Thomas Merton
| Famous as | Writer |
| Born on | 31 January 1915 |
| Born in | Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales, France |
| Died on | 10 December 1968 |
| Nationality | France |
Thomas Merton Childhood
Thomas Merton was born on 31 January 1915 in Prades,
Pyrénées-Orientales, France to a New Zealand born painter father, Owen
Merton and an American Quaker and an Artist mother, Ruth Jenkins.
According to his father’s wishes Merton was baptized in the Church of
England. Due to a struggling career as an artist, Owen Merton had an
irregular presence during the upbringing of Thomas. Due to the World
War I, Merton family moved from Prades to United States in August 1915.
Initially Mertons settled with Ruth’s parents on Long Island, New York
and then moved to Douglaston, New York. In 1917 they shifted to an old
house in Flushing, New York where Merton’s younger brother John Paul was
born on 2 November 1918. During this time Thomas’ family planned to
return to France but his mother, Ruth got diagnosed with stomach cancer
of which she died on 21 October 1921 in Bellevue Hospital, New York when
Thomas was 6 years old.
In 1922 Merton’s father made a trip to the Bermudas leaving his
younger son, John Paul with his in-laws, the Jenkins in Douglaston.
Thomas Merton was still recovering from the loss of his mother when he
came to know about his father’s affair with the American novelist Evelyn
Scott who was then married to Cyril Kay-Scott. Merton was said to have
never liked Evelyn who greatly abused young Merton during his stay in
Bermuda.
In 1923 Merton returned to Douglaston to live with the Jenkins
family and his brother John Paul. Merton’s father sailed away to Europe
travelling through France, Italy, England and Algeria along with Evelyn
Scott and her husband Cyril Kay-Scott. Merton had later funnily referred
to his father and his group as “Bermuda Triangle”. In 1924 Owen Merton
was in Algeria when the news of his illness arrived. Thomas grew anxious
of his father’s health. Owen was diagnosed of having an early symptom
of the brain tumour (which later took his life).
Owen Merton had become a prominent artist and by March 1925 and he organized
a show at the Leicester Galleries in London. He took young Merton with
him to live in Saint-Antonin in France but Merton had lived with his
grandparents for the last two years and had become attached to them and
did not quite like the idea of living away from them. During the father
and son travels Merton's father and Evelyn Scott had discussed marriage
on occasions. However, Merton’s Merton realised that his son and Scott’s
relation could not be improved and he sacrificed his relationship with
her to be with his son.
Early Education and Youth
In 1926 Merton was enrolled in a boys' boarding school in
Montauban, the Lycée Ingres by his father. Initially Merton struggled to
settle down at the boarding as he was heavily depressed and lonely due
to having to stay away from his father. He asked his father to take him
away but gradually with time he became more comfortable with his
surroundings and made friends. Merton also formed a young group of
aspiring writers at the Lycée and even wrote two novels. During his Christmas holidays
in 1926 and 1927 Merton spent time with friends of his father in Murat,
a small town in the Auvergne. Although he never attended regular Sunday
Catholic masses in his boarding, Merton got interested in Catholic
beliefs and ideas. He also stated that all religions “lead to God, only
in different ways, and every man should go according to his own
conscience, and settle things according to his own private way of
looking at things”. Merton’s father was busy with his painting, travels
and exhibitions but in the summer of 1928 Merton was taken out of Lycée
Ingres and informed by his father that he would be moving with him to
England.
Stay in England
Merton’s father took young Merton to the home of Owen's aunt and
uncle in Ealing, West London. Young Thomas got enrolled in Ripley Court
Preparatory School which was a boarding school situated in Surrey.
Merton studied with better enthusiasm at Ripley’s than in his previous
school. He got accustomed to a greater sense of community, interest in
studies and also attended services at the local Anglican Church where
Merton regularly offered his prayers.
In 1929 Merton and Owen went to Canterbury in South East England during the Easter Holidays.
During this time Owen fell ill again and Merton got tensed and anxious.
Only after his father recovered after visiting the hospital did Merton
become normal.
In 1930 Merton was enrolled in Oakham School, a boarding school in
Rutland, England where he was successful. He was visited by his
grandparents and brother. On 16 January 1931 Oakham’s term had resumed
when Merton’s father Owen died leaving Tom Bennett, Owen Merton's
physician and former classmate in New Zealand to become Merton's legal
guardian. In 1931 Merton started using Bennett’s London home during the
Oakham holidays. In 1931 Merton travelled to Rome and Florence for a
week and also visited his grandparents in New York during the summer.
