GLOBAL AND ECUMENICAL IN SCOPE
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address: wholst@telus.net
CANADIAN IN PERSPECTIVE
Wayne A. Holst, Editor
My E-Mail Address: wholst@telus.net
This email is sent only to a voluntary subscriber list.
If you no longer wish to receive these weekly columns,
write to me personally - waholst@telus.net
*****
Dear Friends:
This week, colleague Richard Rohr celebrated
his 75th birthday. I am able to recognise him by
introducing a new book about him from Orbis:
"Richard Rohr - Essential Teachings on Love".
I also include his twitter message to mark the day.
Many at our church are fans of Richard's writings
and our library is updated with new books each year.
He is a Franciscan, and we attend our annual Lenten
retreat at Mount St. Francis, Cochrane AB - a Franciscan
Centre - much appreciated by many of us.
I include a full stable of articles and quotes in this
issue of Colleagues List, and hope you like it.
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
Book Notice -
RICHARD ROHR
Essential Teachings on Love
Selected with an Introduction
by Joelle Chase and Judy Traeger
Orbis Spiritual Masters Series
Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY
Released March, 2018
263 pages, $28.76 CAD. $22.00 US
ISBN #978-1-62698-269-7
Publishers Promo:
Drawn from the many books, writings, and interviews by
Richard Rohr, one of the most popular spiritual writers today,
this collections introduces many of the teachings for which
he has become known, all organized around the central
theme of Love.
--
Author's Words:
The most powerful, the most needed, and most essential
teachingis always about Love. Love is our foundation and
our destiny. It iswhere we come from and where we're headed. St. Paul so famously says "So faith, hope and love remain, but the greatest of these is love. (I Cor. 13:13).
My hope, whenever I speak or write, is to help clear away the
impediments to receiving, allowing, trusting, and participating
in a foundational Love. God's love is planted inside each of us
as the Holy Spirit, who, according to Jesus, "will teach you
everything and remind you of all I have told you" (John 14:26). Love is who you are.
- from the book's introductory chapter "1943-1957 - Love is
the Foundation of Everything".
--
Author's Bio:
Fr. Richard Rohr is a globally recognized teacher and the
founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC.org)
in Albuquerque, NM. His teaching is grounded in the Franciscan alternative orthodox - practices of contemplation and self–emptying, expressing themselves in radical compassion, particularly for the socially marginalized. He is also the academic dean of the Living School for Action and Contemplation.
Drawing upon Christianity's place within the Perennial Tradition, the mission of the Living School is to produce compassionate and powerfully learned individuals who will work for positive change in the world based on awareness of our common union with God and all created beings.
Fr. Richard is the author of numerous books, including
Everything Belongs, Adam's Return, The Naked Now,
Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, Immortal Diamond,
and Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi.
Here is a link to a longer Wikipedia bio with his bibliography
to 2017: https://tinyurl.com/y7s4tmvu
--
Orbis Publisher's letter from colleague Robert Ellsberg: http://www.orbisbooks.com/page-46.html
--
My Thoughts:
I was introduced to Richard Rohr almost 20 years ago by Ron Rolheiser, who readers of Colleagues List have the opportunity to hear from weekly. Ron invited Richard to a conference he had organized at St. Paul University, Ottawa and Richard gave the keynote address at that conference.
I began reading Rohr's books and other resources, and continue to do so. It has been a privilege to introduce many of his books on Colleagues List over the past years and he receives my weekly mailings as well.
As part of the Orbis Modern Spiritual Masters Series, this book - with selected writings from Rohr's work - is introduced by Joelle Chase and Judy Traeger who editor his daily meditations from the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque. What a wealth of spiritual resource this series truly is. Thank you series editor, colleague Robert Ellsberg!
It is no small task to draw a lifetime of Rohr's writings into a manageable collection, but Chase and Traeger do a good job of it. If you would like to acquire a well-formed summary of Rohr's work and his Franciscan "alternative theology," this book would a good place to start.
(By the way "alternative theology" does not mean "opposing" theology, but another way of expressing orthodox theology in the Christian tradition of Francis himself. Rohr explains his theological approach in the introductory chapter).
