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15 Days of Prayer with Thomas Merton
One of the most prolific Cistercian authors, Thomas Merton was also one of the most humane and engaging spiritual figures of the twentieth century. He was a man of paradoxes: of words and silence, a contemplative involved in the fight for social justice, and a man of solitude who, by keeping himself in the background, sought to deepen the fundamental human experience. Ultimately, he was a man with only one goal: union with God and communion with humankind.
Enjoy your time with Thomas Merton and be prepared to be surprised a s you journey with one of the most fascinating figures of our time.
136 pages, Paperback
First published March 20, 1999
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March 8, 2026
Last year I stumbled upon a different volume in this series, 15 Days of Prayer with Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati by Père Charles Desjobert, OP, and really enjoyed it. I did some research on the series and this was the sixth volume I decided to work through. In my research to date there have been at least 40 volumes in this series. Many written in French and then translated, including this volume, this book was first published in French in 1996, the English edition appeared 1999. Then in 2010 the book and series were rebranded, at that time there was an eBook edition but it appears to not be available currently.
I believe as of the writing of this review there have been 40 volumes in the series; the earliest I found was from 1999 through to a volume which was published in 2025. Only about a dozen seem to be in print currently and of those only a handful appears to have eBooks. With my dual form of dyslexia this is disappointing. I greatly prefer eBooks so I can change the font, and the colour of font and page to make reading easier. I have added all the eBook editions I could find to my wish list. About the Series we are informed:
“15 Days of Prayer Series
On a journey, it’s good to have a guide. Even great saints took spiritual directors or confessors with them on their itineraries toward sanctity. Now you can be guided by the most influential spiritual figures of all time. The 15 Days of Prayer series introduces their deepest and most personal thoughts.
This popular series is perfect if you are looking for a gift, or if you want to be introduced to a particular guide and his or her spirituality. Each volume contains:
• A brief biography of the saint or spiritual leader
• A guide to creating a format for prayer or retreat
• Fifteen meditation sessions with reflection guides”
The description of this specific volume states:
“One of the most prolific Cistercian authors, Thomas Merton was also one of the most humane and engaging spiritual figures of the twentieth century. He was a man of paradoxes: of words and silence, a comtemplative involved in the fight for social justice, and a man of solitude who, by keeping himself in the background, sought to deepen the fundamental human experience. Ultimately, he was a man with only one goal: union with God and communion with the humankind. Enjoy your time with Thomas Merton and be prepared to be surprised as you journey with one of the most fascinating figures of our time.”
Another ends with the above plus:
“Spiritual journeys are best experienced with a guide. Now you can receive guidance from some of the seminal spiritual figures of all time. Each volume in the "15 Days of Prayer" series contains: a brief biography of the saint or spiritual leader introduced in that volume; a guide to creating a format for prayer and retreat; and, 15 meditations sessions with focus points and reflection guides.”
There is no ‘about the author’ section in the book or on the back. But we are informed on the page with the book description that:
“Andre Gozier is a Benedictine monk known for his many publications dedicated to the spiritual life, to liturgy, to monasticism and to interreligious dialogue. --This text refers to an alternate paperback edition.”
The chapters in this volume are:
How to Use This Book
How to Use This Book
A Brief Chronology of Thomas Merton's Life
A Few Notes About Thomas Merton
Introduction
1. A Conflicted Being
2. A Convert
3. A Chosen One
4. A Monk
5. A Hagiographer
6. A Singer of Psalms
7. A Poet
8. A Protester
9. A Meditator
10. A Spiritual Master
11. A Precursor of Interreligious Dialogue
12. A Pioneer of Intermonastic Dialogue
13. A Mystic
14. An Apostle of Contemplation
15. A Traveling Companion
Notes
Bibliography
Also available in the “15 Days of Prayer” series:
I highlighted a few of passages while reading this volume some of them are:
“I don't want to speak to you as an author, or a narrator, not even as a philosopher, but simply as a friend. I would like to speak to you as your alternate self ... if you listen, you will hear things that will be said that perhaps are not written in this book. And that will be coming, not from me, but from the One who lives and speaks inside both of us.”
“All friendships help us cross to the other shore, to enter the Kingdom on the other side of space and time. This book is not about the worship of holy images, relics, or souvenirs, but is a means to receive God's message. Certain books are true friends, or at least true meeting places, authentic meetings.”