After returning to Oakham, Merton became the joint editor of his school
magazine, ‘Oakhamian’.
In September 1932 Merton cleared the entrance exam for Clare
College, Cambridge. He turned 18 and he decided to liberate himself and
he started travelling on his own stopping in Paris, Marseilles and then
walking to Hyeres. He also walked to Saint Tropez, where he took a train
to Genoa and then another to Florence from where he travelled to Rome.
This trip changed Merton’s life fully.
Life in Rome
Merton arrived in Rome and in February 1933 shifted from his hotel
to a small pensione with views of the Palazzo Barberini and San Carlo
alle Quattro Fontane which are two most magnificent architectures of
historical value. Merton paid regular visits to churches without knowing
why he got attached to religion and churches. Merton became highly
religious during his stay in Rome. His visits to the Vatican museum, St.
Peter's, churches and basilicas in Rome, such as the Lateran
Baptistery, Santa Costanza, the Basilica di San Clemente, Santa Prassede and Santa Pudenziana found place in his book, ‘The Seven Storey Mountain’.
Travel to the United States
In 1933 Merton took a boat from Italy to travel to United States.
He visited his grandparents in Douglaston before getting enrolled into
Clare College. He searched for a church as the religious beliefs he had
gained in Rome continued staying with him. He went to Zion Episcopal
Church in Douglaston but disliked the bad church services. So he went
off to Flushing, New York to attend a Quaker Meeting. He found the
silence and the entire atmosphere very appealing. As the summer came to
an end Merton returned to England.
Further Education
In October 1933 Merton entered Clare College as an undergraduate.
He found some of his Oakham classmates attending Cambridge with him.
Merton took to alcohol heavily and was also known as a womanizer among
his friends. According to many of Merton's biographers he had come
across a woman at Cambridge who mothered Merton’s child. However, the
child never got identified. In May 1934 Merton completed his exams and
left Cambridge.
Education at Columbia University
In January 1935 Merton entered Columbia University in Manhattan as a
sophomore. Merton spent his summer breaks together with his brother
John Paul and Merton later claimed to have seen every movie produced
between 1934 and 1937. In October 1935 Merton joined a picket of the
Casa Italiana to become a part of the protest of Italy's invasion of
Ethiopia. In 1936 Merton's grandfather, Samuel Jenkins died resulting
Merton to leave his school after receiving the news. Merton got
introduced to proper Catholicism in February 1937 when he read a book
titled ‘The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy’ by Étienne Gilson. In January
1938 Merton received his graduation with a B.A. in English from
Columbia University. In June 1938 Merton was invited by his friend
Seymour Freedgood for a meeting with Mahanambrata Brahmachari, a Hindu
monk in New York visiting from the University of Chicago. Merton wasa
immensely impressed with the monk and Merton was believed to find the
monks’ beliefs and religious views as profound. Merton even asked the
Brahmachari to recommend his beliefs and religion to them to which the
Hindu monk advised Merton and his friend to find connection with their
own spiritual roots and traditions. The Hindu monk suggested Merton to
read ‘The Confessions of Augustine’ and ‘The Imitation of Christ’ which
surprised Merton immensely as these were Christian texts being
recommended by a Hindu monk. In August 1938 Merton finally decided to
attend Mass and went to Corpus Christi Church located near to the
Columbia campus on West 121st Street in Morningside Heights which he
found foreign but he kept attending it. Soon he got deeply attached and
he started reading Catholic texts greatly. While pursuing his graduation
Merton wrote on his thesis on William Blake. In September 1938 Merton
realised that he too should become a priest to properly follow the path
of Catholocism and this took place while Merton was reading a book about
Gerard Manley Hopkins' conversion to Catholicism and how he became a
priest. On 16 November 1938 Merton got baptized at Corpus Christi Church
and received Holy Communion. On 22 February 1939 he received his M.A.
in English from Columbia University. He decided to pursue a Ph.D. at
Columbia for which he moved from Douglaston to Greenwich Village.
