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eliwray's review
1.0
This book offers more passages from and stories about Thomas Merton than it does the early Desert Fathers and Mothers. It's remarkable how little of the desert mystics made it in here. And yet it doesn't quite work as a retreat with Merton either, as the bulk of the retreat is the author giving their impressions of monasticism in a generalized way... impressions made up of themes that don't quite relate, metaphors that don't transmit much meaning to me, and series of platitudes that left me cold. And then the last chapter/day of the retreat is mostly a review of the author's resume.
Instead of this volume, I would recommend either a book of Merton's, or a book with actual content from the desert mystics themselves. I'm very excited to start Christine Valters Paintner's "Desert Fathers and Mothers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings" next.
Instead of this volume, I would recommend either a book of Merton's, or a book with actual content from the desert mystics themselves. I'm very excited to start Christine Valters Paintner's "Desert Fathers and Mothers: Early Christian Wisdom Sayings" next.
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