“In short, lectio divina or spiritual reading, which is held dearly in the monastic tradition. That is what Merton's works could bring to us.”
“His books are easy to read; their style is pleasant, never overblown. He writes simply, because he was a simple man, that is, unified. He is warm, he wants to take us along with him. He believes in what he says and writes. He may at times appear a little naive, over-simplifying things, but he does this because he loves his reader. He writes so that the reader may grow, to show one's seriousness as a person and as a son or daughter of God. He wants to reveal to the reader what God calls to, to invite him or her to an inner life, the true source of wisdom. That is the secret of Thomas Merton's influence.”
“He also discovered, when he entered the Trappists, that God loved him. He believed that we are loved, that is to say, that God changes death into life, and that we live for someone else.”
“We hope that the reader will enjoy his or her fifteen days of retreat by following Thomas Merton step by step. Our journey will be an effort to help each one of us reach our inner self.”
“There was a conflict inside Thomas Merton - and even more than one - that he learned to integrate, to overtake by his search for the absolute, to resolve by apostolic fruitfulness.”
“It was from the time of his entering the Trappists that he could begin to hope for a certain harmony, thanks to the Rule of Saint Benedict, because it placed his concrete life in agreement with his deep conviction: God's absolute.”
“It was only little by little that Merton understood that the desire to be a Carthusian was placed by God in his heart, not with a view to switching orders, but to interiorize it there where he was, to allow him to have a greater union with God and to have his books radiate this enlightenment.”
“In fact, it was his "inner monk" that allowed him to achieve a certain unity, as his inner struggle, conflicts, and contradictions were reconciled, pacified, little by little.”
“Curious about everything, he read a great deal, in particular French literature.”
“In 1942, he pronounced his first vows; he was ordained a priest in 1949. At the time of his solemn profession, which was before his ordination, he became known as Father Louis. From then on, he dedicated his life to prayer, contemplation, and his mission as a writer. He became Master of Novices, and grew more and more attached to his monastic vocation. In doing so, he became a much loved spiritual father.”
“Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, conversion is more a ripening and deepening of the inner self, rather than an external incident. Christ's increase in Merton's soul, as in all of us, was, then, a progressive one; it happened amidst battles, difficulties, and falls.”
“Similarly, along the road of our own life, events occur which may cause us either pain or pleasure. Usually, at first we don't understand why they are happening or what significance they hold for us. Like Merton, it often is only later that we discern Christ's presence, God's hand, in them. We then see them as a reward for having believed while we did not see.”
“Thomas Merton knew how to describe this, but he was often a little long-winded. Edith Stein (a Carmelite who died at Auschwitz and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1998) wrote about this in fewer words:”
“Merton does not dramatize this situation; he treats it with good sense and humor. To be sure, his conversion means an upheaval of his freewheeling ways which he abandons along with sin, and by which he, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, is fully welcomed into the kingdom of God.”
“Do I believe that God has a preference for me, that in some way God has called me and I have responded to that call? Do I believe that God is in relationship with me and desires to be an integral part of my life or do I believe that such a relationship is reserved for a chosen few? Do I understand my response to God's call as vocation?”
“Vocation being a central theme in Merton's work, we do well to examine it, beginning with his book No Man is an Island, which was first published in 1955.”
“A vocation comes to us from deep within ourselves. It allows us to discover who we arc and what place we occupy in the world and in history. It builds us up using the fragments of our inner self, of our life.”
“To be a monk is more than the physical experience of being, it is a core experience of life, it is a way of seeing, it is a chosen way to interpret life and to respond to life.”
“A constant tradition in the practice of the spiritual life is to look to the lives of the saints. These men and women, who are more like ourselves than we might first imagine, can be a source of inspiration for us. When we spend time with the life of a saint we do not look for the extraordinary but rather for the ordinary. We do so because it is in the ordinary, made extraordinary by a life of faith, that we may discover practical nourishment for our spiritual journey”
“For the saints to which we are attracted become the projections of our deepest spiritual self, that is to say, the best of our inner self. And then, they will teach us who we seek to be and how we must go about it, so as to seek enlightenment. The light of God comes to us filtered through them. Through them, the light is more available. Through them, it is more tangible.”
“Thomas Merton showed us, in his studies of the saints' lives, just how much they were revelations of a living God who enters our lives, our daily lives. He knows God through experience which is, above all, a knowledge of his mercy.”
