Books
THE INNER EXPERIENCE. Notes on Contemplation by Thomas Merton.
SPCK £9.99. ISBN 0-281-05616-1
Reviewer: Trevor Miller
William Shannon has edited for us the final book that Merton wrote. Although substantially written in 1959 it was given with corrections and additions in manuscript form to a friend just before he left for his fateful trip to Bangkok in 1968. Earlier, in setting up the Merton Legacy Trust he had indicated that this work was not to be published as a book but could be used in research. It seems that because its contents have all appeared in one form or another, the Trust has now given permission for its publication.
It had started out as a revision and expansion of his earlier ‘What is contemplation’ but had become a completely new book. Merton makes clear that his thinking had moved from seeing contemplation as merely a compartment of life to it being the way to integrate all aspects of one’s life into a single whole. Its scope is massive as he discusses contemplative awareness in Eastern mysticism, Marxism, technology, society, theology, neurosis, as well as in such figures as the Desert Fathers, John of the Cross, Meister Eckhart and Charles De Foucauld. Merton is very honest and stresses that ‘this book has no intention of solving anybody’s problems, or offering anybody an easy way out of their difficulties.’ Rather it will be of help to those already fulfilled by being rather than doing: those who face life, as it is – good and bad - in the awareness that God is. Like many of Merton’s works each chapter could stand-alone and because of it, there is a feel of it being unfinished and incomplete. However, as the subtitle indicates these are a series of notes rather than a definitive explanation of the contemplative life. It is not easy reading but certainly rewarding but it is not for those who have never read Merton before.
Peter Stanford acknowledges that he is not a “non-religious seeker”; neither am I. In Celtic Daily Prayer are the words, “There are some common tasks that we all engage in: looking for signposts to tell us where we are; trying to make sense of what we have already experienced along the way; and seeking to know what lies ahead and at journeys end. Life, in short, is a pilgrimage”.
Having appreciated Margaret’s previous books, (Landmarks, Taste and See, Wayfaring, Sacred Spaces - Stations on a Celtic Way and A Miller’s Tale) my eyes were drawn to the title of her latest work especially as I was within days of taking a sailing holiday. The purchase and subsequent read proved to be worthwhile. The book was a good companion during the hours crossing the English Channel and sailing the Normandy Coast.
Moment by Moment contains thirty-two ‘Moments’, or reflective prayerexperiences. Each one has a theme, scripture passages, excerpts for St. Ignatius, questions to ponder, and suggestions for practical actions that might make the wisdom from that day more tangible. I have enjoyed using this book to take an hour a week to go on a “mini-retreat” in my own home. And though I havemostly used it by myself, I could imagine sharing the insights from the exercises with my spouse or a soul-friend.
Sleeping with Bread is similar except that it is family-friendly and has good pictures! It encourages us to ask ourselves two questions: “For what am I most grateful? For what am I least grateful?” The book then goes on to describe a process by which we might ask these questions each day on our own or with our family or another group of people. By asking these questions, not only do we get to know ourselves and others we love better, we can also better discern God’s will. For, generally speaking, the authors say, God’s will is for us to do more of whatever we are most grateful for or whatever gives us most life.
