THE HIDDEN SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN – Encounters with Wisdom’s Poor & Holy
Deacon Lucien Miller
$17.95
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A discovery of the Holy Innocents of Asia and America who suffer through no fault of their own and whose lives Mother Teresa of Calcutta insisted were redemptive for humankind.
On the hidden side of a mountain in the Japanese Alps, the writer experiences a Zen Catholic “Fire-Mass” during which a silent collective breath imbues the Eucharist. Worshippers come into being and disappear in the mystical koan “This is My Body.” In a Mother Teresa home on the plains of central India among the poorest of the poor whom he contemplates in a bafflingly mysterious light, Holy Wisdom reveals herself, and a pilgrim deacon stumbles upon an identity and vocation beyond words.
Looking back over the course of his eight decades he comes to realize that the mystery of “pilgrimage” encapsulates his life. Gradually there emerges a hidden thread, a piece of woolen yarn that seems to weave itself into an oriental rug within which he enwraps himself: a spiritual vocation. He was meant to go where he goes and to be where he is, even though he had not intended it. Looking forward all is discovery; looking back all is providence.
“Thomas Merton, spiritual explorer and monk, wrote “Pilgrimage is necessary, in some shape or other. Mere sitting at home and meditation on the divine presence is not enough for our time. We have to come to the end of a long journey and see that the strangers we meet there are no other than ourselves—which is the same as saying that we find Christ in them.” Lucien and Bonnie have been pilgrims together, being at home with strangers on the other side of their usual worlds Lucien’s stories of their spiritual journeys invite you to join them in realizing that, wherever you travel, every soul you meet is already one with yours.”
—Jonathan Montaldo, co-general editor for the Fons Vitae Thomas Merton Series
“Reading Lucien Miller’s The Other Side of the Mountain can be a profoundly moving experience. It’s a game-changer, really, an extended meditation in line with Thomas Merton’s Asian Journals. Eighty now, Miller has been a lifelong seeker, whose journey has taken him from the academic side of things to the ever more spiritual. The book, replete with some thirty-five photographs, reads like a prose poem, cutting away from the non-essential that so often stands in the way of getting to the truth of things, the heart of the matter, insofar as words can provide glimmerings of that luminous reality.”
—Paul Mariani, University Professor Emeritus, Boston College
“Professor Lucien Miller, a retired Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature and Chinese, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, Catholic Deacon, and scholar on Merton and Judaism, has written a classic book entitled The Hidden Side of the Mountain. Like his role model, Merton, Lucien and his wife Bonnie went on a lifelong pilgrimage and found deep meaning in helping the holy innocents – those who suffer through no fault of their own. Like Merton, Lucien discovered that he could move more West by going East. By connecting with other religions, he deepened his own Catholic faith. He discusses monasticism, the contemplative life, his “New England Scar Tissue “where if he mentions the word Buddhism or Tao to his students, it makes them “tranquil and happy” but if he mentions the words Bible or New Testament, it brings out a “twitch or two”.
He is also a risk taker and embracer of life. He movingly talks about praying in memoriam for the holy innocents. He quotes Father Johnson : “We used to say that dialogue between the religions is necessary for world peace. Now we can say that dialogue between the religious is necessary for world survival”. He speaks of grace, forgiveness redemptive suffering, abortion, the collective guilt of Americans in Vietnam and Japan. He sees his pilgrimage as divine providence. He believes in healing dialogue. Like Mother Theresa, he heard the call to help the afflicted poor, those with leprosy, the poorest of the poor, the most marginalized, and those dying. He knows there is an inadequacy in reasoning to provide enlightenment and found it through experience, grace, and gratitude. Through his actions and faith, he found holy wisdom. The Hidden Side of the Mountain is a remarkable book. If you read it, you will become wiser and more human.”
Lucien and Bonnie have been pilgrims together, being at home with strangers on the other side of their usual worlds. Lucien’s stories of their spiritual journeys invite you to join them in realizing that, wherever you travel, every soul you meet is already one with yours.
Reading Lucien Miller's The Other Side of the Mountain can be a profoundly moving experience. It’s a game-changer, really, an extended meditation in line with Thomas Merton's Asian Journals.
Professor Lucien Miller, a retired Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature and Chinese, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, Catholic Deacon, and scholar on Merton and Judaism, has written a classic book entitled The Hidden Side of the Mountain. Like his role model, Merton, Lucien and his wife Bonnie went on a lifelong pilgrimage and found deep meaning in helping the holy innocents – those who suffer through no fault of their own. Like Merton, Lucien discovered that he could move more West by going East. By connecting with other religions, he deepened his own Catholic faith. He discusses monasticism, the contemplative life, his “New England Scar Tissue “where if he mentions the word Buddhism or Tao to his students, it makes them “tranquil and happy” but if he mentions the words Bible or New Testament, it brings out a “twitch or two”.
He is also a risk taker and embracer of life. He movingly talks about praying in memoriam for the holy innocents. He quotes Father Johnson : “We used to say that dialogue between the religions is necessary for world peace. Now we can say that dialogue between the religious is necessary for world survival”. He speaks of grace, forgiveness redemptive suffering, abortion, the collective guilt of Americans in Vietnam and Japan. He sees his pilgrimage as divine providence. He believes in healing dialogue. Like Mother Theresa, he heard the call to help the afflicted poor, those with leprosy, the poorest of the poor, the most marginalized, and those dying. He knows there is an inadequacy in reasoning to provide enlightenment and found it through experience, grace, and gratitude. Through his actions and faith, he found holy wisdom. The Hidden Side of the Mountain is a remarkable book. If you read it, you will become wiser and more human.
