to issues of social justice and interreligious understanding - on view.

Recorded in May of 1966 at at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, The Christian in the World contemplates the value of life on the premise that Christ died for a world he thought was worth dying for.

Originally recorded in July of 1968 at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, Eastern Gurus: Holiness, Discipleship, and the Mystical Heart puts forth a prayerful meditation of gurus and Jesus. Now You Know Media - through our exclusive partnership with the Merton Legacy Trust and the Thomas Merton Center - is proud to offer a wide selection of archival recordings of Thomas Merton: a Trappist monk, great 20th-century mystic, and beloved author of the 1948 autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain.