Learn about Irish Catholicism, early Christianity, and Eastern religions with Thomas Merton as your teacher. Recorded in March of 1968 at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, Celtic Spirituality: The Beginnings of Irish Monasticism investigates the history of Irish monasticism with special attention to St. Patrick. A monk, mystic, and scholar, Thomas Merton weaves together various threads to probe the depths of faith through an ecumenical lens. Merton's opening digression into distinctions within Buddhism is characteristically freewheeling and fascinating. Thomas Merton's powerful voice brings you through the formative years of the Church, giving you a glimpse into the fascinating world of medieval Ireland. Now You Know Media—through our exclusive partnership with the Merton Legacy Trust and the Thomas Merton Center—is proud to offer a wide selection of archival recordings of Thomas Merton: a Trappist monk, great twentieth-century mystic, and beloved author of the 1948 autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain. This talk is one in a series of carefully curated and remastered archival recordings of Thomas Merton—available exclusively from Now You Know Media.