Merton's Palace of Nowhere

"This one door is the door of the Palace of Nowhere. It is the door of God. It is our very self, our true self called by God to perfect union with himself. And it is through this door we secretly enter in responding to the saving call to 'Come with me to the Palace of Nowhere where all the many things are one.'"

As a young man of eighteen, James Finley left home for an unlikely destination: the Abbey of Gethsemani, where Thomas Merton lived as a contemplative. Finley stayed at the monastery for six maturing years under the guidance of Merton, one of the great religious figures of our time. Finley later wrote this book in order to share a taste of what he had learned on his spiritual journey. At the heart of the quest for spiritual identity are Thomas Merton's illuminating insights—leading from an awareness of the false and illusory self to a realization of the true self.

For over twenty-five years Merton's Palace of Nowhere has been the standard for exploring, reflecting on, and understanding this rich vein of Merton's thought. Dog-eared, tattered, underlined copies are found on the bookshelves of spiritual searchers everywhere. This edition includes a foreword by Br. Patrick Hart.

Paperback, 157 pages