Patrick F. O’Connell, emeritus professor of English and theology at Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania, is a founding member and former president of the International Thomas Merton Society, longtime editor of The Merton Seasonal, and copy editor of The Merton Annual. He has edited sixteen volumes of Merton materials, including twelve volumes of Merton’s monastic conferences (2005–2022) as well as Selected Essays (2013) and Merton and Confucianism (2021). He is also co-author with Christine M. Bochen and William H. Shannon of the award-winning Thomas Merton Encyclopedia (2002).

• ContentsForeword by Bonnie B. Thurston viiPreface xi1  Tradition and Innovation   12  Traditional Roots, Innovative Shoots: Merton’s Ecological Conscience   233  The Paschal Heart of Merton’s Spirituality   414  Wisdom and Prophecy: The Two Poles of Merton’s Spirituality   655  Awakening in Eden: Merton and the Recovery of Paradise   896  Merton’s Vision of the Kingdom   1117  “What I Wear Is Pants”: “Lay” Spirituality and Monastic Reform   1318  From Communication to Communion: Merton on Language and Silence  1579  Final Integration: Culture, Multiculturalism, Transcultural Consciousness   183Bibliography   207Acknowledgments   217Index   219

“One of the best short introductions to the spirituality of Thomas Merton that I have ever read: wise, grounded, thoughtful, incisive and, best of all, well written.”James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage and In All Seasons, For All Reasons