In early June I attended the seventh biennial conference of the International Thomas Merton Society held at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. The locale of the conference was significant since Louisville is very close to the abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, where Merton lived, and Bellarmine University is the home of the Thomas Merton Center, which holds the majority of Merton’s papers.

The theme of the conference was “Shining Like the Sun: Thomas Merton’s Transforming Vision”. The theme is taken from the oft-quoted passage in Merton’s Journals where he describes the vision he had at the corner of Fourth and Walnut (now Mohammed Ali Blvd.) while on a visit to Louisville. The famous passage reads: 
“In Louisville, on the corner of 4th and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district , I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all these people, that they were mine and I was theirs...There is no way of telling people that they are walking around shining like the sun.”

The conference, attended by some 400 people - so many that registration was cut off before the conference began -  was an impressive combination of scholarship, prayer, discussion, and socializing. Learned papers, slide presentations, readings, music and videos were presented by Merton enthusiasts from around the world. 

Rather than summarize all that was said and done during those four days, I want to share  some personal highlights of the conference:

1. Visiting with several busloads of conference participants the abbey where Merton lived, praying with the monks in the abbey church, being welcomed there by the present abbot (Matthew Kelty) and addressed by Merton’s last abbot (Flavian Burns), walking to Merton’s hermitage, paying homage at his grave beside the church, and seeing side by side the crosses over the graves of Merton and James Fox, the abbot with whom Merton has so many disagreements.

2. Visiting downtown Louisville, including the spot of Merton’s famous revelation, where there is a civic plaque that tells on one side who Merton was, and on the other quotes from the passage about his experience at Fourth and Walnut streets.

3. The final meditation and Mass on campus for all of us at Our Lady of the Woods chapel, through whose huge clear glass windows behind the altar one can see not only trees and flowers but also the lovely grounds and buildings of Bellarmine University. The lively participation and warmth of all the participants made me realize what a special group this is that gets together every two years.

4. An encounter with a stranger while standing in line to buy some of the many books, photographs, audio tapes, and videotapes by and about Merton sold  during the conference .I introduced myself to the woman beside me, and told her I am a married priest. An American, she was warm in her response and said, “I want to apologize to you for the way you have been treated by the Church. We have given amnesty to those who refused to take part in the Viet Nam war, but we have never done the same for you.” No Catholic had ever said this to me before, and I was deeply moved by her statement. When I recounted this incident at table shortly afterwards to an clerical priest, he too was impressed by the woman’s generosity, and said, “I want to apologize too for how married priests have been treated in the Church.” For me, this was the most memorable event of the whole conference.

I was also impressed by the importance these Mertonites from every walk of life put on a strong prayer life, and even a contemplative life, as the foundation of all we do to bring the message of Christ to men and women of today, whether in our parishes, our families, our work and play, or our small faith communities.

Members of Corpus will have the opportunity to join with members of the ITMS at their next conference at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver from June 5-8, 2003, since the conference is open to both members and non-members of the ITMS. The 2003 conference will be sponsored by the B.C. Chapter of the Society, many of whom were present in Louisville to promote the next conference as well as the beauties of Vancouver and British Columbia. Their address is: 1705-700 Chilco St.; Vancouver, BC; V6G 2R1; tel.: 604-669-2546; email:. [email protected].; website: www.merton.bizland.com/

I pray that many Corpus members will attend that conference, and that many revelations will greet them in Vancouver in June, 2003 just as they met me in Louisville in June, 2001..