"There may be much desolation and suffering in the spirit of the contemplative, but there is always more joy than sorrow, more security than doubt, more peace than desolation. The contemplative is one who has found what every man seeks in one way or other."—Thomas Merton, The Inner Experience Contemplation is the single strand that binds together the life and work of Thomas Merton.

Thomas Merton's Paradise Journey: Writings on Contemplation traces the development of Merton's thought on the subject from his early What Is Contemplation? to his later works and journals. In addition, Merton scholar William H. Shannon provides incisive commentary and substantial excerpts from The Inner Experience.

WILLIAM H. SHANNON, professor emeritus in the religious studies department at Nazareth College, is a priest of the Diocese of Rochester, New York. His many books include The Silent Lamp: The Thomas Merton Story (Crossroad) and 'Something of a Rebel': Thomas Merton, His Life and Works—An Introduction (St. Anthony Messenger Press). He is the founding president of the International Thomas Merton Society.