The Christian Meaning Of Enlightenment

Catholic Theological Uniion Merton Lecture, 2018. Speaker: Br. Richard Rohr, OFM.

Haecceitas Thisness _ True Self False Self

Nothing Stands Alone

This is a great short video for the start of 2023! “Diversity tuning around one center”.

The Future Of Christianity

Great video from CAC referred to in my post Returning to Our Roots – Richard Rohr

Returning to Our Roots – Richard Rohr

During The Future of Christianity online summit, Father Richard spoke about discovering wisdom for Christianity’s future through the inspiration of those who led courageous lives in Christianity’s past:

One of the things that the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) taught us in the religious orders, and this was certainly from the Holy Spirit, is that we were each to go back to our founders and say, “What did Catherine McAuley found the Sisters of Mercy for? What did Francis form the Franciscans for? What did Ignatius do with the Jesuits?”. . . 

So as much as we experienced a renewal in scripture [in Vatican II, asking] “What did Jesus really teach?,” we were simultaneously doing the same thing—in our case with Francis of Assisi. We’re an alternative orthodoxy. We’re quite eager to remain in the Catholic or universal church, but some of the things it does are not very universal, not very Catholic at all! And that has shaken us to our foundations. So it did for me, too. We were founded by a prophet, Francis, who wasn’t the usual pious saint, but he didn’t accuse the system of being inferior. He just went out and did it better. That’s still one of our CAC principles: “The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.”

I was in Rome a couple of months ago, as some of you know, to visit the Holy Father [Pope Francis]. We took a little side trip to the church of Saint John Lateran; that’s where the pope lived in the thirteenth century. St. Peter’s wasn’t built yet. Out in the courtyard, there’s this marvelous, rather large set of statues, and it’s Francis in the thirteenth century approaching this top-heavy Roman church. He’s smiling, and his hand is raised in blessing, but it’s also raised in confrontation. That’s the history we’ve all been dealing with. How do we return to our sources, and discover that almost all our sources were critical of [their current] Roman Catholicism? . . .

It was such good news! That all the legalism and ritualism I had been taught really weren’t Franciscan at all. For example, I know you, even at the Center, call me “Father Richard,” but Francis didn’t want us to be fathers. He rejected any title of domination over another person. We were all to be called brothers, in Latin fratres, or friars in English. So we were friars, not monks. Our job was not to be priests, but to live among the people as brothers. Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as Francis dies, they’re laying hands on us, and we’re getting happily ordained as priests. Even when I was ordained in 1970, I didn’t fully know that history. I’m not saying those people weren’t sincere. Many of them are holier than I am. But it wasn’t Franciscanism.

Adapted from Richard Rohr, “Richard Rohr,” in The Future of Christianity: A Virtual Summit, Center for Action and Contemplation, streamed live on August 23, 2022, YouTube video, 1:56:18.  

Photo: Ashburnham Place

Unwrathing God

Fr. Richard Rohr OFM. – “Falling Upward”

‘Dumbing Down’ of humanity

There seems to be today the idea that if you disagree with certain lifestyles you are hater of those people/persons. This is particularly true within the LGBTQ community, but covers a multitude of life choices much bigger than these. When I was a young man living a debauched hedonistic prodigal lifestyle, my father disliked and disagreed with my lifestyle…but he never hated me. I may dislike and disagree with my son’s choice of lifestyle but I do not hate them! I have friends with whom I disagree because of their lifestyle choices…but I do not hate them! I know a multitude LGBTQ people as well as heterosexuals…I may disagree and/or dislike some of their lifestyles…but I do not hate them! To promote such an idea (that if you dislike or disagree with another’s lifestyle, gender orientation or choice, means you are a hater of them) is part of the dumbing down of our humanity and a way that will inevitably lead to the death of reason, free thought and society!

 

Brother Michael Daly. CJ May 2014

A Man of Grace – Brennan Manning

I recently found the following talks by Brennan Manning on ‘YouTube’ and share them here for your edification!

“If you took the love of all the best mothers and fathers who ever lived (think about that for a moment)–all the goodness, kindness, patience, fidelity, wisdom, tenderness, strength and love–and united all those virtues in one person, that person would only be a faint shadow of the love and mercy in the heart of God for you and me.”
~Brennan Manning

Live loved

Michael Daly. C.J.