The Twelfth General Meeting of the International Thomas Merton Society
June 9-12, 2011

Loyola University (Lake Shore Campus), Chicago, Illinois

Thomas Merton entered the Abbey of Gethsemani on December 10, 1941; so in the Twelfth General Meeting, the ITMS will mark the seventieth anniversary of this pivotal moment in his life. The Abbey of Gethsemani became the first real home that Merton had ever known. In The Sign of Jonas Merton wrote “This is the land where you have given me roots in eternity, O God of heaven and earth. This is the burning promised land, the house of God, the gate of heaven, the place of peace, the place of silence, the place of wrestling with the angel.” The monastic life provided Merton with the spirituality and the structure to produce some of the great spiritual texts of our time. Merton’s exploration of spirituality and monasticism and its relevance for the modern world transformed monasticism and influenced innumerable people around the world, as he became a prophetic critic of contemporary urban crises and an agent of social transformation.

Noted peace activist Jim Forest will discuss “Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton: A Special Friendship,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 5, at the Chicago Cenacle, 512 Fullerton Parkway, Chicago.

Close friend and biographer to both, Forest serves as secretary of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship and is currently launching his new book, All is Grace: a Biography of Dorothy Day.  Seating is limited. Tickets are $10 and may be ordered by sending a check payable to CC-ITMS to ITMS, P.O. Box 31931, Chicago, IL 60631. Registration deadline is April 28.  Discounted parking is available at Children’s Memorial Hospital parking garage for $6 with Cenacle validation. For more information, email merton2011@gmail.com or call 773-447-3989. Hosted by the Cenacle Sisters and cosponsored by the Chicago Chapter of the International Thomas Merton Society.

The ITMS will hold its 12th General Conference June 9-12 at Loyola University’s Lake Shore campus, Chicago, featuring Dr. Martin Marty, Esther de Waal, Bishop Robert F. Morneau and Dr. Douglas Burton-Christie, as well as some 38 speakers, workshops and presentations.

Our March Speaker Meeting will feature a talk by Dr. Mark Quinn, "Merton, Sophia, and Spirit," at 2 p.m. Sunday, Mar. 20, in the I.C. Rectory Assembly, 7211 W. Talcott, Chicago.

Dr. Quinn will quote various passages from Christopher Pramuk's book, "Sophia: The Hidden Christ of Thomas Merton" and analyze their treatment of Sophia. After discussing these 23 quotes, Dr. Quinn will read one or two quotes from Elizabeth Johnson's  "She Who Is" and show why they are relevant to our topic. Finally he will offer his own version of Sophia or Spirit, which will entail a new way of looking at the Holy Spirit. For more information, contact Mike Brennan at 773-447-3989.

The Chicago Chapter-ITMS will feature a performance by Marcia Whitney-Schenck about the life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux — as seen through the eyes of her sister, Sister Agnès of Jesus — at our next meeting from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20, in the Immaculate Conception Rectory Assembly, 7211 W. Talcott, Chicago.

Marcia is a remarkably creative woman, who some of you may remember from our visit to the John Paul II exhibit at Loyola University Museum of Art in 2007 — she was our tour guide, and made a special effort to weave in details of Thomas Merton’s life as they corresponded to the timeline of the exhibit.

A Chicago-based writer, artist, and performer, Marcia is interested in interpreting the lives of women of faith in a dynamic way for contemporary audiences through this interactive theatrical experience.  She is the former publisher and editor of Christianity and the Arts magazine. Her recent book, What God Gives: Prayers from Africa, is a compilation of her photographs and prayers from Congo and Cameroon. She and her husband recently returned from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where they were serving as volunteers.

Called “the Little Flower,” Thérèse Martin died at the age of 24 in 1897 from tuberculosis, after having been a cloistered Carmelite nun for less than ten years. Sister Agnès, who was Thérèse’s sister and also a Carmelite nun, asked Therese to write her spiritual autobiography. The Story of a Soul was published 28 years after Thérèse’s death. In this thin book, St. Thérèse described her “little way” to spiritual growth, a theology anchored in the Word of God, nourished by love, and strengthened in the discovery of joy in everyday tasks. Marcia portrays Sister Agnès, who in this performance recalls the life of her youngest sister with photographs from the family’s “scrapbook.” Marcia’s performance is a tribute to the legacy of St. Thérèse and to the enduring love and friendship between two sisters.

