“With the death of Thomas Merton, we lost really one of the great Catholic voices, one of the great prophetic figures within the Catholic Church. And I think that’s why his books are still selling, why they’re still being translated because that message is as relevant today as when he wrote it,” says Dr. Paul Pearson who oversees the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University. More →

January 30, 2015

He is a Catholic deacon as well as a professor of English and creative writing, and his many novels come face to face with “the imponderables of life.” More →

September 7, 2012

Brother Paul Quenon, who was inspired to write by his mentor Thomas Merton, says “the purpose of the monastic life in the modern world is to show that we don’t need a purpose. The purpose of life is life.” More →

May 6, 2011

“I see the future going in this direction, that more and more people will realize how important interreligious dialogue is.” More →

November 19, 2010

Brad Gooch is the author of Flannery O’Connor’s biography FLANNERY: A LIFE OF FLANNER O’CONNOR. In describing his experience of writing the book, he says, “…I didn’t have that biographer’s being in love with your subject and then being let down or disillusioned, and indeed it worked a bit in reverse…” More →

November 20, 2009

“Is there anyone here who yearns for life and desires to see good days?” Those stirring words come at the beginning of one of the most durable spiritual guides of all time, the Rule of St. Benedict. More →

October 30, 2009

Read more of Judy Valente’s interview about Thomas Merton with Paul Pearson, director and archivist at Bellarmine University’s Thomas Merton Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Q: What would you say is the essence of Thomas Merton’s spirituality? A: The essence of … More →

June 4, 2009

Read more of Judy Valente’s interview about Thomas Merton with Brother Paul Quenon at Gethsemani Abbey: Q: Describe for me what you think is the essence of the Trappist life. A: Well, the essence of the Trappist life would be … More →

June 4, 2009

Read excerpts from THOMAS MERTON: A LIFE IN LETTERS: The Essential Collection edited by Willam H. Shannon and Christian M. Bochen (HarperOne, 2008): November 10, 1958 …It seems to me that, as a contemplative, I do not need to lock … More →

June 4, 2009

With thanks to W. Gay Reading Jr. and James D. Birchfield, Curator of Rare Books at the University of Kentucky.

June 4, 2009