Thomas Merton: a presença de um amor e a escolha pela liberdade da solidão

Abstract

Thomas Merton was a Catholic monk of the Cistercian Order of Strict Observance and considered one of the greatest representatives of Christian spirituality in the 20th century. From his isolation in the monastery, Merton left remarkable reflections on several themes of humanity. Among these themes, the notion of solitude had a privileged place in his reflections: either because it was a category very present in his considerations, or because it was a significant dynamic in the propulsion of his contemplative exercise. However, a given situation contributed even more to this dimension of solitude in Merton's spirituality, because, after needing medical care, the Trappist monk fell in love with the nurse assigned to take care of his bandages. The objective of this text is to reflect on the category of solitude in Thomas Merton and to discuss about the experience of this category in the situation of his love relationship with the nurse Marge Smith - known by him by the codename "M". To this, based mainly on his diary (collected in the work “Merton na Intimidade”) and some of Merton’s texts on the theme, we intend to compare these experiences of solitude present in the life of this figure of contemporary mysticism. To this, we first briefly present Thomas Merton’s perspective of solitude and its role within the contemplative experience; then, we seek to focus on the developments of Merton’s love involvement with the nurse Marge Smith, highlighting the category of solitude in this approach.