NOTE: to secure your meal for the 12pm talk!
Pope Francis recently acknowledged the profound influence of Thomas Merton on his own thinking鈥斺減articularly The Seven Storey Mountain,鈥 Merton鈥檚 confessional autobiography widely considered to be one of the most influential religious works of the twentieth century.
Who was this 鈥渞adical monk from Kentucky,鈥 Thomas Merton?
On October 16, Greg Hillis of Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky will help EIU commemorate the 50th anniversary of Merton鈥檚 death.
鈥淭homas Merton Day at EIU鈥 will feature two opportunities for our community to learn about this influential thinker, social-justice champion, and committed pacifist.
On Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 12 noon, Hillis will offer a keynote lecture in the Great Hall of Pemberton on the life, works, and meditations of the theologian and social activist Thomas Merton. 鈥Thomas Merton, Non-violence, and Dialogue: Remembering the Life and Teachings of a Radical Monk from Kentucky鈥 will honour the 50th anniversary of the death of this famous 鈥渂eatnik monk.鈥
Lunch will be provided courtesy of EIU鈥檚 Newman Center.
Later that day at 4pm in the Lecture Hall of the Doudna Fine Arts Center, Hillis will draw connections between Merton鈥檚 work of the late 1960s and the world we now inhabit. 鈥The Contemplative Life in the Age of Fragmentation: What Monasticism has to Offer" describes a world we may find hard to imagine, as we flit from task to task and screen to screen. But couldn't a little monasticism do us all some good in 2018?
Co-sponsored by EIU鈥檚 Newman Catholic Center, the Provost鈥檚 Office, CLAS, and the Center for the Humanities.
Doudna Fine Arts Center 1343
(217) 581-3968
humanitiescenter@eiu.edu