The book by Thomas Merton, Seven Storey Mountain, was published in 1948. Merton went on to achieve fame for his theological/mystical writings. I first read Merton’s book in 1955. It was at that time a seven year old text. I was in Catholic School, and was influenced by the Franciscan priest who was saying Mass at our church. As many young men in the 50s I thought of entering the seminary and becoming a priest. The door to that exploration was via the Franciscan Pro-Seminary located but a few miles from my house. I would cycle up the steep hill on Saturdays and spend time understanding what was involved in a vocation as a Franciscan. The priest became a long time mentor but at the beginning he gave me a copy of Merton’s work. I guess he did so to enlighten me by as a young man much so Merton was of a man living a life I could at best dream of. Merton was privileged, educated, uncertain, and at times rambling. But I read it in total. As for the vocation, poverty and chastity were no problem, but the obedience thing really got to me. I gather Merton had no problem there. It would not be until some sixty years later when reading St Francis’ revised Second Rule that I saw Francis saying in a somewhat paraphrased manner; “well the obedience issue can sometimes be problematic, if all else fails follow you conscience”. That to me explained Ockham and the battle with Avignon. But alas Merton never got that far.
Having now read Merton some seventy years later I was surprised how my life and experiences have dramatically refocused this work. In the 50s Catholicism was strong, well organized and focused. The Mass was in Latin in every country, Catholic schools were everywhere, and Rome ruled unquestioned. Furthermore the Church had its philosopher, St Thomas Aquinas, and the mid century philosophers in Gilson and Maritain. The Church was on a strong foundation. Thus in the 30s, the time frame of Merton, the Church was in much the same condition but the world was in the midst of an economic collapse and anticipating the Huns and their advancement. Thus a 50s reader sees Merton in the timeframe of the 50s, post War and economically secure. Today’s reader sees a weakened Church, political conflict, and a fundamental lack of foundation for Catholic understanding.
My view today of Merton’s work is massively different than that of the 50s. In the 50s I saw Merton on a path to faith. In today’s world I see Merton as a “posh boy” wandering the world without a care or a job. One wonders how he managed to float across Europe with little cares. His father an erstwhile painter, his mother ill and a fellow follower. He had the good fortune of a well to do grandparents. One now wonders what a normal child of the 30s was like, in the midst of the Depression, seeking to eke out a living with a paper route, washing dishes and the youths journey was at best on the A train from Brooklyn to Manhattan. One wonders what the wistful wanderings of Merton add to his religious enlightenment.
The on to Columbia, the bastion of Catholic hatred by many of its faculty. He becomes a Communist with no understanding of what a Communist is. One asks if this were to be his true path to God. One reads about his studies at Columbia, and one wonders if this were the 2020s how he could ever afford it? Yet then it was affordable. His studies seem to be what he likes, with no emphasis on getting a job! Again displaying his class as one assured of some form of continued success by means of class.
The turning point seems to be his reading of Gilson and the Medieval Philosophers. Now Gilson is a Thomist, and Thomism was but one of many philosophical movements in the Church. Merton seems affixed by Thomas and this begins his search for something, some meaning of life. As WW II approaches he fortunately gets a 4F rating for having lost too many teeth. In the 50s that passed me by but now in the 20s it struck me as strange. A somewhat wealthy young man spending time all over Europe and educated with degrees at Columbia having less than half his teeth. That became a symbol of his life to that time.
He thus begins his journey to Catholicism. The structure, the somewhat Medieval symbolism and ambiance drives him forward. He gets baptized and starts on a path to full participation. The strangest part is his desire to become a priest just after no more than two years. It at first appears as just another one of his jumps. He starts with the Franciscans in New York City. Fortunately the Franciscans are concerned as to his rapid choices, more importantly his motivation and maturity. Why they wonder is this young man so eager to join their order. They see his many jumps in life and are concerned that this may very well be just another. They sensitively turn him down. Rejected his finds an alternative, the Trappists. He follows this path and gives us, the reader, the tale of a monk asking, at first, if he wants to enter, him saying no, and upon his second visit, the monk saying he had expected his return. Thus unlike the Franciscans he had found a home. Thus the end of the journey to his new home, with meaning and security.
One asks how this book has merit in the current times. For the 50s, devout Catholics could see this as a victory over the worldly lives of the unredeemed. In the 20s of today, one may see a youth wandering with no guidance, yet having the financial support to do so, while the world around is in the midst of financial and political collapse. He seems almost oblivious to this. He seems quite comfortable at Columbia seeking wisdom from the literature presented to him, while a mere 10 blocks north people are barely surviving in the financial downturn. In the 50s one could ignore that view, in the 20s one wonders how this could not have been avoided being seen and commented upon.
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