In January 1939 he heard greatly about a part-time teacher on
campus named Daniel Walsh, from his peers, which made him take a course
on Thomas Aquinas with Walsh. Walsh introduced Merton to Jacques
Maritain at a lecture on Catholic Action, which took place at a Catholic
Book Club meeting in March 1939. On 25 May 1939, Merton received
Confirmation at Corpus Christi, and took the confirmation name James.
Road to Priesthood
In October 1939 Merton was joined by his friends on his request at
his place following a long night out at a jazz club when he shared his
desire to become a priest. Merton met his teacher Dan Walsh whom he
trusted greatly to discuss about his prospect as a priest. Walsh
suggested that Merton was spiritually and intellectually more suited for
a priestly vocation in a specific order and they discussed the Jesuits,
Cistercians and Franciscans. Walsh arranged a meeting with a Fr. Edmund
Murphy, a friend at the monastery of St. Francis of Assisi on 31st
Street where Merton was interviewed and was given an application, as
well as Fr. Murphy's personal invitation to become a Franciscan friar.
However by 1940 Merton started having doubts of him becoming a
Franciscan. Merton arranged to see Fr. Murphy and doubts were discussed.
Although Fr. Murphy was compassionate during the meeting yet he told
Merton to return the next day. Merton received his shock the next day
when he came to know that he was no longer considered suitable for a
Franciscan vocation as a friar, according to Fr. Murphy.
In early August 1940 Merton went to Olean, New York, to stay with
friends, including Robert Lax and Ed Rice, at a cottage where they had
vacationed the summer before. He was in need for a job and went to St.
Bonaventure for an interview with then-president Fr. Thomas Plassman
where he was fortunate enough to find an opening in the English
department and Merton was hired on the spot. Merton chose St.
Bonaventure because he still wanted to become a friar. In September
1940, Merton moved into a dormitory on St. Bonaventure’s campus. Soon he
gave up smoking, drinking and chose a monk’s life reading books and
even abstaining from movies. In April 1941, Merton went to a retreat he
had booked for Holy Week at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani near
Bardstown, Kentucky. He got attracted to the place immediately and could
feel his spirits rise during his stay.
On 10 December 1941 Thomas Merton arrived at the Abbey of
Gethsemani spending three days at the monastery guest house, waiting for
acceptance into the Order. He was tested about his sincerity and
qualifications and Merton was put to work polishing floors and scrubbing
dishes. On 13 December 1941 he got accepted into the monastery as a
postulant by Dom Frederic Dunne, Gethsemani's Father Abbot. In March
1942, during the first Sunday of Lent, Merton was accepted as a novice
monk at the monastery. In June 1942 Merton received a letter from his
brother John Paul who stated that he would leave for war and would be
coming to Gethsemani to visit Merton before leaving. On 17 July Merton
and John caught up with each other. On 26 July 1942 John was baptized at
a church in nearby New Haven, Kentucky before leaving the next day. On
17 April 1943 John Paul died when his plane's engines failed over the
English Channel. In a poem at the end of ‘The Seven Storey Mountain’
Merton mentions his brother John Paul.
Writing Career
Merton read books extensively and during his stay at Gethsemani he
kept several journals. His superior, Father Abbot Dom Frederic, noticed
Merton’s gifted intellect and talent for writing. In 1943 Merton was
tasked to translate religious texts and write biographies on the saints
for the monastery to which he rose greatly and took his new writing
assignment very seriously. On 19 March 1944, Merton took up his
temporary profession of vows and was given the white cowl, black
scapular and leather belt. In November 1944 a manuscript Merton had
given to friend Robert Lax the previous year was published by James
Laughlin at New Directions: a book of poetry titled ‘Thirty Poems’. In
1946 New Directions published Merton’s another poetry collection, ‘A Man
in the Divided Sea’ which brought great appreciation and recognition
for Merton. In 1946 Merton’s manuscript for ‘The Seven Storey Mountain’
was accepted by Harcourt Brace & Company for publication. Merton
wrote his biography, ‘The Seven Storey Mountain’ during two-hour
intervals in the monastery scriptorium as a personal project.
By 1947 Merton had become comfortable with his writing career. On
19 March 1947 he took his solemn vows, a commitment to live out his life
at the monastery. He also began corresponding with a Carthusian at St.
