Thomas Merton's memory is kept alive through the thousands of readers and seekers who continue to read his books as well as the books written about him. Not only do we have the written literature but we also have the Merton Center which is housed at Bellarmine University as well as the International Thomas Merton Society. Needless to say there are a lot of Merton fans out there.One of the more recent additions to the vast literature about Merton is a new book by Donald Grayston titled, Thomas Merton and the Noonday Demon: The Camadoli Correspondence (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2015). Grayston is retired from his post as the director of the Institute for the Humanities at the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver Canada and is a post-president of the International Merton Society.
This book specifically covers the time period when Merton was seeking to leave the Gethsamni monastery in Kentucky for a more eremitical life in the Camadolese community in Italy. The Camaldolese are a part of the Benedictine community of monastics which have the eremitical life (smaller communities who live as hermits) as their major charism. The order's founder was Saint Romuald who sought to live out the Rule of St. Benedict in a more austere fashion.
Through analyzing letters written between Merton, his abbot James Fox, as well as the Prior and Provincial of the Camaldolese community in Italy, Grayston shows us the spiritual struggles of Merton during this difficult period of his life. Merton suffered, like many monks do with acedia, commonly called the noonday demon. This is often referred to as despondency as well. Basically the noonday demon is the temptation to question ones role as a monk or nun, to want to leave ones current home for another, the temptation to want to leave the monastic life altogether. Grayston shows us that Merton suffered greatly from acedia, the constant noise and hustle and bustle at Gethsemani, combined probably with the growing number of new vocations, and extra work was the impetus for Merton to want to leave the quiet country pastures of Gethsemani for another monastery in Italy.
Grayston is a wonderful storyteller, he weaves the narrative of Merton's relationship with Abbot Fox through the many letters that the two exchanged as well as the exchanges between Abbot Fox and the Prior in Italy and shows the various types of personalities that played into the mix.
In the end, after much discussion, dialogue, and debate Abbot Fox made a compromise. Merton was forbidden to leave Gethsemani but he was allowed to have a small hermitage on the monastery property where he could pray, write, and live more or less as a contemplative during the last years of his life.
Grayston also provided important background to Merton's life as well as some background to the Camaldolese community in Italy. However I did think that the book needed some editorial work, especially the numerous places where Grayston digressed, but don't let this small criticism detract from the book. If you are a fan of Merton's work than you need to read this one.
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