Parsons, Linda (also Linda Sabbath and Miroslav Prozak), 1926-2013

Scope and Content

Merton and Parsons primarily discuss mysticism in Christianity and in eastern religions in this large collection of correspondence.

Linda Parsons, born Miroslav Prozak (also spelled Miroslava Projak), was a Catholic convert in her thirties who underwent powerful ecstasies of religious experience. Parsons and Martha Crampton of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, organized the R. M. Bucke Memorial Society for the study of religious experience. She began a correspondence with Merton, and, after his death, founded a Thomas Merton Retreat Center at Lake Magog, near the Benedictine monastery of St. Benoît du Lac. Later, she married Peter Sabbath who became the retreat center's director, which later moved to Montreal. (Source: The Hidden Ground of Love, p. 516.)

#	Date	From/To	First Lines	Pub ✓	Notes
	y/m/d	Merton		Scan ✉
1.	1965/03/29	HLS to Merton	The enclosed describes the aims and activities of the society which I represent. We sprang up out		«detailed view»
2.	1965/04/25 (#01)	TL[c] from Merton	It took your good letter quite some time to reach me, and in any case my replies are always somewhat	✓	«detailed view»
3.	1965/04/25 (#02)	TLS[x] from Merton	It took your good letter quite some time to reach me, and in any case my replies are always somewhat	✓	«detailed view»
4.	1965/05/16	HLS to Merton	Before answering your letter myself. I passed it on to two other members of our society.		«detailed view»
5.	1965/05/22	TALS[x] from Merton	I am grateful for the mimeographed conference proceedings on PERSONALITY CHANGE AND		«detailed view»
6.	1965/08/08 (#01)	TL[c] from Merton	By now you are probably at Pendle Hill, or maybe you are on your way home again. In any case I hope	✓	«detailed view»
7.	1965/08/08 (#02)	TLS[x] from Merton	By now you are probably at Pendle Hill, or maybe you are on your way home again. In any case I hope	✓	«detailed view»
8.	1965/09/22 (#01)	TLS to Merton	re your Hindu Abbott friend. The answer from Colgate University was not helpful, but Clare Booth		«detailed view»
9.	1965/09/22 (#02)	other to Merton	THE R.M. BUCKE MEMORIAL SOCIETY for the study of religious experience [-] PROGRAMME 1965-1966		[enclosed with 1965/09/22 letter] «detailed view»
10.	1965/10/03 (#01)	TL[c] from Merton	Now that I go to answer your letter I find that I have misplaced it, but I think most of the points	✓	«detailed view»
11.	1965/10/03 (#02)	TLS[x] from Merton	Now that I go to answer your letter I find that I have misplaced it, but I think most of the points	✓	«detailed view»
12.	1965/10/04 (#01)	TL[c] from Merton	Yesterday I mailed you a letter which I sent to your old address, the one I had in my address book.	✓	«detailed view»
13.	1965/10/04 (#02)	TLS[x] from Merton	Yesterday I mailed you a letter which I sent to your old address, the one I had in my address book.	✓	«detailed view»
14.	1965/10/28	TLS to Merton	Bernard Phillips sent me a carbon copy of his letter to you Oct. 22! I was a bit shocked, partly at		«detailed view»
15.	1965/10/31 (#01)	TLS[x] from Merton	I got your letter yesterday and really I had not reacted that way to Bernard Phillips' letter.	✓	«detailed view»
16.	1965/10/31 (#02)	TL[c] from Merton	I got your letter yesterday and really I had not reacted that way to Bernard Phillips' letter.	✓	«detailed view»
17.	1965/10/31 (#03)	TL[c] from Merton to Bernard Phillips	Well, I simply answer your question by turning it around. There are plenty of stories not only		[copy of Merton's letter to Phillips enclosed with 1965/10/31 letter to Parsons] «detailed view»
18.	1965/11/03	TLS to Merton	Letter to Bernard Phillips just fine! It might even help him if he's not careful. He came close		«detailed view»
19.	1965/11/no?	TLS[x] to Merton	Now, there seems to be a parallel to the ox herding pictures, but my single reaction at the time was		[first page not extant] «detailed view»
20.	1965/12/01 (#01)	TL[c] from Merton	I have very many things to thank you for. The other day I sent back a first package of what was to		«detailed view»
21.	1965/12/01 (#02)	TALS[x] from Merton	I have very many things to thank you for. The other day I sent back a first package of what was	✓	«detailed view»
22.	1965/12/06 (#01)	TALS to Merton	Finally got your Chang [sic] Tzu book, and my single reaction was one of relief. This summer I had		«detailed view»
23.	1965/12/06 (#02)	other	SESSHIN SCHEDULE [-] Tuxedo Park, N.Y. [-] November 24 [-] November 28 [-] 1965 [-] 5:00 A.M. Arise		«detailed view»
