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Evening with an Ursuline: Thomas Merton, November 1, 2016

Ursuline Sister George Mary Hagan brought Thomas Merton to life on Nov. 1, 2016, for the participants in the monthly “Evening with an Ursuline” at the Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center.

Sister George Mary is a native of New Haven, Ky., and told the crowd how she enjoyed visiting the nearby Abbey of Gethsemani as a child, where Merton lived and wrote many of his great works. The Cistercian monk is considered by many the most important Catholic writer of the 20th century.

The gathering was held in Conference Room A of the Retreat Center. The next “Evening with an Ursuline” will be Dec. 6, “Gift: A Theological Reflection,” led by Ursuline Sister Pam Mueller. Here are some photos from the Nov. 1 session.

Wayne Gibbons, left, talks with Mark McCandless after Sister George Mary asked participants to come up with one significant thing to describe Thomas Merton.
Sister George Mary writes down some of the responses to her question she posed to the audience.
Ursuline Associate Ed Cecil, left, and Mary Helen Nash follow along with Sister George Mary as she explains how the Cistercians made their way to central Kentucky in 1848.
Chris Kormelink, left, and his wife Joyce, right, talk with Sister Francis Louise Johnson about what question they would ask Thomas Merton if they could.
Ursuline Sisters Marietta Wethington, left, and Mary Matthias Ward, right, discuss a Merton question with Lisa Gulino.
Jerry McCandless, right, talks to Mark McCandless about what he would ask Merton if he could.
Sister Catherine Barber, right, discusses Merton with Sister Ann Patrice Cecil, second from right, Sister Cecelia Joseph Olinger, left, and Mary Helen Nash.
Sue Gibbons, right, listens to a point made by Sister Eva Boone.
Some of the 60 books Merton wrote were on display in Conference Room A. After Merton’s abbot asked him to translate some books from French, it was discovered that Merton had a talent for writing. His abbot asked him to write his biography, which resulted in his best-selling “The Seven Storey Mountain,” Sister George Mary said.
Sister George Mary tells the gathering that Merton was drawn to Catholicism after watching other Catholics at prayer. “So you never know who is watching you,” she said.

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