Free to dues paying Chapter members, freewill donation from visitors.  Refreshments will be served.  Info: 773-447-3989.  Bring a friend!

SUNDAY, OCT. 17, 2010
“Thomas Merton the ‘Dunce’: Identity, Incarnation and the Not So Subtle Influence of John Duns Scotus,” with Daniel P. Horan, OFM

The influence of key figures in the early life of Thomas Merton, such as the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins and Columbia University professor Daniel Walsh, has been observed and studied for many decades. However, there is a significant thread of theological and philosophical contiguous insight that has been largely overlooked, both in its direct influence and its more indirect or subtle influence through these two intellectual and spiritual guides. The missing link of continuity is the medieval Franciscan thinker John Duns Scotus. Renown for his theological and philosophical originality, his logical and nuanced approach to complicated metaphysical questions and his difficult-to-penetrate work, Scotus – known as the Subtle Doctor – was a thinker that captured the attention of the young Thomas Merton and remained present in the background of his thought and writings until his death. This lecture will present two major themes in the writing of Merton in light of their resemblance and likely indebtedness to the original work of John Duns Scotus; namely, the True Self and the Incarnation. In addition to being another infrequently considered dimension of Merton’s Franciscan impulse, the influence of Scotus in the 20th Century monk’s work can help us appreciate Merton’s innovative spirituality even more. Perhaps like Merton we too can be numbered among the dunces of history, that is, in its original meaning – a follower of the school of Scotus. – Daniel Horan, OFM

Dan Horan is a Franciscan friar of Holy Name Province (NY) and a member of both the International Thomas Merton Society and the Thomas Merton Society of Great Britain and Ireland. A former Daggy Scholar, he is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University (NY) and the Washington Theological Union (DC). His work has been published in journals such as America, The Merton Annual, The Merton Journal (UK), The Merton Seasonal, Heythrop Journal, Review for Religious, Spiritual Life, The Cord and others. He has delivered papers at the general meeting for the Thomas Merton Society of Great Britain and Ireland (2008 & 2010) as well as the Eleventh Conference of the International Thomas Merton Society (2009). He has also delivered invited public lectures on Merton in Boston and Washington, DC. Dan will begin teaching in the Department of Religious Studies at Siena College (NY) in Fall 2010. It is a privilege for the Chicago Chapter-ITMS to offer this presentation by an outstanding young Merton scholar.

SUNDAY, NOV. 21, 2010
“Overcoming the Seduction of the False Self,” with Fr. Albert Hasse, OFM

A central theme that weaves its way through Thomas Merton’s writings is that sanctity consists in discovering our true identity. The essence of the spiritual quest is our search for our true, or real, self. In an early work (1949) he writes, “For me to be saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self” (Seeds of Contemplation, 26). In the same chapter he identifies what is at the heart of the problem of discovering one’s true identity: “every one of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false self” (28). Thus, very early in his writings, Merton introduces two terms (that will recur repeatedly in his later writings) that we must understand if we are to grasp what he has to say about the achievement of personal identity. The goal in the quest for self-identity is the “true self”; the villain who obstructs the way is “the false self….” He does not, it seems, intend primarily to see the false self as “false” in a moral sense, as if the false self were untruthful, sinful, immoral. No doubt it can, and perhaps often does, have that meaning. But such a meaning is derivative and does not catch the primary sense in which he uses the term “false self.” Merton is thinking more in ontological terms. This is to say that the adjective “false” conveys the notion of unsubstantiality, of lacking in any fullness of being. The false self is deficient in being – deficient in the sense that it is impermanent, not enduring….The false self is a self of changing emotions – now up, now down. It exists not at any deep level of reality, but only in our egocentric desires: the desire to manipulate, to be recognized, to be praised, to possess, to accumulate. “The tragedy of a life centered on ‘things,’ on the grasping and manipulation of objects, is that such a life closes the ego upon itself, as though it were an end in itself, and throws it into a hopeless struggle with other perverse and hostile selves competing together for the possession, which will given them power and satisfaction” (Birds of Appetite, 82). Such a false self has no voice of its own; it speaks the voice of the anonymous collectivity. In our time the media generally are the source from which it derives its judgments and opinions. It has objectified itself; that is, it has made itself into an object that can be talked about and described. This means that it has lost touch with its own subjectivity and therefore, quite literally, does not (and cannot ever) know itself….Life’s most pressing task is to unmask this false, illusory self and become “aware of the presence within us of a disturbing stranger, the self that is both ‘I’ and someone else. The self that is not entirely welcome in his own house because he is so different from the everyday character that we have constructed out of our dealings with others – and our infidelities to ourselves.” – William H. Shannon, The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia (417-418)

