Introducing a New Thomas Merton Commentary and Study Guide
As a theologian and Thomas Merton scholar, I find myself working with his texts on a regular basis for research, teaching, and lecturing. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to spend so much time and focus on Merton’s brilliant, inspiring and, at times, challenging body of written work.
Much of my Merton scholarship in recent years has focused on the last decade of his life (1958–1968) after his so-called “turn to the world,” which is reflected in his increased social criticism, concern about war and violence, peacemaking and racial justice, and the intersection of faith and society. My latest book focuses on many of these themes: Engaging Thomas Merton: Spirituality, Justice, and Racism. And this has been the focus of several university and seminary courses I’ve taught in recent years. (I’m actually scheduled again to teach a graduate course this summer on this period of his life and writing).
But for some time now, I have also wanted to return to some of the earlier texts on spirituality and contemplation in order to do a close reading and offer some commentary for those interested in studying these kinds of texts. In particular, I have wanted to facilitate a study of New Seeds of Contemplation. This 1961 book is a revised and expanded version of Merton’s 1949 Seeds of Contemplation.
As the late Merton scholar William H. Shannon explains, “Seeds of Contemplation was the work of a young monk glorying in the fact that he had ‘left the world.’ New Seeds of Contemplation came from the pen of a monk whose flight from the world had been tempered by his realization that if he wised to be an authentic contemplative, then he must learn to share with people outside the monastery ‘their joys, their sufferings, their ideas, their needs, their desires’ (NSC 77).”
New Seeds of Contemplation is very much a liminal text, for it carries forward the more introspective—sometimes even solipsistic—focus of Merton’s early work on monastic spirituality and Christian contemplation, while also engaging with what the Second Vatican Council would call some years later “the signs of the time.” In many ways, the book conveys the best of “both worlds” (or, perhaps, “both Mertons”), for it stands at the intersection of this biographical and intellectual crossroads and transformative period in his life and thinking.
It has been and remains one of my favorite books on Christian spirituality.
Donald Grayston, the late Canadian theologian and Merton Scholar, once described New Seeds in Patristic theological terminology as an “enchiridion,” or comprehensive handbook. Grayston recognized New Seeds as a unique text within Merton’s corpus because it gave what Shannon described as “a fairly comprehensive picture of the spirituality of Thomas Merton.” Some of the key themes in Merton’s spirituality we see in New Seeds include the meaning of “contemplation,” solitude, faith, Christology, fear, violence and, of course, the “True Self,” which is undoubtedly Merton’s most significant contribution to contemporary Christian spirituality.
This book has been so influential in the field of Christian spirituality that scholars like Arthur Holder have identified it as a “classic,” positioning it alongside such notable texts as Augustine’s Confessions, the Rule of St. Benedict, Julian of Norwich’s Showings, and Teresa of Avila’s The Interior Castle, among others.
The plan for this new commentary and study guide is to walk through the book, chapter by chapter. The essays that will form this project will be occasionally rather than strictly scheduled, so I don’t want to make promises about frequency that I can’t keep. But do check back here for new contributions. While previous knowledge of New Seeds or other Merton texts is not required to follow along, it is my hope that even the most seasoned Merton reader or scholar will find something of value in this project published here in the Journal of Everyday Mysticism.
I look forward to reading New Seeds anew with you on this journey of learning, discovery, and reflection. Stay tuned for more!
Works Cited
Donald Grayston, Thomas Merton: The Development of a Spiritual Theologian (Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 1985).
Arthur Holder, ed., Christian Spirituality: The Classics (London: Routledge Publishing, 2010).
Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation (New York: New Directions Publishing, 1961).
William H. Shannon, “New Seeds of Contemplation,” in The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia, eds. William H. Shannon, Christine Bochum, and Patrick F. O’Connell (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2002), 324–325.
Daniel P. Horan, PhD, is a Franciscan friar, Professor of Philosophy, Religious Studies and Theology and Director of the Center for the Study of Spirituality at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., and Affiliated Professor of Spirituality at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. He is a columnist for National Catholic Reporter, and the author of many books, including Engaging Thomas Merton: Spirituality, Justice, and Racism (2023) and A White Catholic’s Guide to Racism and Privilege (2021). Follow him on Facebook.