Hugh's Charterhouse in Parkminster, England. On 4 July 1947 the Catholic
journal ‘Commonweal’ published an essay by Merton titled ‘Poetry and
the Contemplative Life’. In 1948 The Seven Storey Mountain was published
which earned great critical appreciation and Merton was subjected to
fan mails. Merton also published several works for the monastery that
year, which were ‘Guide to Cistercian Life’, ‘Cistercian
Contemplatives’, ‘Figures for an Apocalypse’ and ‘The Spirit of
Simplicity’. On 21 December Merton was ordained as a subdeacon.
On 5 January 1949 Merton took a train to Louisville and applied for
U.S. citizenship. During his long years at Gethsemani Merton changed
greatly from a passionate monk to a greatly contemplative writer and
poet.
Death
On 10 December 1968 Merton was to attend an interfaith conference
between Catholic and non-Christian monks when he came out of his bath to
adjust an electric fan and apparently touched an exposed wire to get
electrocuted and die a painful death.
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Thomas Merton Timeline: | ||||
1915 - Thomas Merton was born on 31 January
1915 - Due to the World War I, Merton family moved from Prades to United States in August
1917 – The Merton family shifted to an old house in Flushing, New York
1918 - Merton’s younger brother John Paul was born on 2 November
1921 - His mother, Ruth got diagnosed with stomach cancer of which she died on 21 October
1922 - Merton’s father made a trip to the Bermudas
leaving his younger son, John Paul with his in-laws, the Jenkins in
Douglaston. Thomas Merton was still recovering from the loss of his
mother when he came to know about his father’s affair with the American
novelist Evelyn Scott who was then married to Cyril Kay-Scott. Merton
was said to have never liked Evelyn who greatly abused young Merton
during his stay in Bermuda
1923 - Merton returned to Douglaston to live with the Jenkins family and his brother John Paul
1924 - Owen Merton was in Algeria when the news of
his illness arrived. Thomas grew anxious of his father’s health. Owen
was diagnosed of having an early symptom of the brain tumour (which
later took his life)
1925 - Owen Merton had become a prominent artist
and by March and he organized a show at the Leicester Galleries in
London. He took young Merton with him to live in Saint-Antonin in France
but Merton had lived with his grandparents for the last two years and
had become attached to them and did not quite like the idea of living
away from them. During the father and son travels Merton's father and
Evelyn Scott had discussed marriage on occasions. However, Merton’s
Merton realised that his son and Scott’s relation could not be improved
and he sacrificed his relationship with her to be with his son
1926 - Merton was enrolled in a boys' boarding school in Montauban, the Lycée Ingres by his father
1928 - Merton’s father was busy with his painting,
travels and exhibitions but in the summer Merton was taken out of Lycée
Ingres and informed by his father that he would be moving with him to
England
1929 - Merton and Owen went to Canterbury in South
East England during the Easter Holidays. During this time Owen fell ill
again and Merton got tensed and anxious. Only after his father
recovered after visiting the hospital did Merton become normal
1930 - Merton was enrolled in Oakham School, a
boarding school in Rutland, England where he was successful. He was
visited by his grandparents and brother
1931 - On 16 January Oakham’s term had resumed
when Merton’s father Owen died leaving Tom Bennett, Owen Merton's
physician and former classmate in New Zealand to become Merton's legal
guardian
1931 - Merton started using Bennett’s London home during the Oakham holidays
1931 - Merton travelled to Rome and Florence for a week and also visited his grandparents in New York during the summer
1932 – In September Merton cleared the entrance exam for Clare College, Cambridge
1933 - Merton took a boat from Italy to travel to
United States. He visited his grandparents in Douglaston before getting
enrolled into Clare College
1933 – In October Merton entered Clare College as
an undergraduate. He found some of his Oakham classmates attending
Cambridge with him
1934 - In May Merton completed his exams and left Cambridge
1935 - In January Merton entered Columbia University in Manhattan as a sophomore
1935 - In October, Merton joined a picket of the Casa Italiana to become a part of the protest of Italy's invasion of Ethiopia.
