The Seven Storey Mountain is a classic autobiography about a man steeped in sin, who finds himself called to faith, the Catholic Church, and the priesthood right in the midst of his immoral activities and lifestyle is a story of hope. No matter how far off course we get, God can still reach us, always loves us, and invites us back to him.It’s almost comical to consider the circumstances of Merton’s call to return to God and the Church. After a night of his usual drinking, smoking, and women, he feels drawn to the Church and receives an invitation to the vocation of the priesthood which he remarkably has the grace and wisdom to accept and even ask God for in prayer. The seeds of such contemplation were planted long before, but so much of his life he lived satisfying his desires for pleasure.
Being more familiar with Merton’s many spiritual reflections and revelations, it was interesting to read about what brought him to the faith. God’s grace was poured over Him time and again. He went from being a commonplace worldly young man to devoting his life to serving Jesus Christ and His people as a priest. Further proof that nothing is impossible with God.
One thing that made Merton’s story even more powerful for me was knowing about how this saint’s conversion and call to the priesthood in many ways mirrored the conversion that took place in my friend, in part, through reading this account of Merton’s spiritual metanoia.
I highly recommend this book as one that will be savored and enjoyed by those who think God’s grace isn’t great enough to bring about their conversion as well as for those who are praying for the conversion of someone who is living in sin seemingly oblivious to God.
I wrote this review of The Seven Storey Mountain for the Tiber River Blogger Review program. Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.
