experiences & meditations

The books of Thomas Merton were important influences on me in my 20s, and I would not be the man I am today without having come into contact with his work. LibraryThing tells me I still own 34 books by him, and that is after getting rid of several over the years. The Sign of Jonas, excerpts from his journals published as a follow-up to the commercial success of The Seven Storey Mountain, is one of the few from which I still read sections from time to time. The epilogue, titled “Fire Watch, July 4, 1952”, stands up as one of the strongest pieces he ever wrote. This book, along with Mountain and the later work Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, basically form an autobiographical trilogy which traces the evolution of Merton's thought through his life. I love all three, but Jonas is the best of them. ( )

While I generally look to Merton because of his wisdom and the gift of prophecy that he has in reflection that is hard to find in many, that is not really the intent of this book. What we have here could be written by any monastic. It is essentially the diary of the events in a monastery and the struggle that takes place in giving a life towards God, yet still living selfishly. I would definitely recommend this for those that are interested on the day to day happenings of a monastery and the ascetic lifestyle. I would not, however, recommend this to regular fans of Merton's musings, as they are not in the same style. Overall, I'm glad I read this, but this will not be one I come back to in the same manner. ( )

Captivating ( )

I liked this book much better than the Seven Story Mountain. I suppose it's autobiographical in that it's what happened to Merton, but it's much more of a meditation on his life with the Christian God. There's a lot about the monastic life and contemplative prayer. It's also very well written, almost poetical. I'm not longer a Merton fan, but when I was, this was my favorite. ( )