Contemplative Prayer

Contemplative Prayer

Amazon.com Review

This little gem of a book, newly issued with a foreword from the great Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh (who knew Merton in the 1960s) beautifully distills Mertons own reading and long experience with contemplation. Written close to the end of Mertons life, this book is not so much a "how to" guide as it is a kind of contemplation of contemplation. Immersed in the "negative theology" of St. John of the Cross and others--and influenced by his deep reading in Zen--Merton here stresses that in meditation "we should not look for a method or system, but cultivate an attitude, an outlook: faith, openness, attention, reverence, expectation, supplication, trust, joy." God is found in the desert of surrender: this means giving up any expectation for a particular message and "waiting on the Word of God in silence," knowing that any answer will be "his silence itself suddenly, inexplicably revealing itself to him as a word of great power, full of the voice of God." --Doug Thorpe

Product Description

A guide to modern prayer draws on such influences as John of the Cross and Eastern desert monasticism and serves as an argument against drug-induced inner peace. Reissue. NYT.
Rate Points :4.5
Binding :Paperback
Label :Image
Manufacturer :Image
ProductGroup :Book
Studio :Image
Publisher :Image
EAN :9780385092197
Price :$10.95USD
Lowest Price :$5.25USD
Customer ReviewsAn excellent guide to contemplative prayer
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :17
Thomas Merton was a monk, and in this book he explains ways that the non-monastic can live a life of prayer. In doing so he provides exercises for the contemplative novice (like me) and warns against bad habits of prayer that are easy to fall into. Here is his explanation of the purpose of monastic prayer: "To prepare the way so that Gods action may develop this faculty for the supernatural, this capacity for inner illumination gy faith and by the light of wisdom, in the loving contemplation of God" (p. 45). He writes well and clearly one need not be a monk or an academic to understand what he is teaching.

This was the first book of Mertons I ever read. I read it during a grief-filled time in my life when I felt the need of something to anchor me, to help me to pray more meaningfully, to concentrate on listening to God more than on my own verbalizing. At one point he says that he is easily distracted by many things I realized that I had just heard my true name--Easily Distracted By Many Things--for the first time. He promised to teach "a way of keeping oneself in the presence of God and of reality, rooted in ones own inner truth" (p. 23), and he did.

The books introduction is by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Zen Buddhist it includes a helpful series of prayers as well.

Merton helped me to heal, and to grow from the healing, and to re-engage an often hurting world. He opened up what was to me a new practice in Christian spirituality. I recommend you read him.

Advice for Novice Contemplatives
Rating Point :2 Helpful Point :12
Thomas Merton was a Roman Catholic monk who wrote "Contemplative Prayer" as a primer (not a how-to book) for monks developing a prayer life. To help these monks, Merton attempts to define contemplateive prayer, offers its benefits, and points out dangers associated with it.

Merton distinguishes contemplative prayer from liturgical/corporate prayer. The latter fully engages the mind and emotions as a Christian decides what he wants to communicat to God, then expresses these thoughts/feelings. Contemplative prayer differs in that the Christian attempts to devoid himself of all his thoughts and feelings so that God can come directly to him--increasing this Christians faith and understanding.

While this result is great indeed, there are also horrible dangers associated with contemplative prayer. The Christian a) may be contacted by a demon, b) might lose his faith, c) might experience intense dread as he believes that God has abandoned him, d) fools himself into thinking that God came to him when he actually created thoughts and feelings himself (and he thus becomes secure in false belief).

Merton deliniates particular blessings that one can gain through contemplative prayer. While an increased personal faith in and understanding of God is an individuals blessing, the Church is also blessed by contemplative prayer. Merton argues that deep contemplative prayer makes corporate/liturgical prayer more meaningful, which makes contemplative prayer deeper, etc. in a sort of upward spiral. He takes this idea further by advancing the idea that if it were not for the contemplative prayers of the monks, the Church (relying only on liturgical prayer) would move increasingly further away from Jesus Christ and lose its saving faith.

I disagree with this last point because I disagree with Mertons analysis of contemplative prayer. Merton advocates an immediate (without physical means), subjective encounter with God over and against a mediate (through physical means) objective encounter. God encounters the Christian through Scripture and the Sacraments and has given us physical, mental, and emotional faculties to respond to him. The idea that a correct understanding of God comes not through mediate means but through subjective personal experience runs counter to Biblical teachings.

Active meditation (where you actually do something, as opposed to Mertons idea of prayer) can certainly aid the Christian as well as the Church in the above described "upward spiral." Contemplating Scripture (that is, actually thinking about it and wrestling with it) does make prayer and worship more meaningful. However, emptying yourself of all your thoughts and emotions with the hope that God will be compelled to come to you is just plain dangerous--even if Christians of other centureis did it. Stick to Bible and Sacraments.

This book is not recommended.

