Thomas Merton’s Bridges to Contemplative Living

Book Six: Writing Yourself into the Book of Life

• Sept 9-30; Oct 7-28, 2024
• Mondays | 6:30-8 p.m. central time
• In person and via Zoom.

Led by Fr. Garry Richmeier C.PP.S.

Join us on a journey of spiritual transformation with Monk Thomas Merton. Over eight sessions you will learn how to use your own life experiences and contemplative living as the primary tools for spiritual growth guided by Merton and other spiritual masters.

To live contemplatively is to embrace the realization that whatever we do and whomever we are, constitute a testimony of love that we are writing for loved ones and neighbors to read. “Writing Yourself Into the Book of Life” helps participants reflect together on their own book of life that they write in every day.

As a guide we will use “Writing Yourself into the Book of Life,” Book Six in the series Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton from the Merton Institute for Contemplative Living.

You can join us even if you haven’t read earlier books. Though this is a series of eight booklets, each one stands alone.

You will learn to utilize your own life experiences as the primary tool for spiritual growth. The weekly sessions help us embrace our deep connections with all of creation through the God who made us.

Suggested Offering: $10 per session. Pay what you can. No one will be turned away. You can make an offering at the time of registration or the day you visit the Renewal Center.

A bulk order for booklets will be placed Aug. 15. If you order a booklet through us, the cost will be $5.95 plus shared postage (about $1.50). If you order a booklet through us, you will need to pick it up at the Renewal Center. If you need assistance purchasing the booklet, contact the organizers at info@pbrenewalcenter.org.

Or you can order the booklet online at https://www.avemariapress.com/products/writing-yourself-into-the-book-of-life. We will be reading the third booklet in the series, “Writing Yourself into the Book of Life.”

Thomas Merton was a monk, poet and social activist. He entered the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky in December 1941 at age 26 and lived there until his death in 1968.

“We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent, and God is shining through it all the time. … When we abandon ourselves to God and forget ourselves, we see it … this is what we are for.”

— Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton’s Bridges to Contemplative Living | Illustration 320457364 © GinaKoch | Dreamstime.com

Future Events

We will read
• Book Seven: Adjusting Your Life’s Vision Jan. 6 – Feb. 24, 2025
• Book Eight: Seeing that Paradise Begins Now March 10 – April 28.