“In his poems which express his yearning for God, Merton helps us discover incomparable beauty. Their enlightenment and music fill Merton's soul. He poured his life into them, molding his most personal feelings by recapturing the verses that the intoned psalm offered him.”
“Also, a poem is never a conclusion, it is always a beginning, an attempt to say the words, and it should lead to silence. Poetry is a type of experience that is like death because poetic language throws itself at the unspeakable things of our reality.”
“Did Merton really "see" that changes based solely on economic infrastructures simply aren't enough? The monk sought to change consciousness of human beings because that 1s what was polluted and confused.”
“Further, Merton taught and wrote nothing other than what he tried to live as a monk. So, as a result, it is understandable that we read in his books about his own spiritual experience in detail.”
“Having seen, however, the extensive mobility of cultures, we side with the specialists who believe that a great shock will occur: a confrontation between the religions of Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. This confrontation will become the major problem of the coming years.”
“As we have seen, the work of the Gospel is to love our true selves ever more deeply and to help each other in a mutual way to deepen our faith. Christians know that if they have a great deal to give, they will also receive in return. They also know that there is still a great deal to recognize in and understand about Christ, the Word who enlightens every person who comes into this world.”
“If we are co-pilgrims with the others with whom we dialogue, we must bring to them the fullness of truth, the fullness of the revelation, because human persons define themselves, as we have seen, by the search for the ultimate. Pope John Paul II, following in the footsteps of Paul VI, strongly insisted on this dialogue of truth.”
“Thomas Merton read a great deal of the writings of Saint John of the Cross. In him he found a beacon to show the way to the Absolute.”
“Contemplation is the experience of being totally present to what you are doing at this very moment. If you are present to the now, and you are present in love, you are present to God.”
“He greatly liked the maxims of the Desert Fathers, the first monks who were full of sensible ideas and spirituality, and who gave their visitors certain "words for life," or wisdom of the desert.”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. I picked this volume because though I have had an off and on again encounter with Merton for almost 30 years now. I have read much by and about him, and even volunteered at The International Thomas Merton Society Conference, when I was a student. This was an interesting read and I loved the beginning but the further I got ... One of the big difference is of the 6 volumes in this series I have read most have fairly consistent page counts per day. They might vary by 1 or 2 pages, even accounting for different formats. This one however, they vary between 5 and 15 pages for a single day.
This is a good volume in an excellent series. Spending these 15 days with Thomas, was in some ways like a visit with an old friend. The written reflections and the discussion questions were engaging. I just really wish all of the 40 volumes were available as eBooks, I would work through them all if so.
A good read in a great series!
This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan!
I believe as of the writing of this review there have been 40 volumes in the series; the earliest I found was from 1999 through to a volume which was published in 2025. Only about a dozen seem to be in print currently and of those only a handful appears to have eBooks. With my dual form of dyslexia this is disappointing. I greatly prefer eBooks so I can change the font, and the colour of font and page to make reading easier. I have added all the eBook editions I could find to my wish list. About the Series we are informed:
“15 Days of Prayer Series
On a journey, it’s good to have a guide. Even great saints took spiritual directors or confessors with them on their itineraries toward sanctity. Now you can be guided by the most influential spiritual figures of all time. The 15 Days of Prayer series introduces their deepest and most personal thoughts.
This popular series is perfect if you are looking for a gift, or if you want to be introduced to a particular guide and his or her spirituality. Each volume contains:
• A brief biography of the saint or spiritual leader
• A guide to creating a format for prayer or retreat
• Fifteen meditation sessions with reflection guides”
The description of this specific volume states:
“One of the most prolific Cistercian authors, Thomas Merton was also one of the most humane and engaging spiritual figures of the twentieth century. He was a man of paradoxes: of words and silence, a comtemplative involved in the fight for social justice, and a man of solitude who, by keeping himself in the background, sought to deepen the fundamental human experience. Ultimately, he was a man with only one goal: union with God and communion with the humankind. Enjoy your time with Thomas Merton and be prepared to be surprised as you journey with one of the most fascinating figures of our time.”
Another ends with the above plus:
“Spiritual journeys are best experienced with a guide. Now you can receive guidance from some of the seminal spiritual figures of all time. Each volume in the "15 Days of Prayer" series contains: a brief biography of the saint or spiritual leader introduced in that volume; a guide to creating a format for prayer and retreat; and, 15 meditations sessions with focus points and reflection guides.”
