Holy Cross to Hold Conference on the Writings of Thomas Merton: “So I Will Disappear”

WORCESTER, Mass. – On Dec. 10, 1968, Thomas Merton, the celebrated Trappist monk and writer, was accidentally electrocuted in Bangkok, Thailand, while attending an Asian monastic conference. His final statement of his last conference at Bangkok was, "So I will disappear."

And so Thomas Merton did disappear, but his legacy and writings remain current and relevant for all of us today. On Dec. 10, 2003, the 35th anniversary of Merton's death, the College of the Holy Cross will hold a conference, titled "So I will disappear," Insights into the Writings of Thomas Merton.

The all-day program will begin at 8:15 a.m., with the last presentation starting at 7:30 p.m. Several papers that touch upon prominent themes in the Merton canon will be presented. In addition, there will be an opportunity for question and answer dialogue after each presentation.

The conference is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is strongly recommended as space is limited to 100 people. Participants who pre-register may also choose to pre-register for lunch ($12) and/or for a reception and dinner ($25). Meal pre-registration must be received one week in advance of the conference. Books written and edited by conference presenters will be available for purchase at the Holy Cross bookstore during the conference.

"So I will disappear" is sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at Holy Cross. To register, or for more information, contact Patricia Hinchliffe at 508-793-3869 or phinchli@holycross.edu.

To view a complete schedule of events visit the conference Web site at www.holycross.edu/departments/crec/website/merton.htm. Biographies of presenters and a schedule of events are included below.

Information on panel presenters:

Christine M. Bochen is a professor of religious studies at Nazareth College, Rochester, N.Y. A founding member and past president of the International Thomas Merton Society, Bochen edited The Courage for Truth, a volume of Thomas Merton's letters to writers; Learning to Love, the sixth volume of Merton's journals; and Thomas Merton: Essential Writings, an anthology of his writings published in the Modern Spiritual Masters Series (Orbis). With William H. Shannon and Patrick F. O'Connell, she co-authored The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia (Orbis, 2002).

John Collins is a lecturer and former director of the Teacher Certification Program at the College of the Holy Cross. In June 2001, Collins presented a Thomas Merton/Walker Percy paper at the ITMS Conference, Bellarmine College; it was subsequently published in The Merton Annual 15, Fall, 2002. He also presented a paper, titled "We Are Prodigals in a Distant Land-A Perspective on Evil by Thomas Merton," at "The Anatomy of Evil" symposium, held at Holy Cross in 2002. It was published in The Merton Seasonal, spring 2003. Collins holds a Ph.D. from Boston College.

Thomas Del Prete is the author of Thomas Merton and the Education of the Whole Person (1990) and past president of the International Thomas Merton Society. He is currently director of the Jacob Hiatt Center for Urban Education and chair of the education department at Clark University, Worcester, Mass.

Jonathan Montaldo was the director of the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University, the official repository of Merton's legacy, from 1998-2001. President of the International Thomas Merton Society from 2001-2003, he is the general editor of the Fons Vitae Thomas Merton Series, a multi-volume compendium of Merton's writing on world religions. His works include edited volumes Entering the Silence, The Merton Journals, Volume 2, 1996, and - with Patrick Hart - The Intimate Merton: His Life from His Journals (1999). The Intimate Merton has been translated into 10 languages. His Dialogues with Silence: Thomas Merton's Prayers & Drawings, already translated into five languages, appeared in October 2001. Montaldo, who most recently edited Merton & Hesychasm: The Prayer of the Heart (2003) with Bernadette Dieker, is writing a text to accompany the photographs of Harry Hinkle, to be published as The Landscape of Contemplation: A Pilgrimage to Thomas Merton's Gethsemani by the University of Kentucky Press in 2004.

Patrick F. O'Connell '69 is an associate professor in the departments of English and theology at Gannon University, Erie, Penn. O'Connell holds a doctoral degree in literature from Yale University and one in theology from Fordham University. He served as fifth president of the International Thomas Merton Society and is currently editor of The Merton Seasonal, a quarterly journal jointly published by the ITMS and the Merton Center of Bellarmine University. O'Connell is co-author, with William H. Shannon and Christine Bochen, of The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia (Orbis, 2002) and editor of The Vision of Thomas Merton (Ave Maria, 2003). He has written and spoken widely on Merton and other topics in spirituality.