Rohr views his work as part of the biblical prophetic tradition in the spirit of Christ himself. His theology is presented here as an evolutionary, organic development of living love that has grown through four of his life stages of experience: foundations (his early years); his formation in the Franciscan order; his maturing efforts to blend contemplation and action in the Christian life; and his final spiritual growth stage of "loving God in everything." All material is easily documented so that it is possible to read in more detail the original sources from which these selections are drawn.
Rohr always focuses on core Christian themes, the central focus of which is love. Because of his unique way of writing and speaking with simplicity and clarity, he can work with a wide range of spiritual collaborators representing a wide range of people from cradle and former Catholics, Anglicans, Evangelical and mainstream Protestants, to "spiritual but not religious," to Buddhists, and to agnostics, all around the world.
"Rohr has had such a profound influence on so many Christians seeking to balance reason and mystery, action and contemplation, not to mention faith and real life," says Episcopalian pastor and author Nadia Bolz-Weber.
If you would like exposure to a helpful condensation of Rohr's writings; presented in a way you can engage a great deal of good material in a manageable way, I would heartily encourage you to secure this book.
Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
https://tinyurl.com/ya8n9tkk
Buy the book from Orbis Books:
https://tinyurl.com/ybvxd6qx
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Richard Rohr,
Albequerque, NM
Personal Twitter Message,
March 20th, 2018
"Thisness - 75 years of Life"
https://tinyurl.com/ya945kqd
--
Lorna Dueck,
Toronto, ON
Globe and Mail,
March 21st, 2018
"Faith-Based Students
Should Never be Denied Summer Jobs"
“Smart, ambitious, innovative …. and religious young
Canadians just got kicked to the curb by the Liberal
government. Faith-based youth have had their prospects
for summer jobs dimmed and their convictions marginalized
as all but one Liberal member of Parliament voted Monday
night to limit access for summer job grants to those who
believe in a pro-choice ethic. Something simple and open
such as the funding for summer jobs has become a public
relations nightmare for a government that champions
inclusion and diversity.” — Lorna Dueck
--
James Wall,
Chicago, IL
Wallwritings.
March 17th, 2018
"White Evangelicals Stifle Own Values for Trump"
https://tinyurl.com/ybpcddpk
--
Martin Marty
Chicago, IL.
Sightings,
March 19th, 2018
"Protesting Children"
https://tinyurl.com/y78rqzp8
--
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log
March 14th, 2018
"The Real Miracle of the Miracle Mile"
https://tinyurl.com/y8wxhbb8
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site,
March 19th, 2018
"Our Need to Pray"
https://tinyurl.com/ybv88o5x
*****
NET NOTES
THE CARDINAL WHO FELL FROM GRACE
Scottish Catholic Prelate Died This Week
The Tablet,
March 21st, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y8g3wzph
--
SIR ROGER BANNISTER'S "MIRACLE" ON THE TRACK
Remembering the Four Minute Mile Achievement
Sightings,
March 22nd, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y9zddd5g
--
TRUMP SURVIVING "STORMY" STORM
WITH EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN SUPPORT
Morning Consult
March 20th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y96eje9g
--
STEPHEN HAWKING DIED AN ATHEIST
No Deathbed Conversion for Him
Religion News Service
March 20th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/ybkdhgcu
*****
Dear Friends:
This week, colleague Richard Rohr celebrated
his 75th birthday. I am able to recognise him by
introducing a new book about him from Orbis:
"Richard Rohr - Essential Teachings on Love".
I also include his twitter message to mark the day.
Many at our church are fans of Richard's writings
and our library is updated with new books each year.
He is a Franciscan, and we attend our annual Lenten
retreat at Mount St. Francis, Cochrane AB - a Franciscan
Centre - much appreciated by many of us.
I include a full stable of articles and quotes in this
issue of Colleagues List, and hope you like it.
Wayne
*****
SPECIAL ITEM
Book Notice -
RICHARD ROHR
Essential Teachings on Love
Selected with an Introduction
by Joelle Chase and Judy Traeger
Orbis Spiritual Masters Series
Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY
Released March, 2018
263 pages, $28.76 CAD. $22.00 US
ISBN #978-1-62698-269-7
Publishers Promo:
Drawn from the many books, writings, and interviews by
Richard Rohr, one of the most popular spiritual writers today,
this collections introduces many of the teachings for which
he has become known, all organized around the central
theme of Love.
