A Silent Action Engagements With Thomas Merton

"Following a brief Author's Foreword by the Archbishop of Canterbury in which he acknowledges his indebtedness to Merton over the years 'studying for my doctorate with Merton's friend, A.M. Allchin, proved a doorway into still more of his mind and spirit. A few years later "The Asian Journal" gave me my first sense that inter-religious dialogue could be (and had to be) a matter of spiritual encounter, and still more doors opened.' Rowan Williams arranged these 'engagements' into five chapters, beginning with a paradoxical tribute to Thomas Merton in 'a person that nobody knows.' He concludes this short chapter with words of wisdom: 'The great Christian is the man or woman who can make me more interested in God than in him or her. A paradoxical tribute, but the highest that can be paid.'" --Patrick Hart, "Louisville Courier-Journal "(October 15, 2011)