Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation for Sunday, 4 June 2017 : "Depth and Breadth" The Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation
Image credit: Saint Francis of Assisi Is Wed to Lady Poverty (detail), Fresco attributed to Giotto di Bondone, c. 1330, Basilica di San Francesco (lower level, over the altar), Assisi, Italy.
"Franciscan Spirituality: Week 1"
"Depth and Breadth"Sunday, June 4, 2017
One reason so many people have lost heart today is that we feel both confused and powerless. The forces against us are overwhelming: consumerism, racism, militarism, individualism, patriarchy, the corporate juggernaut. These “powers and principalities” seem to be fully in control. We feel helpless to choose our own lives, much less a common life, or to see any overarching meaning. The world is so complex, and we are so small. What can we do but let the waves of history carry us and try to keep afloat somehow?
But maybe we can at least look for some patterns, or for those who found the patterns. Let’s turn to a thirteenth-century Italian who has one of the longest bibliographies of anyone in history: Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). His simple wisdom has attracted many cultures and religions and continues to resonate eight hundred years later.
Saint Francis stepped out into a world being recast by the emerging market economy. He lived amid a decaying old order in which his father was greedily buying up the small farms of debtors, moving quickly into the new entrepreneurial class. The Church seems to have been largely out of touch with the masses. But Francis trusted a deeper voice and a bigger truth. He sought one clear center—the Incarnate Jesus—and moved out from there.
Francis understood everything from this personalized reference point. He followed Jesus in at least three clear ways. First, Francis delved into the prayer depths of his own tradition, as opposed to mere repetition of tired formulas. Second, he sought direction in the mirror of creation, as opposed to mental and fabricated ideas or ideals. Third, and most radically, he looked to the underside of his society, to the suffering, for an understanding of how God transforms us. In other words, Francis found both depth and breadth—and a process to keep him there.
The depth was an inner life where all shadow, mystery, and paradox were confronted, accepted, and forgiven—and God was encountered. The breadth was the ordinary and sacred world itself.
Francis showed us the process for staying at the center: entering into the world of human powerlessness. In imitation of Jesus, he chose “poverty” as his honest and truthful lens for seeing everything. Francis set out to read reality through the eyes and authority of those who have “suffered and been rejected”—and, with Jesus, come out resurrected. This is the “privileged seeing” of those who have been initiated by life. It is the true baptism of “fire and Spirit” with which, Jesus says, we must all be baptized (see Mark 10:39).
For Francis, the true “I” first had to be discovered and realigned (the prayer journey into the True Self). He then had to experience himself situated inside of a meaning-filled cosmos (a sacramental universe). Francis prayed, “Who are you, God? And who am I?” Finally, he had to be poor (to be able to read reality from the side of powerlessness). He realized that experiencing reality from the side of money, success, and power is to leave yourself out of sympathy with 99% of the people who have ever lived.
Gateway to Silence: Who are you, God? And who am I?
Reference:
Adapted from Richard Rohr with John Feister, Hope Against Darkness: The Transforming Vision of Saint Francis in an Age of Anxiety (St. Anthony Messenger Press: 2001), 3-5.
Online Courses
It can be challenging to find spiritual companions on the contemplative-active way. CAC offers self-paced, online courses to connect seekers from around the world. Deepen your understanding of Father Richard Rohr’s teachings in conversation with others.
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Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation
Image credit: Saint Francis of Assisi Is Wed to Lady Poverty (detail), Fresco attributed to Giotto di Bondone, c. 1330, Basilica di San Francesco (lower level, over the altar), Assisi, Italy.
"Franciscan Spirituality: Week 1""Depth and Breadth"Sunday, June 4, 2017
One reason so many people have lost heart today is that we feel both confused and powerless. The forces against us are overwhelming: consumerism, racism, militarism, individualism, patriarchy, the corporate juggernaut. These “powers and principalities” seem to be fully in control. We feel helpless to choose our own lives, much less a common life, or to see any overarching meaning. The world is so complex, and we are so small. What can we do but let the waves of history carry us and try to keep afloat somehow?
But maybe we can at least look for some patterns, or for those who found the patterns. Let’s turn to a thirteenth-century Italian who has one of the longest bibliographies of anyone in history: Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). His simple wisdom has attracted many cultures and religions and continues to resonate eight hundred years later.
Saint Francis stepped out into a world being recast by the emerging market economy. He lived amid a decaying old order in which his father was greedily buying up the small farms of debtors, moving quickly into the new entrepreneurial class. The Church seems to have been largely out of touch with the masses. But Francis trusted a deeper voice and a bigger truth. He sought one clear center—the Incarnate Jesus—and moved out from there.
