The Seven Storey Mountain

In the third book of The Seven Storey Mountain, Merton reaches his metaphorical “earthly paradise” when he joins a Trappist monastery in Kentucky.

Christian monasticism began in the sixth century when St. Benedict wrote his Rule, and gathered together ideas and practices that had been developed over centuries by mystics and hermits—above all, by the Desert Fathers who lived in the fourth century in caves in remote places, devoting themselves to spiritual practice and prayer. Benedict organized their lifestyle into a communal arrangement that was formally recognized by the Church. Over the centuries, other orders arose besides Benedict’s, including the Cistercians in 1098. Some orders are called contemplative and others are called active. Active orders devote their energies to the traditional works of love such as clothing the naked, feeding the poor, and so on, while contemplative orders devote themselves to contemplation, or contemplative prayer.

Trappists are a contemplative monastic order who branched off from the Cistercians in the 17th century. Like Cistercians, they are known for their commitment to silence. They follow the Rule of St. Benedict, a foundational text of Christian monastic life. Merton’s attraction to the Trappist life came from his sincere desire to do not what was easiest in order to maintain a spiritual life but to do what would challenge him spiritually.