St. Therese of Lisieux's "Little Way" explained by Dom Eugene Boylan O.C.S.O

Started by Michael Wilson, August 07, 2024, 04:36:45 PM

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Michael Wilson

Dom Eugene Boylan O.C.S.O. (Trappist), explains St. Therese' spirituality.
https://www.wmreview.org/p/st-therese-boylan
QuoteSt Thérèse of Lisieux's 'Little Way' – Dom Eugene Boylan explains
Sometimes presented as childish and sentimental, 'The Little Way' of St Thérèse of Lisieux ('The Little Flower') is profound, hard – and it is for all of us today.
Jul 24, 2024
Editors' Notes

The following is an extract from Dom Eugene Boylan's modern classic, This Tremendous Lover, explaining 'the little way' of St Thérèse of Lisieux and its importance to our day.

The following section summarises the text:

    'Everyone should study her doctrine, but let us add a word of warning; one must not let the childlike language and manner of the saint hide the fact that she was a woman in whom grace had forged and tempered a will of steel, a woman whose very childlike charm hid sufferings that are beyond all telling.

    'And, if one may judge by the extraordinary honours the Church has showered on her in a few short years, she became one of the greatest saints the Church has known, by a life in which there was nothing extraordinary, in the usual sense of the word.

    'Yet her way is recommended to all by the highest spiritual authority upon earth.'
Union with Christ Through Humility

From

This Tremendous Lover
Dom Eugene Boylan
Published here in gratitude to St Thérèse of Lisieux
'Thou shall love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and thy whole soul, with all thy mind and all thy strength.'

Thomas à Kempis puts these words on our Lord's lips:

    What more do I ask of thee than to try to give thyself up entirely to Me? Whatever thou givest besides thyself is nothing to Me: I seek not thy gift but thyself! Just as thou couldst not be content without Me, though thou possessest everything else; so nothing thou offerest can please Me unless thou offerest Me thyself! [...]

    Behold, I offered My whole self to the Father for thee, and have given my whole Body and Blood for thy food: that I might be all thine, and thou mightest be all and always Mine. But if thou wilt stand upon thy own strength, and wilt not offer thyself freely to My will, thy offering is not perfect, nor will there be an entire union between us.1

Our humility and obedience are but the exercise of our love and desire for Jesus; they are but means of giving ourself completely to Him, as He does to us in the Mass, and that is what, by our Communion and assistance at Mass, we signify our readiness to do.

For that is the whole spiritual life—a love union with Jesus, in which each of the lovers, the divine and the human, give themselves completely to one another. It is not so much a question of acquisition of virtue, of performing heroic deeds, of amassing merit, of bearing fruit in the Church; these things are excellent, especially insofar as they come from love. But nothing less than our very self in its entirety will satisfy the Heart of Jesus, and all He asks is that we give Him our whole self in all poverty and nothingness. The great way to do that is the way shown by Jesus and by Mary—by love through humility and abandonment.

St Thérèse of Lisieux and the Popes

This way has again been brought to men's notice in our own times by the life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. There can be no doubt that she was raised up by God to show us the true way to holiness. One would hesitate about citing the life of an enclosed contemplative as a model for the laity, were it not for the insistence with which more than one pope has stressed the universality of her message of what is called 'spiritual childhood.'

Her life really marks a true renaissance in the history of spirituality. Its importance cannot be exaggerated. Let us quote Pope Benedict XV in his discourse regarding the heroicity of her virtues. 'There,' he exclaims, referring to spiritual childhood, 'lies the secret of holiness... for the faithful throughout the entire world...' and he proceeds to give a complete description of this spirituality from which we quote brief passages.2

Taking as an example the confidence of a child in its mother's protection and its certainty that she will treat it in the way best suited to its needs, the Holy Father proceeds:

    So likewise, is spiritual childhood fostered by confidence in God and trustful abandonment into His hands... Spiritual childhood excludes first the sentiment of pride in oneself, the presumption of expecting to attain by human means a supernatural end, and the deceptive fancy of being self-sufficient in the hour of danger and temptation.

    On the other hand, it supposes a lively faith in the existence of God, a practical acknowledgment of His power and mercy, confident recourse to Him who grants the grace to avoid all evil and obtain all good. Thus, the qualities of this spiritual childhood are admirable... and we understand why our Saviour Jesus Christ has laid it down as a necessary condition for gaining eternal life. One day the Saviour took a little child from the crowd, and showing him to His disciples, He said:

    'Amen I say to you; unless you be converted and become as little children you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' (Matt. 18.3)

    'Who, thinkest thou, is the greater in the kingdom of heaven? [...] Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven.'