24.	1965/12/06 (#03)	other	Report on Zen retreat conducted by Yasutani Hakuun Roshi and Rev Eodo Shimeno [-] Nov 24-28 1965		«detailed view»
25.	1965/12/17 (#01)	TALS[x] from Merton	I have about fifteen things of yours to report on, and probably will not manage to say anything	✓	«detailed view»
26.	1965/12/17 (#02)	TL[c] from Merton	I have about fifteen things of yours to report on, and probably will not manage to say anything	✓	[originally filed with James Forest materials and moved to Linda Parsons file December 7, 2017 (likely mistaken as Linda Forest)] «detailed view»
27.	1966/01/05	TLS[x] from Merton	Did I ever thank you for the stones? You have much prettier ones up there than we have here:		«detailed view»
28.	1966/01/13 (#01)	TL[c] from Merton	Thanks for yours of Dec. 30th and the enclosures. You really write well about these things.		«detailed view»
29.	1966/01/13 (#02)	TLS[x] from Merton	Thanks for yours of Dec. 30th and the enclosure. You really write well about these things.	✓	«detailed view»
30.	1966/01/15	HNS[x] from Merton	I forgot to add in my letter the other day that I would enjoy reading Chang Chung Yuan's book		«detailed view»
31.	1966/01/24	TLS to Merton	re yours of Jan. 13th for which I thank you very much- "in getting to the root of why you feel guilt		«detailed view»
32.	1966/01/29 (#01)	TL[c] from Merton	If this letter turns out to be hard to follow, I tell you in advance that I am having a bad fight	✓	«detailed view»
33.	1966/01/29 (#02)	TLS[x] from Merton	If this letter turns out to be hard to follow, I tell you in advance that I am having a bad fight	✓	«detailed view»
34.	1966/01/31	TLS[x] from Merton	A couple of business points while I think of them. If Jacques Masui very badly wants to come down		«detailed view»
35.	1966/02/02	HLS[x] from Merton	I have only glanced at Battle for the Mind but will read it carefully later, as I think it	✓	«detailed view»
36.	1966/02/12 (#01)	TL[c] from Merton	I don't see any problem about "amoral". To begin with you mean it more speculatively	✓	«detailed view»
37.	1966/02/12 (#02)	TALS[x] from Merton	I don't see any problem about "amoral". To begin with you mean it more speculatively	✓	«detailed view»
38.	1966/02/17	HLS[x] from Merton	Just ran across a very interesting reference. I wonder if you could possibly get me a copy of the		«detailed view»
39.	1966/03/02	HLS[x] from Merton	Help!! The Chang book arrived only today (sent Feb. 16) and is due March 4. Impossible!		«detailed view»
40.	1966/03/19 (#01)	TL[c] from Merton	Sorry, it is just not possible for me to keep up, but if I thought there was something very	✓	«detailed view»
41.	1966/03/19 (#02)	TLS[x] from Merton	Sorry, it is just not possible for me to keep up, but if I thought there was something very	✓	«detailed view»
42.	1966/03/24	TNS to Merton	Let me know if you want the following: Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Three Muslim Sages, Harvard		«detailed view»
43.	1966/03/27	TALS to Merton	Is your operation over? I was very sorry to hear about it, and a bit sad for a day or two because		«detailed view»
44.	1966/03/29 (#01)	TALS to Merton	Just read about half of "Seasons of Celebration". If I'd ever had to understand even a small		«detailed view»
45.	1966/03/29 (#02)	other	IMAGO CHRISTI [-] Depraved tiger, fierce lamb, unholy sepulchre [-] rock empty newly chiseled every		[copy of poem by Haven O'More - enclosed with 1966/03/29 letter] «detailed view»
46.	1966/04/07	HLS[x] from Merton	Thanks for the three letters and all the enclosures. I am still in the hospital but getting out	✓	«detailed view»
47.	1966/04/12	TLS to Merton	Did you have a hand in writing the enclosed statutes? I think the group shows good sense		«detailed view»
48.	1966/04/13	TLS from Clark, Walter H.	Thank you very much for sending me the notes by Thomas Merton on Ascetical and Mystical Theology.		[letter from Walter Horton Clark, professor of the psychology of religion at Andover Newton Theological School] «detailed view»
49.	1966/04/20 (#01)	TLS to Merton	Made my first application to Bishop Remi de Roo of Vancouver, British Columbia to join the hermit		«detailed view»
50.	1966/04/20 (#02)	other	McGill University [-] Institute of Islamic Studies [-] Islamics 740 [-] The Mystical Tradition		[bibliography of Sufism compiled in October of 1964 for an Islamic Studies course] «detailed view»
51.	1966/04/20 (#03)	other	McGill University [-] Institute of Islamic Studies [-] The Library [-] L. 70 [-] CURRENT		[current accessions list for the Islamic Studies library from January of 1966] «detailed view»