So how does one overcome this powerful seduction in a culture that often seems dedicated to promoting superficiality, celebrity, and an endless procession of titillating distractions? A culture in which every egocentric desire, especially the accumulation of possessions, is enshrined? Fr. Albert Haase has been pondering these questions for some time, and offers his timely perspectives. Ordained a Franciscan priest in 1983, Fr. Albert is a popular preacher, teacher, spiritual director and radio personality. A former missionary to mainland China for over eleven years, he is the author of five books on popular spirituality. Fr. Albert is the director of the International Institute for Clergy Formation based at Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ. He is also the co-host of Spirit and Life, a radio show heard every weekend on the Relevant Radio Network, Baraga Broadcasting and The Presence Radio Network. Copies of his latest book, THIS SACRED MOMENT: Becoming Holy Right Where You Are will be available for purchase (no checks, cash only please), and Fr. Albert has will be happy to sign copies during the break and following the question & answer period.
Visit his web site at www.AlbertOFM.org – and read Fr. Albert’s article on Spiritual Direction in the November, 2007, issue of St. Anthony Messenger Magazine at http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Nov2007/Feature2.asp

"The Beginning of Love": Thomas Merton's Influence on the Evolution of Women's Spiritual Consciousness, a talk by noted speaker and author Sr. Margaret Guider, OSF, will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19, in the Rectory Assembly, 7211 W. Talcott, Chicago. The talk is sponsored by the Chicago Chapter of the Thomas Merton Society. Presentations are followed by a question & answer period. The suggested donation is $6 and refreshments are provided. For more information or to RSVP, contact Chapter Coordinator Mike Brennan at 773-447-3989.

Sr. Margaret is a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate and the congregation’s vice president and councilor for mission. She lectures widely and, in recent years, has been noted for her work on intercultural communication, racism and racial privilege, the Franciscan missionary charism, and consecrated life in the context of a world church. A gifted scholar and author, she is an Associate Professor of theology at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and Boston College, and author of Daughters of Rahab: Prostitution and the Church of Liberation in Brazil (Fortress, 1996) and editor of Doing What Is Ours to Do: A Clarian Theology of Life (Franciscan Institute, 2000).

"Beating Down the Phantoms: Merton, Marxism and the Threads of Ideology," at 2 p.m. Sunday, Apr. 18

Marc Boswell, a Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary doctoral candidate, will speak on "Beating Down the Phantoms: Merton, Marxism and the Threads of Ideology," at 2 p.m. Sunday, Apr. 18, at Immaculate Conception School's Providence Hall, 7211 W. Talcott, Chicago. Signs will be posted by the entrance, which is across the parking lot from where our chapter usually meets.

Mr. Boswell will be examining Merton's social analysis and, particularly, his commentary on advanced industrial society's effects on human knowledge and the human spirit. He is interested in illustrating the structural similarities (and differences) between Merton's thought and the work produced by Marxist social theorists of the Frankfurt School of philosophy. This comparison will be done with a careful eye on Merton's analysis of the myths, falsehoods, and ideologies of late-industrial and globalized societies (both capitalist and communist), and we will see if these Marxist-informed critiques may be of continued relevance for Christians in the 21st century.

Marc Boswell grew up in Saratoga, NC, which is in eastern North Carolina. He is an ordained minister in the Free Will Baptist tradition, but he considers himself an "expansive Protestant," as he has served in United Methodist, Presbyterian, and Episcopalian congregations. He completed his M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, VA, and is finishing his first year of course work in Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary's Ph.D. program in Theology, Ethics, and History. He and his wife, Kate Fiedler Boswell, moved to Chicago in the fall of 2009, and they reside in Rogers Park. He has enjoyed being able to work with E. Glenn Hinson this semester, and they enjoyed a trip to Gethsemani in February.

Please join us for this talk and discussion. Refreshments will be served. Suggested donation is $5. For more information, call Mike at 773-447-3989.