    And again on another day, Jesus said: 'Suffer little children to come to me, and forbid them not; the kingdom of heaven is for such. Amen I say to you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a child shall not enter into it.' (Mark 10.14-15)

The Holy Father continues:

    It is important to notice the force of these divine words, for the Son of God did not deem it sufficient to affirm positively that the kingdom of heaven is for children—Talium est enim regnum coelorum—or that he who will become as a little child shall be greater in heaven, but He explicitly threatens exclusion from heaven for those who will not become like unto children... We must conclude then that the Divine Master was particularly anxious that His disciples should see in spiritual childhood the necessary condition for obtaining life eternal.

    Considering the insistence and the force of this teaching, it would seem impossible to find a soul who would still neglect to follow the way of confidence and abandonment, all the more so, we repeat, since the divine words, not only in a general manner, but in express terms, declare the mode of life obligatory, even for those who have lost their first innocence.

    Some prefer to believe that the way of confidence and abandonment is reserved solely for ingenuous souls whom evil has not deprived of the grace of childhood. They do not conceive the possibility of spiritual childhood for those who have lost their first innocence.

And the Holy Father proceeds to show that our Lord's use of the words 'be converted' and 'become' indicate that a change is to be made, and that therefore the words apply particularly to those who are no longer innocent. He continues:

    Any such thought as that of reassigning the appearance and helplessness of early years would be ridiculous; but it is not contrary to reason to find in the words of the Gospel the precept addressed alike to men of advanced years to return to the practice of spiritual childhood.

    During the course of centuries, this teaching was to find increased support in the example of those who arrived at heroic Christian perfection precisely by the exercise of these virtues. Holy Church has ever extolled these examples in order to make the Master's command better understood and more universally followed.

    Today, again, she has no other end in view when she proclaims as heroic the virtues of Soeur Therese de L'Enfant Jesus.3

May we add the words of Pius XI at her canonisation:

    We today conceive the hope of seeing spring up in the souls of Christ's faithful a holy eagerness to acquire this evangelical childhood, which consists in feeling and acting under the empire of virtue as a child feels and acts in the natural order...

    If this way of spiritual childhood became general, who does not see how easily that reform of human society would take place which We set before us in the early days of our pontificate?
Some good books on St Thérèse

Many books have been written to broadcast St. Thérèse's message. No adequate summary of it can be given here. The reader is referred to:

    Her own autobiography ['Story of a Soul']

    Msgr. Laveille's biography of the saint

    Fr. Petitot's book, St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

Since, however, we believe that this is the way of sanctification for most of the laity, we shall quote some passages from Mgr. Laveille's work, in the hope of inducing the reader to seek further information from the mass of literature already available on the subject.4

    God (Laveille writes) is a Father, and the burning ardour of His love surpasses all human tenderness."

He Himself assures that His love is far beyond that of any mother.5

    ... It follows that the surest means of gaining His Heart is to remain or become again a little child in His eyes, that is to say, to recognize our nothingness in His sight, to lay our poverty before Him, to make ourselves truly little in the presence of His Majesty, confiding without fear in His sovereign goodness so that we may move Him to generosity towards us...

    This secret appears simple; it contains nothing which can inspire fear in the feeblest Christian heart. It is essential, however, to discern clearly the true signification of the actions enjoined by this method. First, there is the recognition of our incapacity and poverty. But this can be recognised, and at the same time hated, reviled.

    What is necessary is that we willingly proclaim our nothingness in regard to the greatness of the Almighty. In other words, the surest disposition to draw from the Father in heaven a kindly smile is humility of heart by which we really and truly love to see ourselves as we are and look with joy into the depths of our lowliness.

'Littleness'

St. Thérèse explains:

    To be little means not attributing to self the virtues that one practices, believing oneself capable of anything; it means recognizing that the good God places this treasure of virtue in the hand of His little child to be used by him when he has need of it; but always it is God's treasure.

    In fine, it means not being discouraged about our faults, for children fall often, but are too small to do themselves much harm.

Laveille continues:

    This disposition is, alas, comparatively rare, even among Christians. The greater number are, indeed, willing to admit their weakness, but only to a certain point. They credit themselves with real personal strength, on which they are content to rely while all goes well, only to fall into discouragement at the first serious obstacle they meet with.

    They have not understood that the child's strength lies in its very weakness, since God is inclined to help His creatures in proportion to their recognition and humble avowal of their natural helplessness...

