Liturgical Feasts and Seasons

Liturgical Feasts and Seasons, in this third volume of paper, from Thomas Merton's conferences during his decade (1955-1965) as novice master at the Cistercian Abbey of Gethsemani, his insight into the liturgical pattern of the Christian year and beyond is presented in fresh detail. Merton's own commitment to this central dimension of Christian life is clear, and nowhere more so than in his work introducing students to the patterns that would mark their lives as monks. Though dating from the period just before the liturgical reforms of Vatican II, Merton's commentaries remain pertinent. The thoroughly annotated text is preceded by an extensive introduction situating this material in the context of Merton's lifelong writing on liturgy. Moreover, as his former student Br. Paul Quenon notes in his foreword, this context is one deeply rooted in Merton's understanding of Scripture. 'These notes . . . take us into one man's lifetime of reflection and seasoned experience of the Church Year.' In the Liturgical Feasts and Seasons: Novitiate Conferences on Scripture and Liturgy 3, Patrick F. O'Connell deeply rooted in Merton's understanding of Scripture.



Thomas Merton, Roman Catholic convert, Cistercian monk and hermit, poet, contemplative, social critic, and pioneer in interreligious dialogue, was a seminal figure of twentieth-century Christianity. Among his many books are his best-selling autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain and the modern spiritual classic New Seeds of Contemplation. Patrick F. O'Connell, a founding member and former president of the International Thomas Merton Society, edits the ITMS quarterly publication The Merton Seasonal and is co-author of The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia. He has edited thirteen previous volumes of Thomas Merton's writings, including Selected Essays, Early Essays, 1947-52, Cistercian Fathers and Forefathers, and most recently A Monastic Introduction to Sacred Scripture, the first of three books in the series Novitiate Conferences on Scripture and Liturgy.



Foreword by Br. Paul Quenon, OCSO Introduction Liturgical Feasts and Seasons, Part I Liturgical Feasts and Seasons, Part II Additional Materials Appendix A: Versions of the Text Appendix B: Textual Notes Bibliography Scriptural Index General Index