Can the Warrior God of the Old Testament Be a God of Peace?
2 p.m. Sunday, Mar. 21, I.C. Rectory Assembly, 7211 W. Talcott, Chicago

Our next speaker meeting will feature Dr. Pauline Viviano, whose topic will be Can the Warrior God of the Old Testament Be a God of Peace? The image of God as Warrior is one of the earliest and most pervasive images of God in the Old Testament. In this lecture, Dr. Viviano will focus on understanding this image in its historical and theological contexts and suggest ways win which we as Christians can make peace with the Warrior God of the Old Testament. The issue of peace was enormously important to Thomas Merton, and we think you will find Dr. Viviano's presentation insightful. She is a member of our chapter and it is an honor to feature her as a presenter. For more information, contact the chapter coordinator, Mike Brennan, at 773-447-3989.

Readers Discuss "Hagia Sophia" at 7 p.m. Monday, Mar. 29, Passionist Monastery, 5700 N. Harlem, Chicago

The Chicago Chapter-ITMS Reading Group has chosen Sophia: The Hidden Christ of Thomas Merton, by Christopher Pramuk, for its next book. Before launching into the book, they will discuss Merton's poem "Hagia Sophia" at their next meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Mar. 29, in the library of the Passionist Monastery, 5700 N. Harlem. The poem can be found on-line by clicking this link: Hagia Sophia. For more information, contact the reading group moderator, Fr. Francis Cusack, at 773-631-1686, x 241.

The book, subject of Fr. Vaughn Fayle's talk at the February speaker meeting, is currently available from Amazon.com for $19.77. Here is a description of the book from its publisher, The Liturgical Press:

While numerous studies have celebrated Thomas Merton's witness as an interfaith pioneer, poet, and peacemaker, there have been few systematic treatments of his Christology as such, and no sustained exploration to date of his relationship to the Russian "Sophia" tradition. This book looks to Thomas Merton as a "classic" theologian of the Christian tradition from East to West, and offers an interpretation of his mature Christology, with special attention to his remarkable prose poem of 1962, Hagia Sophia. Bringing Merton’s mystical-prophetic vision fully into dialogue with contemporary Christology, Russian sophiology, and Zen, as well as figures such as John Henry Newman and Abraham Joshua Heschel, the author carefully but boldly builds the case that Sophia, the same theological eros that animated Merton’s religious imagination in a period of tremendous fragmentation and violence, might infuse new vitality into our own.

A study of uncommon depth and scope, inspired throughout by Merton's extraordinary catholicity.

Christopher Pramuk, PhD, is assistant professor of theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is the author of two books and numerous essays, and the recipient of the Catholic Theological Society of America’s 2009 Catherine Mowry LaCugna Award.

Vaughn Fayle to Speak at February Meeting

Vaughn Fayle, OFM, will discuss "Sophia - The Hidden Christ of Thomas Merton," a new book by Xavier University (Ohio) Professor Christopher Pramuk, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, in the Rectory Assembly of Immaculate Conception Parish, 7211 W. Talcott, Chicago.

Below is a description of the book from amazon.com, and two reviews:

While numerous studies have celebrated Thomas Merton's witness as an interfaith pioneer, poet, and peacemaker, there have been few systematic treatments of his Christology as such, and no sustained exploration to date of his relationship to the Russian "Sophia" tradition. This book looks to Thomas Merton as a "classic" theologian of the Christian tradition from East to West, and offers an interpretation of his mature Christology, with special attention to his remarkable prose poem of 1962, Hagia Sophia. Bringing Merton's mystical-prophetic vision fully into dialogue with contemporary Christology, Russian sophiology, and Zen, as well as figures such as John Henry Newman and Abraham Joshua Heschel, the author carefully but boldly builds the case that Sophia, the same theological eros that animated Merton's religious imagination in a period of tremendous fragmentation and violence, might infuse new vitality into our own. A study of uncommon depth and scope, inspired throughout by Merton's extraordinary catholicity.