    A second characteristic trait of spiritual childhood is poverty. The child possesses nothing of its own; everything belongs to its parents. But is it not precisely this absolute want of all things which moves the father to provide for every necessity, especially if the child is insistent in drawing attention to its excess of misery?

    When this state of penury has ceased through the child's growing up and commencing to earn his own livelihood, the father, be he ever so affectionate, discontinues his bounty.

'Spiritual Childhood'

For this reason St. Thérèse never wished to grow up spiritually, 'feeling incapable of gaining for myself life eternal, for I have never been able to do anything for myself alone.'

    In the same way, the soul will gain everything by possessing nothing and looking to God for all. She must, however, accustom herself to await the coming of each day for the gifts thereof, asking nothing except what is needed at the present instant, because the grace required is, in God's designs, an actual grace, to be given at the opportune moment...

    The poor in spirit, when once in possession of God's gifts, be they spiritual or corporal, will guard against any proprietorship over them, for they belong always to God, who has simply lent them and is free to take them back as He wills...

    Finally, one who chooses the 'little way' must be resigned to remaining poor all his life. By this he will imitate the dear saint, who, while multiplying her acts of virtue, did not concern herself with storing up merits for eternity, but laboured for Jesus alone, giving over to Him all her good works to purchase souls.

St. Thérèse's own words are full of consolation:

    [T]o love Jesus, to be the victim of His love, the more weak and miserable we are, the better disposed are we for the operations of His consuming and transforming love... The sole desire of being a victim suffices; we must, however, be always willing to remain poor and weak. Herein lies the difficulty!

    ... Let us love our littleness, let us love to feel nothing. Then shall we be poor in spirit, and Jesus will come to seek us, be we ever so far away. He will transform us into flames of love.6

Confidence in God

[Laveille continues:]

    Besides humility of heart and the spirit of poverty, something more is required. Confidence, unbounded, unwavering confidence in the merciful goodness of the heavenly Father is the infallible means of inclining His Divine Heart to compassion and bounty.

    With St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse repeated from her heart: 'From the good God we obtain all that we hope for.'

    'The chief practical conclusions from this doctrine is that a soul initiated into this "little way" must confide in the divine mercy regarding past faults, however grave and multiplied they may have been, and that he must look to the same mercy for the pardon of his daily faults... This confidence is necessary in failure; the futility of human actions draws pity from the Divine Heart. It is equally required in darkness and aridity...'

In fine, St. Thérèse wished that no bounds should be set to our hopes and desires of attaining to holiness, supporting her words by reference to the merciful omnipotence of...

    ... Him who being power and holiness itself would have but to take a soul in His arms and raise it up to Him in order to clothe it with His infinite merits and make it holy.7

And asserting more definitely the efficacy of confidence even in arriving at the highest perfection, she does not hesitate to add:

    If weak and imperfect souls like mine felt what I feel, not one of them would despair of reaching the summit of the mountain of love.

 This way of humility, of self-forgetfulness, of reliance on God's own holiness, is the royal road to sanctity—for everybody. The spiritual life is not so much a work of acquiring virtue and merits, as of getting rid of oneself; in fact, it is not so much a getting rid of oneself as a putting on of Christ. No more excellent commentary on St. Paul's doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ which we outlined in the earlier chapters can be found than the life and teaching of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

Everyone should study her doctrine, but let us add a word of warning; one must not let the childlike language and manner of the saint hide the fact that she was a woman in whom grace had forged and tempered a will of steel, a woman whose very childlike charm hid sufferings that are beyond all telling. And, if one may judge by the extraordinary honours the Church has showered on her in a few short years, she became one of the greatest saints the Church has known, by a life in which there was nothing extraordinary, in the usual sense of the word. Yet her way is recommended to all by the highest spiritual authority upon earth.
Humility and Sanctity

Humility, we repeat, is the royal road to sanctity; but it must be joined to unbounded confidence. We only forget ourselves to remember Christ, of whom we are members, and who loved us and delivered Himself to death for us. Humility is the great way of repairing the fall and failures of the past. There is no shortcoming for which it cannot more than compensate. To which effect we quote the words of a Cistercian Abbot, Blessed Guerric, a disciple of St. Bernard, with a modern Cistercian's introduction to them:

    Humility has a very special property of its own; it not only ensures that the other virtues are really virtues, but, if any one of them is wanting, or is imperfect, humility, using that very deficiency, of itself repairs the deficiency.