52.	1966/04/26	HLS[x] from Merton	Thanks for everything, peanuts, graphology, everything you are a woman of infinite variety.	✓	«detailed view»
53.	1966/05/14	HLS[x] from Merton	Not much point in longing for solitude, it is not something you get but something you have - it is	✓	«detailed view»
54.	1966/05/26	TLS[x] from Merton	How are you? I hope you were not distressed at my kidding you about solitude. I am back	✓	«detailed view»
55.	1966/06/13 (#01)	TLS to Merton	The enclosed item re Queen attending joint religious service might be of interest. One wonders what		«detailed view»
56.	1966/06/13 (#02)	other to Merton	GENERAL NEWS [-] OFFICIAL BIRTHDAY: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip acknowledge the cheers		[news clipping about Queen Elizabeth of England attending an interreligious service] «detailed view»
57.	1966/06/18 (#01)	TL[c] from Merton	I might as well try to write you a proper letter for once. First, thanks for the Tibetan Initiation	✓	«detailed view»
58.	1966/06/18 (#02)	TLS[x] from Merton	I might as well try to write you a proper letter for once. First, thanks for the Tibetan Initiation	✓	«detailed view»
59.	1966/06/30	TLS to Merton	Don't give up hope about the Charles Luk book and The law of the Buddha Among the Birds.		«detailed view»
60.	1966/07/04	TLS to Merton	Back in Montreal and almost clear-headed! Very nice feeling to have all that junk in my mind		«detailed view»
61.	1966/07/09	TLS[x] from Merton	Thanks very much for your letter of the 4th, the New Yorker piece on Nhat Hanh, and the one on Dr	✓	«detailed view»
62.	1966/07/14 (#01)	TL[c] from Merton	Here are some negative strips with root pictures on them here and there. I was going to wait		«detailed view»
63.	1966/07/14 (#02)	TLS[x] from Merton	Here are some negative strips with root pictures on them here and there. I was going to wait		«detailed view»
64.	1966/07/17	TLS to Merton	Very sorry to hear your sprained ankle. I wish I were one of those fine Christians who would		«detailed view»
65.	1966/07/19 (#01)	TL[c] from Merton	The way this letter is typed may not indicate that I am thriving on sattvic foods. I want to thank		«detailed view»
66.	1966/07/19 (#02)	TLS[x] from Merton	The way this letter is typed may not indicate that I am thriving on sattvic foods. I want to thank	✓	«detailed view»
67.	1966/07/24	TALS to Merton	Very many thanks for your paper "Transcendent Experience" for the Newsletter. It should certainly		«detailed view»
68.	1966/07/28	TLS[x] from Merton	The tea has arrived and is most welcome. To me, that is the best of gifts. I can't think	✓	«detailed view»
69.	1967/06/07	TLS to Merton	You are to be congratulated on having written and so succeeded in having published the desperately		«detailed view»
70.	1967/07/05	TL[c] from Merton	Thanks for you good letter. I am glad you appreciate Mystics and Zen Masters, and share your hope		«detailed view»
71.	1967/07/14	TALS to Merton	Thank you for yours of July 5th. And enclosures. Edifying Cables is great fun! Very nice, indeed.		«detailed view»
72.	1967/07/18	TALS to Merton	Post Script to my letter of July 14th. Excerpt from letter to me by my cousin, Brother Andrew,		«detailed view»
73.	1967/08/07	TL[c] from Merton	Have I yet thanked you for the Surangama Sutra? If not I do now. It is a book of essential		«detailed view»
74.	1968/02/26	TLS to Merton	Last summer we met Seyyed Hossein Nassr both in Montreal and in the U.S. He sends you his warmest		«detailed view»
75.	1968/03/13	TL[c] from Merton	Thanks for yours of Feb 26th. I was very happy to hear about Dr Nasr[.] He is a person I admire		«detailed view»
76.	1972/09/14	TALS to Center from Parsons, Linda	Thank you very much for your form letter to the friends of Thomas Merton. First of all let me		«detailed view»
77.	1972/09/29	TL[c] from Center to Parsons, Linda	Thank you for your letter of September 14, and your kind words about the work of our Center and		«detailed view»
78.	2004/12/22	email from Center to Gardner, Barbara	Many thanks for your message. Please find attached a copy of Form C as requested.		«detailed view»
79.	2004/12/23 (#01)	TLS from Gardner, Barbara / to Anne McCormick	Dr. Pearson gave me your name as the person to whom I should send our collection of Thomas Merton		«detailed view»
80.	2004/12/23 (#02)	other from Gardner, Barbara / to Anne McCormick	(Form C) Date: Dec. 23, 2004		«detailed view»

The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

Merton's Correspondence with:

Parsons, Linda (also Linda Sabbath and Miroslav Prozak), 1926-2013

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