What I Am Living For: Lessons from the Life and Writings of Thomas Merton

by James Martin, Jon M. Sweeney (Editor), Robert Ellsberg, Daniel P. Horan O.F.M., Kaya Oakes

Overview

"If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for, in detail, and ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for."—Thomas Merton

Some of today's most popular spiritual writers—including Rev. James Martin, S.J.; Bishop Robert Barron; Robert Ellsberg; Rev. Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M.; and Kaya Oakes—explore the meaning of life and what we live for using Thomas Merton's life and writings as a guide.

In his address before the US Congress, Pope Francis praised Merton as one of four exemplary Americans. This was no surprise to the thousands who already know and appreciate the twentieth-century monk, but there were many listening that day who still have no idea who Merton is.

What I Am Living For offers readers new to Merton, as well as longtime enthusiasts, an opportunity to see how the influential twentieth-century monk and writer continues to encourage the awakening of faith in the twenty-first century.

The book is in two parts. Each contributor to part one focuses on an aspect of the spiritual life that is of vital importance today and on which Merton made a profound impact. These include:

• Martin—Finding who God intends you to be
• Ellsberg—The spiritual need for solitude and stability
• Oakes—The importance of coming to terms with our sexuality, whether married, single, or celibate
• Horan—The importance of dialogue with God, culture, society, and people of other faiths

Part two features shorter, often more personal reflections on the future of faith, the life and teachings of Merton, and what he still says to anyone who seeks a relationship with God.

Contributors include such well-known writers as Barron; Sue Monk Kidd; Pico Iyer; Paula Huston; Ilia Delio, O.F.M.;  Paul Quenon, O.C.S.O.; and Sylvia Boorstein.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594717420
Publisher:	Ave Maria Press
Publication date:	03/16/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	344,187
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Jon M. Sweeney is an independent scholar and one of religion’s most respected writers. His work has been hailed by everyone from PBS and James Martin, S.J., to Fox News and Dan Savage. He’s been interviewed on CBS Saturday Morning, Fox News, CBS-TV Chicago, Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, and on the popular program Chicago Tonight. Several of his books have become Book-of-the-Month Club and Quality Paperback Book Club selections. His popular medieval history, The Pope Who Quit, was published by Image/Random House and optioned by HBO. It was a selection of the History Book Club and received a starred review in Booklist. His book, When Saint Francis Saved the Church, received a 2015 award for excellence in history from the Catholic Press Association.His other works include The Enthusiast, The Complete Francis of Assisi, and The St. Francis Prayer Book. He was the editor of A Course in Christian Mysticism by Thomas Merton. Sweeney writes regularly for America and The Tablet, and is the publisher and editor-in-chief at Paraclete Press. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest and author of My Life with the Saints, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, and Jesus: A Pilgrimage.

Robert Ellsberg is the editor-in-chief and publisher of Orbis Books. He previously served as managing editor of The Catholic Worker.
Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M. is a Franciscan friar of Holy Name Province (New York) and is currently a Ph.D. student in systematic theology at Boston College. Fr. Dan studied at St. Bonaventure University where he earned a B.A. (Honors) degree in theology and journalism. He entered the Order of Friars Minor in 2005, made his first profession of vows in 2007 and was ordained a priest in 2012. During his studies as a friar, he earned an M.A. degree in systematic theology in 2010 and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in 2012, both from the Washington Theological Union. Fr. Dan has previously taught in the department of religious studies at Siena College (2010-2011) and has been a visiting professor in the department of theology at St. Bonaventure University during summer sessions (2012, 2013). He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Thomas Merton Society.

The author of many scholarly and popular articles, Fr. Dan received a 2011 Catholic Press Association first-place award for his writing on spirituality. He is the author of several books, including Dating God: Live and Love in the Way of St. Francis (2012) and Francis of Assisi and the Future of Faith: Exploring Franciscan Spirituality and Theology in the Modern World (2012). In addition to his column in America, Fr. Dan is a regular contributor to Give Us This Day (Liturgical Press) and The Huffington Post. To learn more about his writing and speaking engagements, visit his website: DanHoran.com. He blogs at DatingGod.org and you can also find him on Facebook and Twitter (@DanHoranOFM)

Editorial Reviews

01/08/2018
Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Trappist monk Thomas Merton’s death, this compilation of essays edited by Sweeney (A Course on Christian Mysticism) provides a space for modern Christian writers to reflect on the ways Merton’s life and writings have influenced their spiritual thinking. Merton, a Catholic writer, poet, peace activist, and commentator on comparative religions, exhibited a diversity of interests that is reflected in the breadth of contributions here. Jesuit priest and bestselling author James Martin provides a piece on learning one’s true vocation and speaks eloquently on his transition from corporate manager to Jesuit novitiate. Novelist Sue Monk Kidd relates a visit to Merton’s hermitage near the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky that helped shape her understanding of self. Many of the writers list Merton’s 1948 autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain as an influence when deciding to write about their spiritual inner life and discuss topics such as spiritual identity, sexual relationships, interfaith dialogue, and expansive (as opposed to constrictive) theology. A time line of Merton’s life and world events that happened during his life (1915–1968) is also helpfully included in Sweeney’s well-rounded collection. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"An extraordinary gathering of diverse voices vividly articulates Merton's deep impact on a generation of honorable readers. Gleaning profound spiritual life lessons from the monk's art of confession and witness, these reflections by contemplative educators—writing beautifully here out of the roots of their own lives—perfectly commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the death of a master teacher." --Jonathan Montaldo, Editor of The Intimate Merton

"Thomas Merton lovers, rejoice: this collection is a welcome addition to your library, with essays on Merton that are by turns inspiring, enlightening, challenging, eloquent, and bracing. I hope and pray this will introduce a new generation of readers to a man who has influenced countless believers (including this one!). What I Am Living For reminds us why Thomas Merton remains one of the most influential and compelling spiritual writers of the twentieth century—and why he has much to say to readers in the twenty-first." --Deacon Greg Kandra, Blogger and journalist at Aleteia

"Thomas Merton's writings were one of the main reasons I left a job at General Electric and entered the Jesuit order in the late 1980s. His simple concept of the true self—the person we are before God and the person we are meant to be—was a critical insight in my spiritual life." --Rev. James Martin, S.J.

"These essays by contemporary spiritual teachers from Buddhist, Jewish, and Christian traditions reflect on the continuing influence of Merton’s life and writing. New and experienced readers of Merton will find the reflections moving and Merton’s views classically pertinent." --Bonnie Thurston, Founding member and past president of the International Thomas Merton Society

From the Publisher