Reviews:
"Pramuk's work is, far and away, the most sophisticated theological study ever done on the writings of Thomas Merton. It sets a very high bar for anyone else who intends to comment on the writings of the monk whose writings, nearly a half century after his death, still exert such a powerful influence on contemporary religious seekers." --Lawrence S. Cunningham, John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology, The University of Notre Dame

Christopher Pramuk's Sophia: the Hidden Christ of Thomas Merton is, dare it be said, a gorgeous book. Its beautifully crafted pages are full of insight about Merton and his "sapiential" theological method, the poetical and mystical manner in which he lived into the rich symbolic matrix of faith and drew from it living wisdom, made luminous by his engagement with non-western religions, Eastern Orthodox thought and the kataphatic and apophatic modes of knowing of his own tradition. Moreover, Sophia invites the reader into a compelling meditation on the doing of theology in the contemporary world. It affirms the need for a bold theological imagination and a faith intensely aware of Sophia, the divine presence alive in the world. --Wendy M. Wright, Professor of Theology, John C. Kenefick Faculty Chair in the Humanities, Creighton University

About the speaker:
Franciscan Fr. Vaughn Fayle was born in South Africa in 1960 into a musical and literary family: his father was a pipe organ builder, his aunt a concert pianist and his uncle on his mother’s side, Denis Brutus, an international poet and activist who was imprisoned with Nelson Mandela, who died Dec. 26, 2009.

Vaughn began music studies at the age of five, studying piano and later on pipe organ and harpsichord. After high school he studied music at Rhodes University with John Birch, Rupert Mayr, Christine Lucia and private studies in orchestration and composition and completed his LRMS degree from the Royal School of Music, London. Poor eye sight due to juvenile glaucoma forced him to turn from music performance to composition, musicology and philosophy. He completed graduate studies in philosophy and theology in Europe and came to the USA in 1990 to direct a department of undergraduate philosophy of religion in Texas. He taught both religion and philosophy at Our Lady of the Lake University.

In 1997 he studied the use of music and the lives of composers in the concentration camps in Europe and composed a set of Three Hebrew Chanukah Songs for orchestral harp and choir, which was premiered by the San Antonio Choral Society under the direction of Dr. Gary Mabry at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He has since composed works for choir and for various small instrumental ensembles including incidental music for Provision Theater Company’s 2004 production of A Christmas Carol, Actor’s Workshop Theater’s 2006 production of Proof.

At the suggestion of his uncle, exiled South African poet Dennis Brutus he began setting Brutus’ Robben Island poetry to music and then began studying the poetry of the American poet and spiritual writer, Thomas Merton. In July 2007, the International Thomas Merton Society awarded him the 2007-2008 Shannon Fellowship for his setting of the poetry of Thomas Merton.

Since 1999, Vaughn has served as director of philosophy studies and adjunct professor of the philosophy of religion at Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park, where he has taught courses on Thomas Merton’s political philosophy. He is a member of the American Composers Forum, the American Guild of Organists and the American Philosophical Association.

Vaughn has been a frequent presenter for the Chicago Chapter of the International Thomas Merton Society, and participated in the 2009 ITMS conference in Rochester, NY. He serves on the ITMS 2011 program committee.

Chicago Chapter - ITMS 2010 Meetings

Sunday Speaker Meetings are held in the Immaculate Conception Parish Rectory Assembly, 7211 W. Talcott, Chicago, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Monday Reading Group Meetings are held in the Passionist Monastery Library, 5700 N. Harlem, Chicago, from 7 to 8 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 17: Suzanne Zuercher, OSB: "Living and Loving: Merton's Last Task, Revisited"

Monday, Jan. 25: (Note New Date) Reading Group: Seven Storey Mountain, part 3, section 1 & 2.

Sunday, Feb. 21: Vaughn Fayle, OFM: "Sophia - The Hidden Christ of Thomas Merton," a discussion of Christopher Pramuk's new book.

Monday, Feb. 22: Reading Group: Seven Storey Mountain, contined.

Sunday, Mar. 21: Dr. Pauline Viviano, "Can the Warrior God of the Old Testament Be a God of Peace?"

Monday, Mar. 29: Reading Group Sunday, Apr. 18: Mark Boswell, Ph.D. candidate, Garrett Theological Seminary, Talk title TBA

Monday, Apr. 26: Reading Group

Sunday, May 16: TBA

Monday, May 24: Reading Group

There are no speaker meetings in June, July or August

Picnic TBA

Monday, June 28: Reading Group

Monday, July 26: Reading Group

Monday, Aug. 30: Reading Group

Sunday, Sept. 19: Meg Guider, OSF, Talk title TBA

Monday, Sept. 27: Reading Group

Sunday, Oct. 17: Daniel Horan, OFM: Talk title TBA

Monday, Oct. 25: Reading Group

Sunday, Nov. 21: Fr. Albert Haas, OFM: Talk title TBA

Monday, Nov. 29: Reading Group

Wednesday, Dec. 8: Annual Merton Memorial Mass - Passionist Monastery

For more information, contact Chapter Coordinator Mike Brennan: 773-447-3989

John Giannini this Sunday, November 15, 2009.