    Therefore, if something seems to be lacking in any soul, it is lacking for no other reason than that the soul should be all the more perfect by its absence, for virtue is made perfect in infirmity. Paul, saith the Lord, my grace is sufficient for thee (II Cor. Xii, 9).

    He for whom the grace of God is sufficient, can be lacking in some particular grace, not only without serious loss, but even with no small gain, for that very defect and infirmity perfects virtue; and the very diminution of a certain grace only makes the greatest of all God's graces—namely, humility—present in a fuller measure and more stable way.

    Far, then, O Lord, from thy servants let that grace be—whatever it may be—which can take away or lessen our grace in thy eyes (gratiam tui), by which, namely, although more pleasing in our own eyes, we become more hateful in Thine.

     That is not grace, but wrath, for it is only fully fit to be given to those with whom Thou art angry; in whose regard Thou hast disposed such things, and that because of their simulation, thrusting them down at the very moment of their elevation and rightly crushing them even while they are raised on high.

    In order, therefore, that that grace alone, without which no one is loved by Thee, should remain safe in our possession, let Thy grace and favour either take away all other grace from us, or else give us the grace of using all properly; so that having the grace by which we serve Thee pleasingly with fear and reverence, we may earn the favour of the giver through the grace of the gift, and that growing in grace, we may be truly more pleasing to Thee.8

To sum up a long chapter let us repeat again with St. Paul, 'Gladly will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me,' (II Cor. xii, 9) and let us be convinced that no matter what we have lost, what we have mined, or how far we have wandered into the wilderness from the right path, God can give us back all we have lost or damaged. God can show us a road—or, if necessary, build a new road for us—that leads from our present position, whatever it may be, to the heights of sanctity; humility is the Philosopher's Stone which changes all our losses into the gold of God's favour. He can do all for us, and He will do all if we cooperate with this grace.

What then does He ask of us? Nothing but blind faith, confident hope, ardent love, cheerful humility, and loving abandonment into the arms of our tremendous lover!
On St Thérèse of Lisieux:

St Thérèse of Lisieux – Story of a Soul
Mgr Laveille – The Life of St Thérèse of Lisieux
Fr Petitot's – St. Thérèse of Lisieux – A Spiritual Renascence

Boylan's works:

Difficulties in Mental Prayer
This Tremendous Lover
The Mystical Body and the Spiritual Life
The Spiritual Life of the Priest
The Priest's Way to God

Morrissey – Dom Eugene Boylan: Trappist Monk and Writer
"The World Must Conform to Our Lord and not He to it." Rev. Dennis Fahey CSSP

"My brothers, all of you, if you are condemned to see the triumph of evil, never applaud it. Never say to evil: you are good; to decadence: you are progess; to death: you are life. Sanctify yourselves in the times wherein God has placed you; bewail the evils and the disorders which God tolerates; oppose them with the energy of your works and your efforts, your life uncontaminated by error, free from being led astray, in such a way that having lived here below, united with the Spirit of the Lord, you will be admitted to be made but one with Him forever and ever: But he who is joined to the Lord is one in spirit." Cardinal Pie of Potiers

Maximilian

Quote from: Michael Wilson on August 07, 2024, 04:36:45 PMHer life really marks a true renaissance in the history of spirituality.

Without any intention to criticize St. Therese herself, it is necessary to point out that nothing could be more false than the above statement by the author of this article.

"Renaissance"?? No, spirituality has entirely collapsed since the time of the life of St. Therese. It has disappeared from the Earth like the Dodo bird or the passenger pigeon. Only if you consider the words "renaissance" and "extinction" to be synonymous could you possible make that statement.

One might say, "Yes, it's true that spirituality has been annihilated since the lifetime of St. Therese. But we can't prove any cause-and-effect, just like we can't prove cause-and-effect between Vatican II and the collapse of the Catholic Church."

Okay, even if it's true that it's not the fault of St. Therese, surely one cannot make wild, exaggerated and false statements about a "renaissance." Although there's no cause between St. Therese and the collapse, there is at least a coincidence in time.

Poor St. Therese. Once again, it's certainly not her fault, but it's unfortunate that she has to be associated with a hideous mural like this one used to illustrate the article:



Quote from: Michael Wilson on August 07, 2024, 04:36:45 PMDom Eugene Boylan O.C.S.O. (Trappist), explains St. Therese' spirituality.

