Center for Action and Contemplation – Father Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation – Sunday, 5 January 2014 “Sic et Non; Yes, And”

Center for Action and Contemplation – Father Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation – Sunday, 5 January 2014 “Sic et Non; Yes, And”

Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation

Yes, And

Sic et Non; Yes, And

Sunday, January 5, 2014

In our education as Franciscans, we were told that our job was to somehow make the Word of God accessible to the ordinary person, so that it would bring them to life. One of the key elements of teaching theology was a tradition that in Latin was called Sic et Non. It was also the title of a very important book by Peter Abélard, written somewhere around 1100 A.D. Sic et Non is loosely translated “Yes and No” or “Yes, But” or “Yes, And.”

“Yes, And” best describes my own approach. First of all, I want to affirm the Tradition—what is worth saying “Yes” to, what is good and perennial and lasting and constant. And I complement Tradition with both Scripture and personal experience in order to form a holistic and balanced spiritual worldview. At the same time, I want to very often add, “But, how come no one ever tells us this? Why is this or that part of the Tradition somehow forgotten or ignored? What might be the biases at work here?” Spiritual teachings are invariably watered down to be palatable to the ego and to mass consumption.

It is the work of true spirituality to reteach the contemplative mind, which is nothing less than “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).(Adapted from Sic et Non; Yes, And webcast recording (MP3 download))

Gateway to Silence:

Yes . . . and . . .

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