Thomas Merton and the Noonday Demon

Thomas Merton and the Noonday Demon PDF Author: Donald Grayston
Publisher: Lutterworth Press
ISBN: 0718844424
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
In Thomas Merton and the Noonday Demon, Donald Grayson transforms a long-neglected cache of letters found in an ancient monastery into a book that offers new insight into the author of these letters, Thomas Merton, the renowned spiritual writer. At the time of their writing, the mid-1950s, he was living as a Trappist monk, at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. Having reached an impasse in his monastic vocation he decided to leave Gethsamani for the Monastery of Camaldoli in Italy. Camaldoli at that time, bucolic and peaceful outwardly, was inwardly riven by a pre-Vatican II culture war; whereas Gethsemani, which he tried so hard to leave, became, when he was given his hermitage there in 1965, his place to recover Eden. In walking with Merton on this journey, and reading the letters he wrote and received at the time, we find ourselves asking, as he did, with so much energy and honesty, the deep questions that we may well need to answer in our own lives.

Thomas Merton and the Noonday Demon

Thomas Merton and the Noonday Demon PDF Author: Donald Grayston
Publisher: Lutterworth Press
ISBN: 0718844424
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
In Thomas Merton and the Noonday Demon, Donald Grayson transforms a long-neglected cache of letters found in an ancient monastery into a book that offers new insight into the author of these letters, Thomas Merton, the renowned spiritual writer. At the time of their writing, the mid-1950s, he was living as a Trappist monk, at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. Having reached an impasse in his monastic vocation he decided to leave Gethsamani for the Monastery of Camaldoli in Italy. Camaldoli at that time, bucolic and peaceful outwardly, was inwardly riven by a pre-Vatican II culture war; whereas Gethsemani, which he tried so hard to leave, became, when he was given his hermitage there in 1965, his place to recover Eden. In walking with Merton on this journey, and reading the letters he wrote and received at the time, we find ourselves asking, as he did, with so much energy and honesty, the deep questions that we may well need to answer in our own lives.

The Noonday Devil

The Noonday Devil PDF Author: Jean-Charles Nault
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1681496879
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
The noonday devil is the demon of acedia, the vice also known as sloth. The word “sloth”, however, can be misleading, for acedia is not laziness; in fact it can manifest as busyness or activism. Rather, acedia is a gloomy combination of weariness, sadness, and a lack of purposefulness. It robs a person of his capacity for joy and leaves him feeling empty, or void of meaning Abbot Nault says that acedia is the most oppressive of demons. Although its name harkens back to antiquity and the Middle Ages, and seems to have been largely forgotten, acedia is experienced by countless modern people who describe their condition as depression, melancholy, burn-out, or even mid-life crisis. He begins his study of acedia by tracing the wisdom of the Church on the subject from the Desert Fathers to Saint Thomas Aquinas. He shows how acedia afflicts persons in all states of life— priests, religious, and married or single laymen. He details not only the symptoms and effects of acedia, but also remedies for it.

Thomas Merton—Evil and Why We Suffer

Thomas Merton—Evil and Why We Suffer PDF Author: David E. Orberson
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532639015
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
Thomas Merton is one of the most important spiritual voices of the last century. He has never been more relevant as new generations look to him for guidance in addressing some of life's biggest questions: how can we find God, how should we engage with other faiths, and how can we oppose violence and injustice? Looking carefully, one can find, tucked away in Merton's prodigious writings, his response to another timeless question: Why do we suffer? Why does an all-powerful and all loving God permit evil and suffering? By carefully examining all of Merton's work, we find that he repeatedly confronted this question throughout most of his adult life. Intriguingly, Merton's approach to this question changed dramatically a few years before he died in 1968. An examination of all aspects of his life yields evidence that Merton's immersion in Zen during this time contributed most to that change.