Perhaps the poor abbot was merely unlucky to be associated with evil times which witnessed the collapse of the Catholic Faith, but it is startling just how much Dom Boylan's life overlaps with the life of Thomas Merton, even to the point of a similar unfortunate demise in the same time period.

https://www.veritasbooksonline.com/2370/eugene-boylan/

"Dom Eugene Boylan, O.C.S.O., was an Irish-born Trappist monk and writer who was born in 1904 and died in 1964. Ordained a priest in 1937, he began writing on spiritual topics, and in the 1940s he published two books, This Tremendous Lover and Difficulties in Mental Prayer, which became international bestsellers and were translated into many languages. In the late 1950s he undertook an extensive lecture tour of the United States ("This is the best retreat we ever had at Gethsemani," commented Thomas Merton after Boylan's visit there), and in 1962 he was elected the fourth abbot of Mount St. Joseph Abbey in Roscrea, Ireland. Two years later he died in an automobile accident.

Maximilian

Quote from: Maximilian on August 07, 2024, 07:07:28 PM
Quote from: Michael Wilson on August 07, 2024, 04:36:45 PMDom Eugene Boylan O.C.S.O. (Trappist), explains St. Therese' spirituality.

Perhaps the poor abbot was merely unlucky to be associated with evil times which witnessed the collapse of the Catholic Faith, but it is startling just how much Dom Boylan's life overlaps with the life of Thomas Merton, even to the point of a similar unfortunate demise in the same time period.

Turns out the similarities to Thomas Merton go even deeper:

https://www.amazon.com/Dom-Eugene-Boylan-Trappist-1904-1964/dp/1788120256

In 1963 the world was rocked by the death of John F. Kennedy, president of the United States of America. One year later the world of Catholic spirituality was rocked by the death of Dom Eugene Boylan. The comparison is less than superficial: both men found favour with women, both were known as charming and capable entertainers, both became unexpected leaders who frequently challenged authority; both were gone before their time.

In Dom Eugene Boylan Thomas J. Morrissey tells the untold story: the life of a prize-winning student, music-lover, ladies' man and physicist who became the great spiritual writer of groundbreaking titles like This Tremendous Lover. Demonstrating that Boylan's life shaped his familial spirituality of love, which for many pre-empted the innovations of the Second Vatican Council, Morrissey recovers the unique worldliness of Boylan's spirituality by turning to the worldliness of his life: where he roamed from Austria to Australia, the USA to Ireland. Some say the jaw dropped feet not inches when the young Kevin Boylan announced his intention to join the Cistercians; in Dom Eugene Boylan jaw and mouth are gently reunited, as two worlds are joined in symbiosis: the world of man and of monk united by the greatest theme, God's love.



Michael Wilson

There are some similarities between Dom Eugene and Dom Thomas, but what is different is the course of their lives.
While Dom Thomas grew up without much religion in his non-Catholic family and latter converted to the Catholic faith; Dom Eugene grew up in a profoundly Catholic family of "at least (?) three sons and two daughters. Of these several entered the religious life:
https://www.dib.ie/biography/boylan-eugene-a0840
QuoteHis brother, Stephen Mary Boylan, was superior of the Carthusian monastery, Arlington, Vermont, USA; one of his sisters was Mother Mary Fintan of the convent of Marie Reparatrice, Cincinnati, Ohio, another was Mother Mary Magdelene, of St Mary's Abbey, Glencairn, Co. Waterford.