Contemplative Prayer is spiritual deception
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :0
If you want to learn about the spiritual deception of Contemplative Prayer, this book is good. Thomas Merton mentions his associations with Zen Buddhists and has written other books about Zen. Because I see this form of prayer creeping into the Christian church, I wanted to learn more about it, to warn others who may be deceived by Rick Warren and the Emerging Church movement that is changing the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ and recommending New Age techniques. Thomas Merton tells you how to empty your mind (meditate), but he also warns of the dangers of this and that some have had mental breakdowns while meditating. This is the last days apostasy that is mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

Contemplative Prayer: Not a Gimmick But a Grace
Rating Point :4 Helpful Point :1
Thomas Mertons thoughtful work on Contemplative Prayer is worthy of careful contemplation by Christians of all traditions. The chapters are brief as is the book but it contains many powerful ideas. Merton is careful to not separate contemplation from either corporate worship or service. He will have none of the false dichotomy of "spiritual" life and "earthly" life. He also avoids pointing to contemplation as a gimmick or a method for true spirituality. The highlight of the book for me came on page 112. There Merton writes, "Prayer does not blind us to the world, but it transforms our vision of the world, and makes us see it, all men and all the history of mankind, in the light of God."

I come from a different Christian tradition than Thomas Merton, but I value his insights as I seek to walk the sometimes fearful, sometimes exhilirating, sometimes inscrutable path of prayer.

Calling Unto Deep
Rating Point :5 Helpful Point :11
Contemplative Prayer, the last book by the renowned Trappist monk Thomas Merton, is a treatise on the practice, benefits and dangers of contemplative prayer for modern day monks. Although it seems to have been written primarily for others that have devoted their lives to monastic living, the casual reader and spiritual seeker can still glean much from Mertons book. In its 19 chapters, Merton takes the reader from the desert, through the dark nights of contemplation, to the effects that such contemplation should have on the contemplative and, therefore, on the world.

Merton combines both personal insight and traditional Christian teachings on the practice of contemplative prayer his sources include Scripture, the Desert Fathers, Patristic texts, as well as mystical writings from the Christian tradition, most notably those of St. John of the Cross. Perhaps reflecting the ecumenical spirit of the middle to late 60s that was present in the Roman Catholic Church - due in large part to Vatican II - Merton also uses various ascetic writings from the Eastern Orthodox Church, most notably excerpts from the Philokalia, which is sometimes referred to as "the Bible of Eastern Orthodox spirituality." Mertons use of sources and personal insight serve to convey a deep understanding of the practice of contemplative prayer the reader is left feeling that (s)he is in the presence of a spiritual guide, a wise fellow seeker, and a friend.

There are two other sources that are worth pointing out although they are less obvious than the sources cited above. First, the existentialist theme that runs through the book is worth noting Merton seems to desire to engage some of the intellectual trends of his time with his book. Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Gabriel Marcel are both alluded to and cited throughout the pages of this book the idea of an "existentialist dread" of death and the darkness within the human self serve, at different times, as points of departure for Mertons teachings. Given the teachings of the urgency of the moment that both Existentialism and Christianity espouse and the unrest that was a part of life in both the United States and in the international community, such a coupling of Existentialism and Christian spirituality makes a lot of sense.

Secondly, Merton mentions at points the ground that the soul meets God on. Such an idea seems to recall the teaching of Meister Eckhart, the controversial Dominican monk and mystic of the 13th century . Merton never cites Eckhart and given the controversy surrounding the condemnation of Eckharts, if Eckhart is a source for Mertons thought, Mertons apprehension of citing Eckhart makes sense. The parallels are worth noting, though. Yet, unlike Eckhart, Merton does not view union with God as an experience of the self dissolving into the Godhead. In fact, Merton does not at any point actually mention "union with God", but describes instead "the creative and healing work of the monk by God" as being "a participation in the saving death and resurrection of Christ" (26). Such language about "participation" certainly recalls the language used by the Greek Fathers when discussing union with God, a union where the Creator and the creature remain distinct but in a full, intimate communion.

Contemplative Prayer, although short, is not a light read. It calls one to look within before looking without it is a call for self-confrontation. Each chapter - and even parts of chapters - could be read and meditated upon for days on end. This is a good thing, though, as it makes this book helpful guide for the spiritual journey.

Similar Item

Thoughts In Solitude

Thoughtful and eloquent, as timely (or timeless) now as when it was originally published in 1956, Thoughts in Solitude addresses the pleasure of a solitary life, as well as the necessity for quiet reflection in an age when so little is private. Thoma

Praying the Psalms (By Thomas Merton)

Merton shows us how to draw out the richness of worship from the psalter and to use it to achieve "the peace that comes from submission to Gods will and from perfect confidence in him".......Catholic Review Service.

Spiritual Direction and Meditation

Without really raising his voice once the author proceeds to the heart of each of these matters and speaks home truths for which all sorts of people--priests and religious and laity--will be grateful.

The Seven Storey Mountain

A modern-day Confessions of Saint Augustine, The Seven Storey Mountain is one of the most influential religious works of the twentieth century. This edition contains an introduction by Mertons editor, Robert Giroux, and a note to the reader by biogra

New Seeds of Contemplation

One of the best-loved books by one of the great spiritual authors of our time, with a new Introduction by best-selling author Sue Monk Kidd.New Seeds of Contemplation is one of Thomas Mertons most widely read and best-loved books. Christians and non-