James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest and writer who serves as editor-at-large of America. Father Martin’s writing has appeared in Commonweal, U.S. Catholic, The Tablet, The New York Times, The Wall ...

Contemplation is one of the greatest deeds performed by the heart; it is the key that opens the door which allows the light of guidance to enter; it is the initial step in the direction of correct ...

Thomas Merton, the great twentieth-century American writer on spirituality, began his book New Seeds of Contemplation (1961, New Directions) with the suggestion that contemplation is, "The highest ...