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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Chapters 9-16 are decent, with 9-11 being some of my favorite. However, I found chapters 1-8 to be honestly skippable. Imagine if you bought a cook book, and the book spent the entire time describing ingredients and various techniques. I guess it'd be useful for someone, but not really for me.
One of the best books I have ever read--full of rich insights and wisdom. Definitely a book to read multiple times.
Succinct, precise, clear, yet intellectually stimulating. Merton is a rarity. He understands the paradox of the Christian faith and does an excellent job at articulating the knotty issues of orthodoxy. Still, he never departs from the practicalities, and reading him is nourishing because he gets at the heart of Catholic faith and its hope for the modern man.
He should be read slowly. Almost every sentence elucidates the inner life (that we are so good at ignoring) in a way that is humbling, revealing, and terrifying. My only complaint is that Merton is not very funny and is always so dang serious, but that's more of a personal preference than anything.
He should be read slowly. Almost every sentence elucidates the inner life (that we are so good at ignoring) in a way that is humbling, revealing, and terrifying. My only complaint is that Merton is not very funny and is always so dang serious, but that's more of a personal preference than anything.
What is good in this book is really good. I'll leave it at that!
"If you are a reflective thinker that does not mind being challenged to confront the reality of Christ in your inward transformation this is a must read. This is not the kind of book that one can read quickly but in fact it will give you a greater appreciation of what it means to be fully alive in Christ!"
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
All the glory to God
Man, this one was tough. I LOVED [b:New Seeds of Contemplation|1145854|New Seeds of Contemplation|Thomas Merton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348656473l/1145854._SY75_.jpg|1133302] so, so much and would consider it pretty transformative for me...meaning I had very high expectations for this one going in. Unfortunately, I can't say they were met.
I can admit that some of that is me. I don't know if the loud, crowded busses of Philadelphia are the ideal place to read through such a dense work (and one that emphasizes silence nonetheless). Nor do I think February 2017 in post-Trump America is the best context to read it in, as so much of what he said smacked of apolitical privilege in ways that would typically perturb me less. Lastly, my beliefs on sovereignty and God's will have become increasingly complicated and because of that there was a god chunk of this that just felt like a loss.
However, I also don't know if I can say this is a great book. I was surprised to find that he provides essentially no "framing" for his content. As in, he does not introduce ideas or connect them or re-explain, it's literally just a stream of really dense, often rich insights one after another. This made for a choppy, overwhelming read - like drinking from a firehose that would turn on intermittently. And, in my opinion, some of what he shares demanded some further clarification and expansion to avoid sounding like a deliberately esoteric, unfounded idea he just came up with.
With that said, the chapters on Hope, Silence, and especially Recollection were phenomenal and easily bumped this up to a solid 3 stars. He's clearly brilliant and a deeply spiritual follower of Jesus with tremendous amounts of wisdom to share, some of the problem here is admittedly with me.
I can admit that some of that is me. I don't know if the loud, crowded busses of Philadelphia are the ideal place to read through such a dense work (and one that emphasizes silence nonetheless). Nor do I think February 2017 in post-Trump America is the best context to read it in, as so much of what he said smacked of apolitical privilege in ways that would typically perturb me less. Lastly, my beliefs on sovereignty and God's will have become increasingly complicated and because of that there was a god chunk of this that just felt like a loss.
However, I also don't know if I can say this is a great book. I was surprised to find that he provides essentially no "framing" for his content. As in, he does not introduce ideas or connect them or re-explain, it's literally just a stream of really dense, often rich insights one after another. This made for a choppy, overwhelming read - like drinking from a firehose that would turn on intermittently. And, in my opinion, some of what he shares demanded some further clarification and expansion to avoid sounding like a deliberately esoteric, unfounded idea he just came up with.
With that said, the chapters on Hope, Silence, and especially Recollection were phenomenal and easily bumped this up to a solid 3 stars. He's clearly brilliant and a deeply spiritual follower of Jesus with tremendous amounts of wisdom to share, some of the problem here is admittedly with me.
I don't think I have ever underlined a book more (except my 4th grade history textbook when I learned what highlighters were).
so rich, so challenging, just read it.
so rich, so challenging, just read it.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. My normal style of reading is to devour books in a couple days, but I had to pace myself with this to give time to dwell on the life-changing truths. If you are seeking a deeper understanding of your relationship to God and the people around you, you must read this book.