Francis understood everything from this personalized reference point. He followed Jesus in at least three clear ways. First, Francis delved into the prayer depths of his own tradition, as opposed to mere repetition of tired formulas. Second, he sought direction in the mirror of creation, as opposed to mental and fabricated ideas or ideals. Third, and most radically, he looked to the underside of his society, to the suffering, for an understanding of how God transforms us. In other words, Francis found both depth and breadth—and a process to keep him there.
The depth was an inner life where all shadow, mystery, and paradox were confronted, accepted, and forgiven—and God was encountered. The breadth was the ordinary and sacred world itself.
Francis showed us the process for staying at the center: entering into the world of human powerlessness. In imitation of Jesus, he chose “poverty” as his honest and truthful lens for seeing everything. Francis set out to read reality through the eyes and authority of those who have “suffered and been rejected”—and, with Jesus, come out resurrected. This is the “privileged seeing” of those who have been initiated by life. It is the true baptism of “fire and Spirit” with which, Jesus says, we must all be baptized (see Mark 10:39).
For Francis, the true “I” first had to be discovered and realigned (the prayer journey into the True Self). He then had to experience himself situated inside of a meaning-filled cosmos (a sacramental universe). Francis prayed, “Who are you, God? And who am I?” Finally, he had to be poor (to be able to read reality from the side of powerlessness). He realized that experiencing reality from the side of money, success, and power is to leave yourself out of sympathy with 99% of the people who have ever lived.
Gateway to Silence: Who are you, God? And who am I?Reference:
Adapted from Richard Rohr with John Feister, Hope Against Darkness: The Transforming Vision of Saint Francis in an Age of Anxiety (St. Anthony Messenger Press: 2001), 3-5.
Online Courses
It can be challenging to find spiritual companions on the contemplative-active way. CAC offers self-paced, online courses to connect seekers from around the world. Deepen your understanding of Father Richard Rohr’s teachings in conversation with others.
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Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation for Saturday, 3 June 2017 : "Alternative Orthodoxy: Weekly Summary" The Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Summary: Sunday, May 28-Friday, June 2, 2017
Franciscans don’t throw out the mainline tradition; we simply place our effort and our energy on overlooked or misunderstood aspects of the tradition. (Sunday)
Franciscan alternative orthodoxy quietly but firmly pays attention to different things—like simplicity, humility, non-violence, contemplation, solitude and silence, earth care, nature and other creatures, and the “least of the brothers and sisters.” These are our true teachers. (Monday)
Simple living is the foundational social justice teaching of Jesus, Francis, Gandhi, Pope Francis, and all hermits, mystics, prophets, and seers since time immemorial. (Tuesday)
Franciscan alternative orthodoxy emphasizes incarnation instead of redemption. If God became a human being, then it’s good to be human, and we’re already “saved.” (Wednesday)
Jesus and Saint Francis had a genius for not eliminating or punishing the so-called negative side of the world, but incorporating and using it. (Thursday)
Franciscan alternative orthodoxy emphasized the cosmos instead of churchiness. As Francis said, “The whole world is our cloister!” (Friday)
"Practice: Being Love in a Broken World"
We are often tempted to deny, fix, or run away from suffering and imperfection. The Franciscan way, in imitation of Jesus, is to stand in solidarity and intimacy with the world’s hurt. Brian Mogren, an alum of CAC’s Living School and the director in residence of St. Jane House, a retreat and hospitality center in Minneapolis, reflects on what it’s like to live in an “alternative” way, being present and loving in the midst of brokenness.
Gateway to Silence: Everything belongs.Reference:
[1] Adapted from Brian Mogren, The Mendicant, vol. 7, no. 2 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2017), 5.
For Further Study:
Cynthia Bourgeault, James Finley, and Richard Rohr, Returning to Essentials: Teaching an Alternative Orthodoxy (CAC: 2015), CD, MP3 download
Richard Rohr, Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi (Franciscan Media: 2014) Richard Rohr, In the Footsteps of Francis: Awakening to Creation (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2010), CD, MP3 download
The Universal Christ: An Archetype for Everything
a webcast with Richard Rohr LIVE: Tuesday, June 20, 2017 4:30-6:00 p.m. U.S. MDT Or watch online any time through July 22, 2017!
Father Richard draws insights from his recent hermitage and a forthcoming book to explore the foundational pattern of death and resurrection. This archetype holds hope and wisdom for each of us. The cosmic Christ is simply another word for everything, for what’s happening everywhere and all the time!
Copyright © 2017Center for Action and Contemplation
Center for Action and Contemplation, 1823 Five Points Road SouthWest
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PO Box 12464 (mailing)Albuquerque, New Mexico 87195, United States
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