Survival or Prophecy?

The Letters of Thomas Merton and Jean LeClercq

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Inspiration & Meditation, Spirituality
Cover of the book Survival or Prophecy? by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq ISBN: 9781466802933
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publication: August 1, 2002
Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Language: English
Author: Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
ISBN: 9781466802933
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication: August 1, 2002
Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Language: English

Introduction by Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland.

Two monks in conversation about the meaning of life and the nature of solitude.

Thomas Merton, the American Trappist monk who wrote The Seven Storey Mountain, spent his entire literary career (1948- 68) in a cloistered monastery in Kentucky. His great counterpart, the French Benedictine monk Jean Leclercq, spent those years traveling relentlessly to and from monasteries worldwide, trying to bring about a long-needed reform and renewal of Catholic religious life.

Their correspondence over twenty years is a fascinating record of the common yearnings of two ambitious, holy men. "What is a monk?" is the question at the center of their correspondence, and in these 120 letters they answer it with great aplomb, touching on the role of ancient texts and modern conveniences; the advantages of hermit life and community life; the fierce Catholicism of the monastic past and the new openness to the approaches of other traditions; the monastery's impulse toward survival and the monk's calling to prophecy. Full of learning, human insight, and self-deprecating wit, these letters capture the excitement of the Catholic Church during the run-up to the Second Vatican Council, full of wisdom, full of promise.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Introduction by Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland.

Two monks in conversation about the meaning of life and the nature of solitude.

Thomas Merton, the American Trappist monk who wrote The Seven Storey Mountain, spent his entire literary career (1948- 68) in a cloistered monastery in Kentucky. His great counterpart, the French Benedictine monk Jean Leclercq, spent those years traveling relentlessly to and from monasteries worldwide, trying to bring about a long-needed reform and renewal of Catholic religious life.

Their correspondence over twenty years is a fascinating record of the common yearnings of two ambitious, holy men. "What is a monk?" is the question at the center of their correspondence, and in these 120 letters they answer it with great aplomb, touching on the role of ancient texts and modern conveniences; the advantages of hermit life and community life; the fierce Catholicism of the monastic past and the new openness to the approaches of other traditions; the monastery's impulse toward survival and the monk's calling to prophecy. Full of learning, human insight, and self-deprecating wit, these letters capture the excitement of the Catholic Church during the run-up to the Second Vatican Council, full of wisdom, full of promise.

More books from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Cover of the book The Word on the Street by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book Lush Life by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book Untold Stories by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book Proof! by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book The Short Stories of Langston Hughes by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book Just As I Thought by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book Apple Tree Yard by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book People Who Eat Darkness by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book Adrenaline Crush by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book Lord of the Darkwood by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book Hotter Than That by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
Cover of the book The Bus on Thursday by Thomas Merton, Jean Leclercq
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy