The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

MERTON'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH:
Burdick, Jeanne

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Descriptive Summary

Record Group: Section A - Correspondence

Dates of materials: 1961-1962, 1970

Volume: 6 item(s); 9 pg(s)

Scope and Content

Biography

Jeanne Burdick was working in physical medicine and rehabilitation at a veterans' hospital in Topeka, Kansas. Her agnosticism had left her feeling empty but had trouble accepting religious and mystical thought and asks Merton for help in explaining his religious experience.

Usage Guidelines and Restrictions

Related Information and Links

See also Cold War Letters #15 (see also Seeds of Destruction, "Letters in a Time of Crisis" #7) and another letter, published in The Hidden Ground of Love, pp.108-110.

Other Finding Aids

If the person in correspondence with Merton has full text records in the Merton Center Digital Collections, there will be a numeric link to them below.
   

Series List

This Record Sub-Group is not divided into Series and is arranged chronologically.

Container List

SeriesDateTypeTo/FromFirst LinesPubFull TextNotes
 1961/11/21 TLSto MertonWith hesitancy I write you this letter. Seldom have I ever spoken to a priest, much less written  Sigmund Freud / agnosticism / explanation of Merton's quote from <i>The Seven Storey Mountain</i> about the "disinterested love of God"
 1961/12/26 (#01)TLS[x]from MertonFor several weeks I have wanted to find an opportunity to answer your letter with its one veryYes [Cold War Letters #15] responds to Burdick's question about "disinterested love" - charity, agape rather than eros - mysticism, the Zen tradition, Hassidim, Jewish tzaddiks of Central Europe and Poland (Buber) / Sigmund Freud - "a great puritan" / sending some writings of D. T. Suzuki
 1961/12/26 (#02)transcriptfrom MertonFor several weeks I have wanted to find an opportunity to answer your letter with its one veryYes [Cold War Letters #15 - from mimeographed collection of letters] responds to Burdick's question about "disinterested love" - charity, agape rather than eros - mysticism, the Zen tradition, Hassidim, Jewish tzaddiks of Central Europe and Poland (Buber) / Sigmund Freud - "a great puritan" / D. T. Suzuki
 1961/12/26 (#03)transcriptfrom Merton(not for publication) "The way I would express it now is in purely religious and symbolic terms.Yes [Cold War Letters #15 - excerpt (shorter version of others of the same date) labelled "not for publication" - fuller form of the letter was published]
 1962/06/11 TLS[x]from MertonI was happy and surprised to get your good letter, and very glad for you. Certainly the dimensionsYes true self versus false self / faith and crisis / suggested authors and publications to read to weather bad times
 1970/12/10 TLSto Center from Burdick, JeanneAs a response to your letter of October 5th concerning correspondence between Thomas Merton   
        

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