(RNS) — You don’t always need classes run by Zen masters. Reading the right books at the right times can provide essential solace and guidance. (RNS) — These days, following my stroke, I’m trying to ...

Thomas Merton was an influential Catholic writer in the 20th century, despite dying in his 50s in 1968. His works inspired people who knew him personally and those who read his work. Among those is ...

MANILA, Philippines — The words “Catholic” and “Zen” rarely appear in the same sentence together, but there’s a potent history of mixing of these traditions. Benedictine monk Thomas Merton famously ...

After Thich Nhat Hanh died at the age of 95 a year ago last week (Jan. 22, 2022), many obituary writers turned to his 1965 book, Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire, for quotes and for an assessment of ...

Monk, poet, activist, mystic, celebrated author, bridge between East and West—Thomas Merton was all of these, and he had a signal influence on the culture of mid-20th-century America. This year marks ...

Nazareth College professor of religious studies Christine Bochen was glad to hear Pope Francis’ praise Thomas Merton as “a promoter of peace between peoples and religions” in his address before ...

He praised one as a man of prayer, the other for her "passion for justice." But many Americans might need a reminder about two of the people Pope Francis discussed in Congress Thursday: philosopher ...