There is no ‘about the author’ section in the book or on the back. But we are informed on the page with the book description that:
“Andre Gozier is a Benedictine monk known for his many publications dedicated to the spiritual life, to liturgy, to monasticism and to interreligious dialogue. --This text refers to an alternate paperback edition.”
The chapters in this volume are:
How to Use This Book
How to Use This Book
A Brief Chronology of Thomas Merton's Life
A Few Notes About Thomas Merton
Introduction
1. A Conflicted Being
2. A Convert
3. A Chosen One
4. A Monk
5. A Hagiographer
6. A Singer of Psalms
7. A Poet
8. A Protester
9. A Meditator
10. A Spiritual Master
11. A Precursor of Interreligious Dialogue
12. A Pioneer of Intermonastic Dialogue
13. A Mystic
14. An Apostle of Contemplation
15. A Traveling Companion
Notes
Bibliography
Also available in the “15 Days of Prayer” series:
I highlighted a few of passages while reading this volume some of them are:
“I don't want to speak to you as an author, or a narrator, not even as a philosopher, but simply as a friend. I would like to speak to you as your alternate self ... if you listen, you will hear things that will be said that perhaps are not written in this book. And that will be coming, not from me, but from the One who lives and speaks inside both of us.”
“All friendships help us cross to the other shore, to enter the Kingdom on the other side of space and time. This book is not about the worship of holy images, relics, or souvenirs, but is a means to receive God's message. Certain books are true friends, or at least true meeting places, authentic meetings.”
“In short, lectio divina or spiritual reading, which is held dearly in the monastic tradition. That is what Merton's works could bring to us.”
“His books are easy to read; their style is pleasant, never overblown. He writes simply, because he was a simple man, that is, unified. He is warm, he wants to take us along with him. He believes in what he says and writes. He may at times appear a little naive, over-simplifying things, but he does this because he loves his reader. He writes so that the reader may grow, to show one's seriousness as a person and as a son or daughter of God. He wants to reveal to the reader what God calls to, to invite him or her to an inner life, the true source of wisdom. That is the secret of Thomas Merton's influence.”
“He also discovered, when he entered the Trappists, that God loved him. He believed that we are loved, that is to say, that God changes death into life, and that we live for someone else.”
“We hope that the reader will enjoy his or her fifteen days of retreat by following Thomas Merton step by step. Our journey will be an effort to help each one of us reach our inner self.”
“There was a conflict inside Thomas Merton - and even more than one - that he learned to integrate, to overtake by his search for the absolute, to resolve by apostolic fruitfulness.”
“It was from the time of his entering the Trappists that he could begin to hope for a certain harmony, thanks to the Rule of Saint Benedict, because it placed his concrete life in agreement with his deep conviction: God's absolute.”
“It was only little by little that Merton understood that the desire to be a Carthusian was placed by God in his heart, not with a view to switching orders, but to interiorize it there where he was, to allow him to have a greater union with God and to have his books radiate this enlightenment.”
“In fact, it was his "inner monk" that allowed him to achieve a certain unity, as his inner struggle, conflicts, and contradictions were reconciled, pacified, little by little.”
“Curious about everything, he read a great deal, in particular French literature.”
“In 1942, he pronounced his first vows; he was ordained a priest in 1949. At the time of his solemn profession, which was before his ordination, he became known as Father Louis. From then on, he dedicated his life to prayer, contemplation, and his mission as a writer. He became Master of Novices, and grew more and more attached to his monastic vocation. In doing so, he became a much loved spiritual father.”
“Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, conversion is more a ripening and deepening of the inner self, rather than an external incident. Christ's increase in Merton's soul, as in all of us, was, then, a progressive one; it happened amidst battles, difficulties, and falls.”
“Similarly, along the road of our own life, events occur which may cause us either pain or pleasure. Usually, at first we don't understand why they are happening or what significance they hold for us. Like Merton, it often is only later that we discern Christ's presence, God's hand, in them. We then see them as a reward for having believed while we did not see.”
“Thomas Merton knew how to describe this, but he was often a little long-winded. Edith Stein (a Carmelite who died at Auschwitz and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1998) wrote about this in fewer words:”
“Merton does not dramatize this situation; he treats it with good sense and humor. To be sure, his conversion means an upheaval of his freewheeling ways which he abandons along with sin, and by which he, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, is fully welcomed into the kingdom of God.”