1936 - Merton's grandfather, Samuel Jenkins died, resulting Merton to leave his school after receiving the news
1937 - Merton got introduced to proper Catholicism
in February when he read a book titled ‘The Spirit of Medieval
Philosophy’ by Étienne Gilson
1938 - In January, Merton received his graduation with a B.A. in English from Columbia University
1938 - In June, Merton was invited by his friend
Seymour Freedgood for a meeting with Mahanambrata Brahmachari, a Hindu
monk in New York visiting from the University of Chicago
1938 - In August, Merton finally decided to attend
Mass and went to Corpus Christi Church located near to the Columbia
campus on West 121st Street in Morningside Heights which he found
foreign but he kept attending it. Soon he got deeply attached and he
started reading Catholic texts greatly
1938 - In September Merton realised that he too
should become a priest to properly follow the path of Catholocism and
this took place while Merton was reading a book about Gerard Manley
Hopkins' conversion to Catholicism and how he became a priest
1938 - On 16 November Merton got baptized at Corpus Christi Church and received Holy Communion
1939 - On 22 February he received his M.A. in
English from Columbia University. He decided to pursue a Ph.D. at
Columbia for which he moved from Douglaston to Greenwich Village
1939 - In January he heard greatly about a
part-time teacher on campus named Daniel Walsh, from his peers, which
made him take a course on Thomas Aquinas with Walsh
1939 - Walsh introduced Merton to Jacques Maritain
at a lecture on Catholic Action, which took place at a Catholic Book
Club meeting in March
1939 - On 25 May Merton received Confirmation at Corpus Christi, and took the confirmation name James
1939 - In October Merton was joined by his friends
on his request at his place following a long night out at a jazz club
when he shared his desire to become a priest
1940 - In early August Merton went to Olean, New
York, to stay with friends, including Robert Lax and Ed Rice, at a
cottage where they had vacationed the summer before
1940 - In September, Merton moved into a dormitory
on St. Bonaventure’s campus. Soon he gave up smoking, drinking and
chose a monk’s life reading books and even abstaining from movies
1941 - In April Merton went to a retreat he had
booked for Holy Week at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani near
Bardstown, Kentucky. He got attracted to the place immediately and could
feel his spirits rise during his stay
1941 - On 10 December Thomas Merton arrived at the
Abbey of Gethsemani spending three days at the monastery guest house,
waiting for acceptance into the Order. He was tested about his sincerity
and qualifications and Merton was put to work polishing floors and
scrubbing dishes
1941 - On 13 December he got accepted into the monastery as a postulant by Dom Frederic Dunne, Gethsemani's Father Abbot
1942 - In March, during the first Sunday of Lent, Merton was accepted as a novice monk at the monastery
1942 - In June Merton received a letter from his
brother John Paul who stated that he would leave for war and would be
coming to Gethsemani to visit Merton before leaving
1942 - On 17 July Merton and his brother John caught up with each other
1942 - On 26 July John was baptized at a church in nearby New Haven, Kentucky before leaving the next day
1943 - On 17 April John Paul died when his plane's
engines failed over the English Channel. In a poem at the end of ‘The
Seven Storey Mountain’ Merton mentions his brother John Paul
1943 - Merton was tasked to translate religious
texts and write biographies on the saints for the monastery to which he
rose greatly and took his new writing assignment very seriously
1944 - On 19 March, Merton took up his temporary profession of vows and was given the white cowl, black scapular and leather belt
1944 - In November a manuscript Merton had given
to friend Robert Lax the previous year was published by James Laughlin
at New Directions: a book of poetry titled ‘Thirty Poems’
1946 - New Directions published Merton’s another
poetry collection, ‘A Man in the Divided Sea’ which brought great
appreciation and recognition for Merton
1946 - Merton’s manuscript for ‘The Seven Storey
Mountain’ was accepted by Harcourt Brace & Company for publication.
Merton wrote his biography, ‘The Seven Storey Mountain’ during two-hour
intervals in the monastery scriptorium as a personal project
1947 – By this time Merton had become comfortable with his writing career
1947 - On 19 March he took his solemn vows, a
commitment to live out his life at the monastery. He also began
corresponding with a Carthusian at St. Hugh's Charterhouse in
Parkminster, England
1947 - On 4 July the Catholic journal ‘Commonweal’ published an essay by Merton titled ‘Poetry and the Contemplative Life’
1948 – ‘The Seven Storey Mountain’ was published which earned great critical appreciation and Merton was subjected to fan mails
1949 - On 5 January Merton took a train to Louisville and applied for U.S. citizenship
1968 - On 10 December Merton was to attend an
interfaith conference between Catholic and non-Christian monks when he
came out of his bath to adjust an electric fan and apparently touched an
exposed wire to get electrocuted and die a painful death
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