Thomas Merton e o salto da fé

Abstract

This research aims to list, so panoramic, the motivations for which Thomas Merton was involved to the point of performing his leap of faith. His conversion to the Roman Catholic Church was built through a complex process of comings and goings concerning the faith. Prefigured by the art, it was being weaved by literature, friendship, by the crisis and, above all, by grace. The present work aimed to trace the paths Merton travelled by from his childhood, approaching features in his temperament, to his family relationship, his religiosity, his youth and his academic and intellectual experiences. Also was included affective and moral aspects and his openness to the transcendent, and the reverberations of such experiences as he reached his first phase as a Trappist monk. His metanoia was not reduced to only an instant. It was spread throughout his whole existence, although this text has been limited to the period of his novitiate and at the time of his first vows. The methodology is based on a bibliographical research, with emphasis on historical perspective and guided by his own autobiography the mountain of the seven levels (1948).