Jungian analyst John Giannini will be the special guest of the Chicago Chapter of the International Thomas Merton Society to discuss “Love is Power: From Peaceful Non-Violence to Intimacy” at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, at Immaculate Conception Rectory Assembly, 7211 W. Talcott (just west of Harlem Avenue) Chicago. The talk is adapted from a presentation John gave at the North American Conference of Jungian Analysts & Candidates Oct. 1-4 in Washington, D.C. John will comment on how the non-violent approaches of such spiritual giants as Gandhi, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton are critical to addressing and healing the world’s problems.

John has been a Jungian analyst since 1980 in private practice in Chicago and Wilmette. He holds an M.Div. in Religion and Psychology from St. Alberts College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago Divinity School. John has published articles and lectures widely throughout the U.S. and Canada on the wounded child within and narcissistic/addictive behavior. He is the author of Compass of the Soul - Archetypal Guides to a Fuller Life.

There is free parking in the adjacent lot, and signs will be posted directing you to the rectory assembly. We hope you will plan on attending!

Tommie O'Callaghan this Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009

The Chicago Chapter of the International Thomas Merton Society is honored to present a close friend of Thomas Merton's and recently retired trustee of the Merton Legacy Trust, Tommie O'Callaghan, as our guest speaker at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, in the rectory assembly of Immaculate Conception Parish, 7211 W. Talcott (just west of Harlem Avenue) Chicago. There is free parking in the adjacent lot, and signs will be posted directing you to the rectory assembly.

This very special visit was arranged by ITMS member Rev. Dr. Marilyn Hendricks, who will lead the discussion.

Tommie is flying in and returning to Louisville the same day, so the meeting will begin promptly at 2 p.m. and conclude about 3:45 p.m. so she can get to Midway Airport for her departing flight. Members are invited to come between 1 and 2 p.m. for fellowship before the discussion gets underway. A brief business meeting will be held at 1:45 p.m. just prior to the discussion. Pastor Hendricks will interview Tommie about her friendship with Thomas Merton, followed by questions from the audience.

The Merton Encyclopedia offers this biography:

Thomasine ("Tommie") O'Callaghan, wife of Frank O'Callaghan, had attended the College of the Sacred Heart at Manhattanville, Purchase, New York, where Daniel Walsh was one of her teachers. It was he who first introduced Thomas Merton to the O'Callaghan family. Merton became a welcome friend and was a frequent visitor at the O'Callaghan residence in Louisville. To the seven children of Tommie and Frank he soon became "Uncle Louie." It was his first experience in many years with any sort of family life. When Merton chose the members of his legacy trust, he wanted someone from Louisville, and Tommie O'Callaghan was the ideal choice. She has continued to be an active member of the Merton Legacy Trust. (She is the one remaining original trustee; the other two Naomi Stone and James Laughlin, have been replaced by Robert Giroux and Anne McCormick, respectively.) WHS (Fr. Wm. Shannon) (Since the encyclopedia's publication in 2002, Robert Giroux has died and was replaced as a trustee by Peggy Fox; and Tommie recently retired and has been replaced by Mary Somerville.)

Marilyn serves as a Lutheran pastor and was among three scholars awarded 2008-2009 Shannon Fellowships for a project on "The Spirituality and Ethics of Thomas Merton." She attended the 11th ITMS conference in Rochester, where she invited Tommie to visit our chapter.

We hope you will be able to attend this very special and rare event, and feel free to bring a friend.

CC-ITMS Annual Picnic - Sunday, August 16, 2009

The CC-ITMS Annual Picnic will be held on the grounds of the Passionist Monastery, 5700 N. Harlem, Chicago, beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16. Please RSVP to Penny Jaworski at 847-375-9291 by August 14, or reply to this email. The Chapter will provide the meats, and there will be door prizes. Please bring a dish to pass, a lawn chair, and your favorite Merton passage to share. We will move indoors if it rains. Those who attended the ITMS meeting in Rochester will be invited to tell us about their favorite parts of the conference.