Engaging Thomas Merton is based on contemporary engagements with the work and legacy of Thomas Merton that highlight the enduring relevance of his thought in addressing the pressing concerns of our time.

By meditating on personal examples from the author's life, as well as reflecting on the inspirational life and writings of Thomas Merton, stories from the Gospels, as well as the lives of other holy men and women (among them, Henri Nouwen, Therese of Lisieux and Pope John XXIII) the reader will see how becoming who you are, and becoming the person that God created, is a simple path to happiness, peace of mind and even sanctity.

Why do the Spiritual Exercises not change us as deeply as we hope? This is the haunting question that was raised at the recent general congregation of the Jesuits about Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises and the question the contributors to this book explore and attempt to answer in the context of ongoing racial injustice in the United States. All of us who love and are engaged in Ignatian spirituality must also ask ourselves this same question. Contributors explore this question by examining how “color-blindness racism” determines our interpretation of the Spiritual Exercises in the United States. Animated by the grace of Ignatius's conversion experience these spiritual directors, theologians, and leaders in Jesuit ministries offer insightful scholarly and creative pastoral engagement of the Spiritual Exercises for the ongoing journey of conversion from racism and white supremacy in the United States. Contributors Include: - Maka Black Elk (Oglala Lakota) - Laurie Cassidy - Matthew J. Cressler - Paulina Delgadillo - Elise Gower - Armando Guerrero Estrada - Jeannine Hill Fletcher - Ken Homan, SJ - Alex Mikulich - Maria Teresa Morgan - Marilyn L. Nash - Maureen H. O'Connell - Hung T. Pham, SJ - Christopher Pramuk - Andrew Prevot - Patrick Saint-Jean, SJ - Justin T. White

Thomas Merton has been the subject of a number of books in the years since his death. His spiritual autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, was a best-seller at the time of its publication, and continues to be purchased and read at a steady pace. In addition, books of his meditations, poems, reflections, essays, letters, and journals have also been produced. While Merton wrote extensively on racial justice, and while these writings have been collected in certain volumes, there are few (if any) books devoted to summarizing, analysing, and applying his ideas to current racial tensions in the United States. This book reviews some of his most important experiences and writings on race and social justice, and uses Merton as a model for easing present-day tensions.

Daniel Horan, O.F.M., popular author of Dating God and other books on Franciscan themes—and expert on the spirituality of Thomas Merton—masterfully presents the untold story of how the most popular saint in Christian history inspired the most popular spiritual writer of the twentieth century, and how together they can inspire a new generation of Christians. Millions of Christians and non-Christians look to Thomas Merton for spiritual wisdom and guidance, but to whom did Merton look? In The Franciscan Heart of Thomas Merton, Franciscan friar and author Daniel Horan shows how, both before and after he became a Trappist monk, Merton’s life was shaped by his love for St. Francis and for the Franciscan spiritual and intellectual tradition. Given recent renewed interest in St. Francis, this timely resource is both informative and practical, revealing a previously hidden side of Merton that will inspire a new generation of Christians to live richer, deeper, and more justice-minded lives of faith.

How Catholic was Thomas Merton? Since his death in 1968, Merton’s Catholic identity has been regularly questioned, both by those who doubt the authenticity of his Catholicism given his commitment to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and by those who admire Merton as a thinker but see him as an aberration who rebelled against his Catholicism to articulate ideas that went against the church. In this book, Gregory K. Hillis illustrates that Merton’s thought was intertwined with his identity as a Catholic priest and emerged out of a thorough immersion in the church’s liturgical, theological, and spiritual tradition. In addition to providing a substantive introduction to Merton’s life and thought, this book illustrates that Merton was fundamentally shaped by his identity as a Roman Catholic.