The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

Tuesdays With Merton

A webinar series presented by the International Thomas Merton Society, and cosponsored by the Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union, on the second Tuesday of each month. Free and open to the public. Registration required.

Recordings of the webinars will be available on the Tuesdays with Merton YouTube Channel within a few days of their broadcast: Tuesdays with Merton YouTube Channel. Audio-only versions also will be available later via podcast.

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Upcoming Tuesdays with Merton

 


The 2026 Annual Fourth and Walnut Lecture

Finding Thomas Merton on the Campaign Trail

with

JOHN DICKERSON

March 17, 2026 - 7 pm EST


Frazier Hall, Bellarmine Univeristy
and live-streamed as the March 2026 Tuesdays with Merton webinar

REGISTER  for the Virtual Webinar

The in-person lecture is free and open to the public, no registration required


John Dickerson is a journalist, author, and longtime interviewer, most recently co-anchor of the CBS Evening News and chief political analyst for CBS News. He spent 16 years at CBS, where he also served as senior national correspondent, contributor to CBS News Sunday Morning, and previously co-host of CBS This Morning. From 2015 to 2018, he moderated Face the Nation and served as the network’s chief Washington correspondent. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he moderated two CBS presidential debates. From 2019 to 2021, he was a correspondent for 60 Minutes, where his story on the death of Elijah McClain was nominated for an Emmy. He resigned from CBS News in December 2025.

In addition to his political reporting, Dickerson is known for his in-depth interviews with figures ranging from Apple CEO Tim Cook to actors Glenda Jackson and Christian Bale; authors Colson Whitehead, Michael Lewis, and Tara Westover; and musicians John Prine, Jon Batiste, Jason Isbell, and Dave Matthews.

Dickerson is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and for 20 years has been a co-host of Slate’s Political Gabfest. He also hosts Whistlestop, a podcast on presidential history, and Navel Gazing, drawn from his 35 years of notebooks he carries with him.

He began his career at Time magazine, covering economics, Congress, and national politics, and spent four years as its White House correspondent. From 2005 to 2015, he was Slate’s chief political correspondent. He has covered nine presidential campaigns.

Dickerson is the author of On Her Trail (Simon & Schuster); the New York Times bestseller Whistlestop: My Favorite Stories from Presidential Campaign History (Twelve Books); and The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency (Random House).

He has received the Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency, the David Broder Award for political reporting, and in 2025, the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in TV Political Journalism for his essays.

A native Washingtonian, Dickerson graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia with a degree in English and American Studies. He lives in New York City where he serves on the board of Covenant House International.


BYRON D. WRATEE

"The Sound of the Genuine 'True Self':
Thomas Merton, Howard Thurman, and Mystical Anthropology"

April 14, 2026 - 7 pm EST
 

This presentation examines how Thomas Merton and Howard Thurman each offer distinct yet related perspectives on mystical anthropology. It brings Thurman’s “search for common ground” into conversation with Thomas Merton’s account of the “true self.” While Thurman asks how oppressed communities can remain spiritually alive amid racism, poverty, and political terror, Merton confronts the “false self” constructed by egoism, consumerism, nationalism, and approval addiction. Though writing from different social locations, both identify fear as the central force distorting human identity and turn to contemplation as a practice of re-humanization. By grounding the self in divine depth rather than social scripts, they offer complementary resources for resisting internalized oppression across the color line.

Byron D. Wratee
 was born and raised in Kingstree, South Carolina, a rural town in South Carolina’s Gullah-Geechee corridor. Dr. Wratee worked as a lawyer and political activist before becoming a theologian. His family has a long tradition of military service, so he decided to serve briefly. He deployed in 2011 to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as a combat medic. Dr. Wratee discerned the call to become a theologian during his tour in Afghanistan.

A lifelong musician, Dr. Wratee served as a pastoral musician and liturgist in several churches. He also ministers as a lay preacher and has preached at churches in multiple denominations. Byron currently teaches in the theology and religious studies department at Villanova University.


JESSICA SUN

"Rain and the Rhinoceros: Advent in Palestine and Journeying with Justice"

May 12, 2026 - 7 pm EST

This past Advent, seventeen peacemakers led by Catholic Workers across the country returned from Palestine-Israel hosted by Sabeel, which is the grassroots, ecumenical Palestinian liberation theology movement rooted in the universal ethic of nonviolence. Meeting with civil society peacemakers across faiths, institutions, and identities in Palestine-Israel, the goals of the trip were to 1) be with and encourage the people who are under attack, 2) collaborate with Sabeel on ways that the unjust, complex realities of life in Palestine-Israel might be improved, and 3) expose human rights violations and prioritize human connection. The delegation was part of a wave of desperately needed international presence, answering the open invitation from Palestinian Christians, who are the direct descendants of the first Christians and the Living Stones of our faith, to come and see, and go and tell. They are seeking solidarity and a physical presence from faith communities in the United States amidst the U.S.-funded ongoing genocide in Gaza that is spreading to the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Jessica Sun (she/they) is a 2nd generation economic-settler-immigrant and Chinese U.S. American zillennial from northern Virginia. A Catholic convert after 10 years of identifying with varying philosophies as an agnostic, she finds a dear sense of belonging in spaces of zealous, Gospel-led advocacy and action for just peace and nonviolence. Christians for a Free Palestine, Pax Christi USA, and the PCUSA Young Adult Caucus are her organizing homes. A graduate of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, she had worked as a software engineer by day, local activist by life. She is currently in the application process to the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods.


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