Beyond his prolific publications, we know Thomas Merton for his vast, diverse readings and massive output of correspondence. This session explores perspectives on peace, race, and ecology that Merton shared in his apostolate of letters. It connects these views with reading materials that informed his thought and helped address his recipients’ immediate concerns about those social dilemmas. It also highlights how his responses spoke beyond their immediate context and, as Daniel Berrigan stated, timelessly “unmasked the spiritual forces which lie under the appearances of things” and remain at play in our own time.
Gordon Oyer is the author of Signs of Hope: Thomas Merton’s Letters on Peace, Race, and Ecology and Pursuing the Spiritual Roots of Protest, which reconstructs Thomas Merton’s 1964 retreat for peace activists. Over the past decade he has presented papers at several ITMS and Thomas Merton Society of Great Britain and Ireland conferences, and he has published articles in The Merton Annual and The Merton Journal as well as book reviews for The Merton Seasonal. Oyer received his MA in history from the University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign. He currently resides in Louisville, Ky.
BONUS episode: Robert Ellsberg — "The Gate of Heaven Is Everywhere"
Bryan N. Massingale - Merton, Malcolm X, and Catholic Engagement with Black Lives Matter
BONUS episode: Anne Pearson - Thomas Merton, Black Lives Matter, and White Passivity
Christine M. Bochen - Created for Joy: Becoming Who We Are, Together
BONUS episode: “The Wound and the Witness: Merton and King and the Exercise of the Prophetic”
Jim Finley - Turning to Thomas Merton as a Trustworthy Guide in the Gentle Art of Contemplative Living
Jonathan Montaldo - Thomas Merton’s Contemplative Exercises for Entering the School of Our Lives
Christopher Pramuk - What Does God's Gender Have to Do with It? Merton's Awakening to the Feminine Divine
Bonnie Thurston - "...almost as if I had a sister": Thomas Merton & Etta Gullick
Daniel P. Horan, OFM - Thomas Merton and Black Lives Matter: Spirituality and Racial Justice for Our Time
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Hello Heaven Podcast
Devoted To Prayer
Cast The Word
Let Me Be Frank | Bishop Frank Caggiano’s Podcast | Diocese of Bridgeport, CT
The Bible Recap
BardsFM