Paul Hourihan. The Death of Thomas Merton, a Novel: A Confessional Portrayal of the Last Day in the Life of the Famous Catholic Monk and Writer. Redding, CA: Vedantic Shores Press, 2003.
Hourihan is very forthright when he declares that no supporter of Thomas Merton will like this book. He offered it as a possible explanation of what happened during the last day of Merton’s life. As such, it certainly may be a possibility. But, as reviews have pointed out (see Dr. Paul Pearson’s review at amazon.com) the flaws of the book beg a different evaluation, which leads me to reflect on some other aspects of the book.
Fiction as Propaganda
This book is propaganda, and that is not necessarily bad in itself. Hourihan has his own agenda to push and he gives it a mighty heave. Whether it blends with fact or not is always left to the reader’s evaluation.
There is a cloud over the manner of Merton’s death. Too unexplained, too sudden, too senseless, too easily identified with possible suicide. “That’s why,” said the seminary friend who first introduced me to Merton, “Merton will never become a saint.”
Personally, I agree with the assessment of some others as to why Merton is not likely to become a saint: too open, too available, too much on the wrong side officially. His defects are too well known, his own ego too well self-chronicled. That’s part of what makes him so interesting and valuable as a journaler. If you want Merton, you don’t have to dig much deeper than this, and if you want more, that too shall be given with just a little more research, a little more reading in the secondary sources. Many of his secrets have been revealed; he did have feet of clay.
Hourihan is convinced of his (Hourihan’s) truth, that Merton’s final Asian journey exposed the rest of Merton’s life as a sham. In spiritual terms, his writings were hollow and meaningless, a vivid rephrasing of a reality beyond Merton, which naturally accrued from his Catholic Christianity, a religion for beginners filled with rituals which deceive. The truth is India and Vedanta. Merton, realizing this and that only in another life would he advance toward his goal, was seized . . . Well, you get the story.
But is it true? My own prejudices argue against it. Merton, at least from the vantage of head knowledge, was no stranger to the religious philosophy of India. The childish wonder he exhibited at the things he saw in India was not confined to those spectacles. Would he have converted? Do not think so. But Hourihan’s provides certainty to what we can not know (unless Christianity is right and we meet Merton in heaven).
What keeps Hourihan f rom being effective propaganda is a few sour notes, his constant denunciation of Catholicism as well as his backward slaps at Zen and other religions in general. The question is not whether Hourihan is convinced, but whether Merton was. Here, Hourihan is the one far too open. However, if you want an informed opinion, perhaps this book would inspire/anger enough to go and take a look . . .
Maybe you can build a better case.
A Note on the True and False Self
It is from Merton that I picked up on the discussion of the false versus the true or authentic self. I have enjoyed the use of this distinction as inspiration in the writings of some others (see, for example, Merle Jordan, Reclaiming Your Story:Family History and Spiritual Growth ). Therefore I found it very interesting that Hourihan uses this distinction as a point of departure for describing Merton’s supposed self-doubt and self-criticism. In his interpretation, Merton’s flaws, especially his egotism, lead him to the recognition that he is false, and to a new conversion of sorts.
What Hourihan discounts, I believe, is the Christian notion of grace. Discipline, both self-discipline and communal discipline, is vitally important. However, discipline is not an end in itself. It is an opportunity, a channel, a means of grace. There is really no telling when that moment of grace will occur. Ironically, it often is when we finally cease to keep struggling to attain it and surrender to it. Then we find that the true/authentic self is bestowed as a gift, a gift that is both event and process. Both are true, because God has always been at work. It is, after all, God’s new creation.
4/25/05