“Do I believe that God has a preference for me, that in some way God has called me and I have responded to that call? Do I believe that God is in relationship with me and desires to be an integral part of my life or do I believe that such a relationship is reserved for a chosen few? Do I understand my response to God's call as vocation?”
“Vocation being a central theme in Merton's work, we do well to examine it, beginning with his book No Man is an Island, which was first published in 1955.”
“A vocation comes to us from deep within ourselves. It allows us to discover who we arc and what place we occupy in the world and in history. It builds us up using the fragments of our inner self, of our life.”
“To be a monk is more than the physical experience of being, it is a core experience of life, it is a way of seeing, it is a chosen way to interpret life and to respond to life.”
“A constant tradition in the practice of the spiritual life is to look to the lives of the saints. These men and women, who are more like ourselves than we might first imagine, can be a source of inspiration for us. When we spend time with the life of a saint we do not look for the extraordinary but rather for the ordinary. We do so because it is in the ordinary, made extraordinary by a life of faith, that we may discover practical nourishment for our spiritual journey”
“For the saints to which we are attracted become the projections of our deepest spiritual self, that is to say, the best of our inner self. And then, they will teach us who we seek to be and how we must go about it, so as to seek enlightenment. The light of God comes to us filtered through them. Through them, the light is more available. Through them, it is more tangible.”
“Thomas Merton showed us, in his studies of the saints' lives, just how much they were revelations of a living God who enters our lives, our daily lives. He knows God through experience which is, above all, a knowledge of his mercy.”
“In his poems which express his yearning for God, Merton helps us discover incomparable beauty. Their enlightenment and music fill Merton's soul. He poured his life into them, molding his most personal feelings by recapturing the verses that the intoned psalm offered him.”
“Also, a poem is never a conclusion, it is always a beginning, an attempt to say the words, and it should lead to silence. Poetry is a type of experience that is like death because poetic language throws itself at the unspeakable things of our reality.”
“Did Merton really "see" that changes based solely on economic infrastructures simply aren't enough? The monk sought to change consciousness of human beings because that 1s what was polluted and confused.”
“Further, Merton taught and wrote nothing other than what he tried to live as a monk. So, as a result, it is understandable that we read in his books about his own spiritual experience in detail.”
“Having seen, however, the extensive mobility of cultures, we side with the specialists who believe that a great shock will occur: a confrontation between the religions of Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. This confrontation will become the major problem of the coming years.”
“As we have seen, the work of the Gospel is to love our true selves ever more deeply and to help each other in a mutual way to deepen our faith. Christians know that if they have a great deal to give, they will also receive in return. They also know that there is still a great deal to recognize in and understand about Christ, the Word who enlightens every person who comes into this world.”
“If we are co-pilgrims with the others with whom we dialogue, we must bring to them the fullness of truth, the fullness of the revelation, because human persons define themselves, as we have seen, by the search for the ultimate. Pope John Paul II, following in the footsteps of Paul VI, strongly insisted on this dialogue of truth.”
“Thomas Merton read a great deal of the writings of Saint John of the Cross. In him he found a beacon to show the way to the Absolute.”
“Contemplation is the experience of being totally present to what you are doing at this very moment. If you are present to the now, and you are present in love, you are present to God.”
“He greatly liked the maxims of the Desert Fathers, the first monks who were full of sensible ideas and spirituality, and who gave their visitors certain "words for life," or wisdom of the desert.”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. I picked this volume because though I have had an off and on again encounter with Merton for almost 30 years now. I have read much by and about him, and even volunteered at The International Thomas Merton Society Conference, when I was a student. This was an interesting read and I loved the beginning but the further I got ... One of the big difference is of the 6 volumes in this series I have read most have fairly consistent page counts per day. They might vary by 1 or 2 pages, even accounting for different formats. This one however, they vary between 5 and 15 pages for a single day.
This is a good volume in an excellent series. Spending these 15 days with Thomas, was in some ways like a visit with an old friend. The written reflections and the discussion questions were engaging. I just really wish all of the 40 volumes were available as eBooks, I would work through them all if so.
A good read in a great series!
This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan!
November 12, 2023
It's very insightful and provides focus and reflection for your prayer life.
April 3, 2016
This book was designed to be a guide and introduction to the thought of Thomas Merton. It was neither particularly informative about Merton, nor particularly helpful. Seemed very "in-house" in the sense you needed to be Catholic and probably interested in monasticism. Not for the general public
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews