W.L. Lyons Brown Library 

Thomas Merton Center

Bellarmine University

FIRST INTERNATIONAL THOMAS MERTON CONFERENCE IN SPAIN.
“SEEDS OF HOPE: THOMAS MERTON’S CONTEMPLATIVE MESSAGE”

The Centro Internacional
de Estudios Misticos
Ávila,
Spain

  

First International Thomas Merton Conference in Spain

 

The Thomas Merton Center,
Bellarmine University,
Louisville, KY.
U.S.A.

“SEEDS OF HOPE: THOMAS MERTON’S CONTEMPLATIVE MESSAGE”

27-29 October 2006

Auditorio Municipal de San Francisco - Ávila, Spain

Directors: Dr. Fernando Beltrán Llavador and Dr. Paul M Pearson.

The program, which will include lectures, liturgical chants, times for prayer and contemplation, a celebration of the Eucharist, cultural activities, and town visits is currently being finalized.

Further information will be available and simultaneously updated in Spanish and in English on the websites of the two Centers. Registration and related enquiries will begin on January 9, 2006. The course will be non-residential and there are plenty of hotels and residences in town but it is recommended to make lodging reservations well in advance.

Join this unique meeting of souls and religious cultures in the town of Ávila (Spain), renowned for its mystics St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross, whom Thomas Merton knew so well and loved so much, but also for the mark left by the Jewish and Muslim faiths, which Merton also approached with genuine interest. Make this a pilgrimage into the very heart of contemplation within a soul-filled space.

Christianity, according to Thomas Merton, is pre-eminently “a religion of hope”, founded on the belief that human beings are created in the image and likeness of God and that divine mercy and goodness are more powerful than human evil (Monastic Journey, 52). The basis for Christian hope, then, is God’s love and acceptance, as revealed in the cross of Christ (Thoughts in Solitude, 38-39), and in the new life bestowed by “the great feast of Christian hope: the Resurrection” (Road to Joy, 99). Merton emphasizes both that hope has a transcendent dimension, pointing toward the ultimate fulfilment of the world to come (Thoughts in Solitude, 38), the eschatological kingdom (Seasons of Celebration, 60), and that it has profound effects on the way one’s life is lived here and now. The “problem of hope”, Merton writes, is “to establish a right relationship between the past and the future, which give spiritual solidity to the present” (Search for Solitude, 354).

Programme

Conference Timetable

Booking Information

Programme

Opening of the Conference by the Mayor of Ávila, President of the Municipal Foundation of Mystical Studies, Mr. Miguel Ángel García Nieto.

Dr. Fernando Beltrán Llavador - Director of the Conference:
"Thomas Merton and 'the Great Feast of Christian Hope.'"

Dr. Paul M. Pearson - Director of the Conference:
"Emblems for a Season of Fury: The Art of Thomas Merton."

Fr. Francisco Rafael de Pascual, OCSO:
"The Secret Hope and the Hoped for Secret: Keys for Life."

James Forest:
:Thomas Merton as a Living Bridge Linking Christians East and West."

Dr. Sonia Petisco:
"'O Sweet Escape! O Smiling Flight!': Recital and Commentaries to a Selection of Poems by Thomas Merton."

Dr. Cristóbal Serran-Pagan y Fuentes:
"Seeds of Hope in Times of Crisis: Saint John of the Cross and Thomas Merton."

Dr. Bonnie Thurston:
"'A Realm of White Hot Faith': Thomas Merton on Islam in Spain."

Erlinda G. Paguio:
"Hope as an Unexpected, Incomprehensible and Total Gift: Reflections on Merton's Life and Writings."

Fr. James Conner, OCSO:
"Thomas Merton: Monk and Spiritual Master."
 

Conference Timetable

Friday 27th October

 

9.30: Reception of participants and handing out of documents.
   
10.30:

Opening of the Conference by the Mayor of Ávila, President of the Municipal Foundation of Mystical Studies, Mr. Miguel Ángel García Nieto.
   
11.30: Dr. Fernando Beltrán Llavador
   
12.30: Dr. Paul M. Pearson
   
16.00: Fr. Francisco Rafael de Pascual, ocso
   
17.00: Break
   
17.30: “Merton: A Film biography” produced by Paul Wilkes
   
18.30: Vespers - With the presence and participation of a Benedictine choir of monks of Santo Domingo de Silos
   
20.00: Musical performance
   

 

 

Saturday 28th October

 

9.00: Lauds - With the collaboration of Cistercian monks and nuns participating in the Conference
   
9.30: James Forest
   
10.30: Break
   
11.00: Dr. Sonia Petisco
   
12.15: Noon Praise 
   
12.30: Dr. Cristóbal Serran-Pagan y Fuentes
   
16.15: Time of silent contemplation
   
16.30: Dr. Bonnie Thurston
   
   18.00:      Erlinda G. Paguio
   
19.30: Holy Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of Ávila presided by Avila’s Bishop
   

Sunday 29th October

10.00: Prayers with Thomas Merton, Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa, silence and monastic chants
   
10.30: Fr. James Conner, ocso
   
11.30: Closing of the Conference and handing out of the Diplomas of attendance - Town Mayor and President of the International Centre for Mystical Studies
   
13.00: Visit to The Mystic Interpretation Centre.

Booking Information

 

 

Registration Fee:


                Silverball $ 75 for registrations prior to 08/31/06

                Silverball $100 for registrations between 09/01/06 - 10/16/06

Fully Booked

 

 

Checks (payable to Merton Conference) should be sent to:

                                        Dr. Paul M Pearson. Merton Conference in Avila,
                                        Thomas Merton Center, Bellarmine University,
                                        2001 Newburg Road, Louisville. KY. 40205.

 

The Conference will be non-residential. As an initial reference for accommodations, please visit the site

www.avilaturismo.com

 

Copyright (c) The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University. All rights reserved.
Photographs copyright of the Merton Legacy Trust. Not to be used without written permission.