Dom Eugene became famous as a preacher and a Confessor,
https://www.irishcatholic.com/the-great-dom-eugene-boylan/
Quoten due course Eugene made his final profession in 1936 and was ordained a year later. He was appointed to the staff in the Abbey school, but it seems he was not a successful teacher. However, he became popular as a confessor and preacher. As a result many requests came from religious groups for him to conduct days of spiritual conferences and to give longer retreats.
He was highly sought out as a Confessor, so much so, that he was known as "the refuge of sinners"
QuoteHe was the abbey's public confessor, and was visited so often by people from far afield that he became known as the 'refuge of sinners' (Tipperary Star).
He was so highly regarded by his superiors, that he was sent to establish the first Trappist foundation in Australia:
QuoteDuring a visit to the Abbey in Roscrea in 1952 Cardinal Gilroy invited the abbot to make a foundation in his archdiocese in Sydney. Eugene was dispatched to explore the feasibility of such a project, as the first Cistercian ever to set foot in Australia. Eventually a foundation was made at Tarrawarra, near Melbourne, and Eugene himself was given the responsibility of ensuring its financial viability.
And latter in restoring to viability the foundering abbey on the Island of Caldey, Wales.
https://www.irishcatholic.com/the-great-dom-eugene-boylan/
QuoteThree years later Eugene was a member of the community on Caldey Island in the Bristol Channel, near the town of Tenby in South Wales. Caldey was the site of a monastic settlement dating from early Christian times.Subsequent to their transferring to the mainland a Cistercian monastery was established on the island. However, by the mid-1950s the community were struggling to keep it operational and the authorities sent Eugene to assist them.
He restored this abbey to health.
https://www.dib.ie/biography/boylan-eugene-a0840
QuoteHe was appointed prior of the monastery of Our Lady and St Samson, Caldey Island, Wales (1956–9), which was suffering financial difficulties; assisted by a Polish monk in the community, he made it economically viable by producing and selling perfumes distilled from local plants, which were sold in London and New York, and was largely responsible for the priory achieving the status of an abbey.
He was a highly in demand preacher of Retreats for the Trappists:
https://www.irishcatholic.com/the-great-dom-eugene-boylan/
QuoteAfter Eugene returned to Roscrea from Caldey he obtained permission to go to the US in response to appeals from American Cistercian abbots (Trappists as they were known in the US) to preach their annual retreat. While there he moved from one monastery to another.

Across the US there were 12 Cistercian foundations including the two largest monasteries in the world at Gethsemane in Kentucky and Spencer in Massachusetts. The renowned spiritual writer Thomas Merton, who was a member of the community in Gethsemane, was reported to have described Eugene's retreat as the best he had ever attended.
He was eventually appointed the abbot of his monastery in Roscrea, Ireland.
https://www.irishcatholic.com/the-great-dom-eugene-boylan/
Quote.
Dom Camillus Claffey, abbot of Mount St Joseph Abbey, Roscrea, resigned in 1962. He was succeeded by Dom Eugene, who by then was in greater demand than ever to conduct conferences and retreats. He also became a well-known figure because of his contributions on national issues. Following a car crash Dom Eugene died in hospital on January 5, 1964.
As for being hailed as one of those who prepared the way for Vatican II: 
Quotewhich for many pre-empted the innovations of the Second Vatican Council,
I also read a biography of Fr. Juan Arintero O.P. The famous Dominican spiritual writer; and the author also attributes to him being one of the "precursors of Vatican II" and gives as his 'evidence' the fact that Fr. Arintero held to the view that all Catholics were called to sanctity, which is allegedly one of the "unique" innovations of said Council.
And a note as to the "worldliness" of Dom Boylan's spirituality; The author is employing this term "equivocally" i.e. Not in its usual meaning but in the sense that Dom Boylan traveled all over the world in his duties as a preacher, founder and Retreat master.
"Challenging authority"? again, it appears that the author is using this term not in its usual sense, as Dom Boylan as far as the information I can find, was an obedient monk and servant of the Church.
I also have to add that I have read Dom Boylan's book, "This Tremendous Lover" and it is very solid and I would not hesitate to recommend it to any of the members of this forum or of my family and friends.   
"The World Must Conform to Our Lord and not He to it." Rev. Dennis Fahey CSSP

"My brothers, all of you, if you are condemned to see the triumph of evil, never applaud it. Never say to evil: you are good; to decadence: you are progess; to death: you are life. Sanctify yourselves in the times wherein God has placed you; bewail the evils and the disorders which God tolerates; oppose them with the energy of your works and your efforts, your life uncontaminated by error, free from being led astray, in such a way that having lived here below, united with the Spirit of the Lord, you will be admitted to be made but one with Him forever and ever: But he who is joined to the Lord is one in spirit." Cardinal Pie of Potiers

Michael Wilson

Now information on Thomas Merton.
I will only give the last part of his life, as he turned more and more to what appears to be a "syncretistic" form of spirituality, based on Buddhism:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton
(I was not able to copy the portion of the article on Merton's spirituality.)
"The World Must Conform to Our Lord and not He to it." Rev. Dennis Fahey CSSP

"My brothers, all of you, if you are condemned to see the triumph of evil, never applaud it. Never say to evil: you are good; to decadence: you are progess; to death: you are life. Sanctify yourselves in the times wherein God has placed you; bewail the evils and the disorders which God tolerates; oppose them with the energy of your works and your efforts, your life uncontaminated by error, free from being led astray, in such a way that having lived here below, united with the Spirit of the Lord, you will be admitted to be made but one with Him forever and ever: But he who is joined to the Lord is one in spirit." Cardinal Pie of Potiers