Thomas Merton and the Individual Witness

Thomas Merton and the Individual Witness PDF Author: David E. Orberson
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532676484
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 139

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Book Description
Over sixty years ago, Thomas Merton—monk, mystic, and writer—proclaimed that we are living in a post-Christian world. That is, the influence of the institutional church is in decline and the popular version of Christianity presented to society has in many ways become a caricature of itself. Since that time, the religious landscape has continued to change. Today the number of people who identify as “None,” someone with no particular religious affiliation, outnumbers the combined total of all Mainline Protestants. In addition, many popular Christian responses to our secular world are divisive and focused on fighting the culture war instead of finding ways to live the gospel. All of these religious changes are occurring in a broader post-truth culture in which facts matter less and less, and our society is increasingly divided. This book delves into these issues and introduces the life and writings of Thomas Merton, showing how he can guide Christians working to build God’s kingdom in the world today.

The Noonday Demon

The Noonday Demon PDF Author: Kathleen Norris
Publisher: Lion Books
ISBN: 9780745953663
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Kathleen Norris had written several much-loved books, yet she couldn't drag herself out of bed in the morning or summon the energy for daily tasks. Even as she struggled, Norris recognized her familiar battle with acedia. She had discovered the word in an early Church text when she was in her thirties, and instantly recognized herself in a passage describing the affliction as sinking into a state of being unable to care. Fascinated by this 'noonday demon' so familiar to the early Church, Norris read intensively and knew she must restore this forgotten but utterly important concept to the modern world's vernacular. As Kathleen explains, 'restless boredom, frantic escapism, commitment phobia, and enervating despair that we struggle with today are the ancient demon of acedia in modern dress.'

Thomas Merton and the Celts

Thomas Merton and the Celts PDF Author: Monica R. Weis
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1498278450
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
Thomas Merton and the Celts offers a new lens through which to view Merton's life and spirituality. By examining unpublished letters, notebooks, and taped conferences for the Trappist novices--previously unavailable to the general reader--the author breaks new ground in Merton studies, revealing Merton's growing fascination with his Welsh ancestry, Celtic monasticism, and early Irish hermit poetry. Merton, having immersed himself in reading about Celtic Christianity--not just about liturgy, but about household rituals, illuminated manuscripts, high crosses, and hermit poetry as well--recognized in these ancient hermits who lived on "water and herbs," experienced kinship with creatures, and wrote poems about the birds a mirror of his own desires. Indeed, in a profound way and at a deep level, Merton discovered himself in Celtic Christianity.

Yoga—A Gem For Women (Third thoroughly revised edition, 2019), Reprint 2022

Yoga—A Gem For Women (Third thoroughly revised edition, 2019), Reprint 2022 PDF Author: Geeta S. Iyengar
Publisher: Allied Publishers
ISBN: 9387997847
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
YOGA is considered uniquely instrumental in the search for self realisation, and through it the realisation of God. The author, who has mastered the subtle techniques of this art, has presented it in book form, showing a variety of āsanas known for their physical and curative values, Prānāyāma with its Bandhas and Dhyāna or meditation. The āsanas in the book are divided into various sections dealing with simple standing positions, forward bends, lateral movements backward extensions of the spine, correct breathing techniques during the performance of the āsanas and also the effects of the āsanas on the body, nerves and mind. The author has included simple steps for advancing from a purely physical plane to a higher level of consciousness. Almost all the illustrations in the book are her own.

Acedia & Me

Acedia & Me PDF Author: Kathleen Norris
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9781594489969
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
Kathleen Norris's masterpiece: a personal and moving memoir that resurrects the ancient term acedia, or soul-weariness, and brilliantly explores its relevancy to the modern individual and culture.

Man of Dialogue

Man of Dialogue PDF Author: Gregory K. Hillis
Publisher: Liturgical Press
ISBN: 0814684602
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
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.

The Noonday Demon

The Noonday Demon PDF Author: Andrew Solomon
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 145161103X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 576

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Book Description
The author offers a look at depression, drawing on his own battle with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, researchers, and doctors to assess the disease's complexities, causes, symptoms, and available therapies.