I will allure her, I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart. Hosea 2:16
We have entered into Lent, a time to joyfully abandon ourselves more deeply and completely to Christ Jesus. Though we go into the desert alone, for solitude, it can be helpful to bring along a companion in the form of a book.
There are many spiritual writers and classics that are worthy to chose from for a desert journey. I will suggest here Thomas Merton. Having written recently about 2015 being the 5th Centenary of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila I was inspired to re-look at Merton when it caught my attention that this year is the 1st centenary of his birth (he was born 31 January 1915).
That said it is a bit funny that I return to him this Lent as I have, a bit too stubbornly I admit, avoided all but one of his works in the last 25 years. But after due consideration I decided I needed to check my stubborn side and I found myself heading to Barnes and Noble last weekend to see if they had a copy of Merton’s most well-known work, The Seven Storey Mountain, on their shelf. They did, and as I write this, I am about three quarters of the way through.
Over the last 25 years, at the recommendation of others, I have gladly purchased such spiritual classics as The Imitation of Christ, Introduction to the Devout Life, and Story of a Soul among others gems, but, for reasons unknown, would insistently not look at The Seven Storey Mountain, even though it almost always comes up on the short list of must reads. God, however, ultimately knows what is good for me and allowed my quarter century avoidance, knowing when it would be best to again take in this contemplative guide. And I am enjoying and gaining immensely this Lent by Merton’s spiritual autobiography. I shall have to read more of his writings.
Though it would be better to read about Merton’s life in his own words, for those who have other authors they are reading this Lent but would still like a quick overview of Merton’s life click on the link to Wikipedia below.
Lent is about growing deeper into what we already know and coming out refreshed with new life at Easter. Here are Merton’s words from Thoughts in Solitude (that one Merton book I did buy 25 years ago and have reread many times as it speaks to my hermetical side’s need for solitude): Living is not thinking. Thought is formed and guided by objective reality outside us. Living is the constant adjustment of thought to life and life to thought in such a way that we are always growing, always experiencing new things in the old and old things in the new. Thus life is always new.