Rev. William Reiser, S.J., is a professor of theology in the religious studies department at the College of the Holy Cross. Over the past 12 years he has also served as an associate staff member at the Center for Religious Development in Cambridge, Mass.. His most recent books are Jesus in Solidarity with His People (Liturgical Press, 2000) and To Hear God's Word, Listen to the World (Paulist Press, 1997). Fr. Reiser completed his graduate studies at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and also at Vanderbilt University. For the past 15 years he has been involved pastorally and catechetically in Worcester's Hispanic community.

Schedule of Events: All events will take place in the Rehm Library at Smith Hall.

8:45 a.m. - The Merton Story: An Ongoing Conversation (Presented by: Christine Bochen)

Thomas Merton - monk and writer -- continues to speak to us with the clarity of a mystic and the honesty of a prophet through his life and writings. This introductory talk will offer an opportunity to reflect on how Merton engages contemporary readers with an example of his life and a contemplative and compassionate spirituality inviting us to enter, with him, into a conversation that truly matters.

9:35 a.m. - Thomas Merton And The Transcultural Consciousness (Presented by: Patrick O'Connell)

This presentation will consider Merton's contributions to the development of a global consciousness that prizes unity-in-difference in order to avoid both a totalitarian uniformity and a destructive fragmentation. It will reflect on Merton's advocacy of solitude, solidarity and social transformation as essential constituents of genuine intercultural and interreligious cooperation; it will also analyze the process of developing what Merton calls a "transcultural consciousness" that both recognizes and respects cultural differences and affirms and celebrates human dignity and the hopes common to all people.

10:45 a.m. - The Contemplative As Teacher And Learner: Insights From Thomas Merton (Presented by: Thomas Del Prete)

Merton lived with contemplative awareness of the indwelling presence of God in persons and community. This talk will focus on Merton as someone whose teaching and learning were oriented by the idea one can develop contemplative awareness and knowing, and in the process discover one's whole, undivided self. Examples from Merton's teaching, letters, and journals will help illustrate the deeper levels of learning that he maintained are the real purpose of education.

12 p.m. - Lunch

1:30 p.m. - The Root of War is Fear: Reflections from Thomas Merton (Presented by: John Collins)

In his memorable book, titled New Seeds of Contemplation, Thomas Merton writes about the hatred of others as well as hatred of ourselves as the genesis of fear leading to war. This presentation focuses primarily on the so called Cold War Letters of the 1960s in which Merton shared his concerns about the grave dangers of escalating war and the possible use of nuclear weapons. From the "Political Dance of Death" Merton guides us to an increasing awareness of God's presence and love and an invitation to join Him in the "General Dance."

2:30 p.m. - "Entering The School Of Your Life: Journal Writing And The Examination Of Conscience" (Presented by: Jonathan Montlado)

In unpublished notes on "three methods of mental prayer" for a conference with his monastic novices, Merton explains one method of meditation as "entering the school of your life." The presence of God is found in all things and elicits a dynamic response of dialogue and participation only if attention is paid. While writing journals was a means to many ends for Merton, his presentation explores links between his journal writing and St. Ignatius of Loyola's spiritual practice of "examining one's conscience." The emphasis in both spiritual exercises is less on "finding one's faults" and more on "cataloguing one's continual blessings" and then confessing, by renewed and deeper contact with one's life's particulars, "il piacere di vivere" as Italians say: "the sheer joy of being alive"-to which both Ignatius and Merton would add "in Christ."

4 p.m. - Panel: Merton in the Future

Presenters will briefly discuss their views about Merton and his influence in the coming years. What areas of research about Merton are fertile ground for scholars? What resources are available at the Thomas Merton Foundation, The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University and at other universities such as Columbia University and Saint Bonaventure University?

6 p.m. - Dinner

7:30 p.m. - Thomas Merton: A Parable For Our Time (Presented by: Rev. William Reiser, S.J.)

Merton's religious life is a paradox -- the more deeply monastic he becomes, the more his attention is directed toward the world. The "experiments with truth" that are part and parcel of monastic life have as their counterpart Merton's engagement with the issues of his time. In the process, he was able to capture the genius of Christian religious life in a way that still speaks to us. This presentation examines Merton as a living parable of engagement and withdrawal, of finding God in the disruptions and discontinuities of one's life and times.