Thomas Merton Center <\/a>at Bellarmine University in Louisville, which is the repository for Merton\u2019s literary works and memorabilia.<\/p>\nIn many ways it\u2019s easier to get a sense for Thomas Merton the man and writer at this center than at the Abbey of Gethsemani.\u00a0 Of its exhibits, I was most intrigued by a display case that contains a selection of the few personal effects Merton had at his death.\u00a0 Inside are his monk\u2019s cowl, faded denim workshirt, eyeglasses, camera, and leather boots.\u00a0 Monks don\u2019t own very many possessions, after all.<\/p>\n
Merton\u2019s more important treasures were the books inside the display case, all ones in which he made marginal notes.\u00a0 Many of the volumes were given to him (and therefore to the monastery), and from his jottings it\u2019s clear that he\u00a0read them carefully.\u00a0 Their titles range across the globe, across faith traditions, and across millennia:\u00a0 books on Zen, Chinese philosophy, Sufism, St. John of the Cross, the spiritual heritage of India, meditation, and Kakfa were just a few of the titles I jotted down.<\/p>\n
When I asked Pearson why Merton continues to be so popular around the world, he said this:\u00a0 \u201cPart of it is that he was an extraordinarily clear writer and thinker.\u00a0 But I think it\u2019s also because the people who read him almost feel like they\u2019re reading their own thoughts, or maybe those of a best friend.\u00a0 He wrote so insightfully about spiritual matters and was so honest in sharing his own struggles. He was able to put people at ease, both in person and in his writing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Merton\u2019s greatest gift to the world, Pearson went on to say, is the way he integrated the paths of Mary and Martha.\u00a0 (In the Gospels, Jesus visits these two sisters, one of whom was always busy with household tasks, while the other sat at Jesus\u2019 feet and listened intently to his words). \u201cMerton didn\u2019t separate these two paths,\u201d said Pearson. \u201cHe felt that spirituality and action were linked and that you needed both to be a whole person.\u201d<\/p>\nThomas Merton\u2019s typewriter (photo by Lori Erickson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMy favorite part of visiting the center was this:\u00a0 on display there is a typewriter that Merton used, a simple manual model that hearkens back to an earlier day.\u00a0 I was delighted that it wasn\u2019t behind glass, and I admit that I stood there for a long moment, my hands lightly touching the keys.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of my favorite things about being a writer is getting the chance to ask questions of people who know a great deal about things I\u2019m interested in.\u00a0 So I was delighted to have the opportunity to visit with Paul M. Pearson, director of the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University in Louisville, which is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2582,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[142],"tags":[843,719],"class_list":["post-4313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spiritual-writers","tag-thomas-merton","tag-thomas-merton-center-in-louisville"],"yoast_head":"\n
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