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A review by booknerd_therapist
New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton
4.0
I have some mixed feelings about this book.
It reads like one long prayer, which is lovely. Thomas Merton clearly has a very intimate, very passionate relationship with God. And of course, there were some things that were relevant to me, and some that were not. However, sometimes when I was reading, I just felt lost. Like I was missing something. Maybe some of it was just over my head, because I don't have that kind of relationship with God. I partly wish that Merton would have used simpler language in expressing his "seeds of contemplation."
On the other hand, as the title implies, this book absolutely does its job in provoking ideas for contemplation. I especially loved the chapter called "Sentences" which, unlike the other chapters, just contained short, proverb-like expressions instead of long paragraphs on a given subject. I found these very inspiring and excellent for meditation.
I would recommend this to someone who is working on deepening his/her prayer life. I don't think I'd recommend this to a new believer.
It reads like one long prayer, which is lovely. Thomas Merton clearly has a very intimate, very passionate relationship with God. And of course, there were some things that were relevant to me, and some that were not. However, sometimes when I was reading, I just felt lost. Like I was missing something. Maybe some of it was just over my head, because I don't have that kind of relationship with God. I partly wish that Merton would have used simpler language in expressing his "seeds of contemplation."
On the other hand, as the title implies, this book absolutely does its job in provoking ideas for contemplation. I especially loved the chapter called "Sentences" which, unlike the other chapters, just contained short, proverb-like expressions instead of long paragraphs on a given subject. I found these very inspiring and excellent for meditation.
I would recommend this to someone who is working on deepening his/her prayer life. I don't think I'd recommend this to a new believer.