--
Author's Words:
The most powerful, the most needed, and most essential
teachingis always about Love. Love is our foundation and
our destiny. It iswhere we come from and where we're headed. St. Paul so famously says "So faith, hope and love remain, but the greatest of these is love. (I Cor. 13:13).
My hope, whenever I speak or write, is to help clear away the
impediments to receiving, allowing, trusting, and participating
in a foundational Love. God's love is planted inside each of us
as the Holy Spirit, who, according to Jesus, "will teach you
everything and remind you of all I have told you" (John 14:26). Love is who you are.
- from the book's introductory chapter "1943-1957 - Love is
the Foundation of Everything".
--
Author's Bio:
Fr. Richard Rohr is a globally recognized teacher and the
founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC.org)
in Albuquerque, NM. His teaching is grounded in the Franciscan alternative orthodox - practices of contemplation and self–emptying, expressing themselves in radical compassion, particularly for the socially marginalized. He is also the academic dean of the Living School for Action and Contemplation.
Drawing upon Christianity's place within the Perennial Tradition, the mission of the Living School is to produce compassionate and powerfully learned individuals who will work for positive change in the world based on awareness of our common union with God and all created beings.
Fr. Richard is the author of numerous books, including
Everything Belongs, Adam's Return, The Naked Now,
Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, Immortal Diamond,
and Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi.
Here is a link to a longer Wikipedia bio with his bibliography
to 2017: https://tinyurl.com/y7s4tmvu
--
Orbis Publisher's letter from colleague Robert Ellsberg: http://www.orbisbooks.com/page-46.html
--
My Thoughts:
I was introduced to Richard Rohr almost 20 years ago by Ron Rolheiser, who readers of Colleagues List have the opportunity to hear from weekly. Ron invited Richard to a conference he had organized at St. Paul University, Ottawa and Richard gave the keynote address at that conference.
I began reading Rohr's books and other resources, and continue to do so. It has been a privilege to introduce many of his books on Colleagues List over the past years and he receives my weekly mailings as well.
As part of the Orbis Modern Spiritual Masters Series, this book - with selected writings from Rohr's work - is introduced by Joelle Chase and Judy Traeger who editor his daily meditations from the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque. What a wealth of spiritual resource this series truly is. Thank you series editor, colleague Robert Ellsberg!
It is no small task to draw a lifetime of Rohr's writings into a manageable collection, but Chase and Traeger do a good job of it. If you would like to acquire a well-formed summary of Rohr's work and his Franciscan "alternative theology," this book would a good place to start.
(By the way "alternative theology" does not mean "opposing" theology, but another way of expressing orthodox theology in the Christian tradition of Francis himself. Rohr explains his theological approach in the introductory chapter).
Rohr views his work as part of the biblical prophetic tradition in the spirit of Christ himself. His theology is presented here as an evolutionary, organic development of living love that has grown through four of his life stages of experience: foundations (his early years); his formation in the Franciscan order; his maturing efforts to blend contemplation and action in the Christian life; and his final spiritual growth stage of "loving God in everything." All material is easily documented so that it is possible to read in more detail the original sources from which these selections are drawn.
Rohr always focuses on core Christian themes, the central focus of which is love. Because of his unique way of writing and speaking with simplicity and clarity, he can work with a wide range of spiritual collaborators representing a wide range of people from cradle and former Catholics, Anglicans, Evangelical and mainstream Protestants, to "spiritual but not religious," to Buddhists, and to agnostics, all around the world.
"Rohr has had such a profound influence on so many Christians seeking to balance reason and mystery, action and contemplation, not to mention faith and real life," says Episcopalian pastor and author Nadia Bolz-Weber.
If you would like exposure to a helpful condensation of Rohr's writings; presented in a way you can engage a great deal of good material in a manageable way, I would heartily encourage you to secure this book.
Buy the book from Amazon.ca:
https://tinyurl.com/ya8n9tkk
Buy the book from Orbis Books:
https://tinyurl.com/ybvxd6qx
*****
COLLEAGUE CONTRIBUTIONS
Richard Rohr,
Albequerque, NM
Personal Twitter Message,
March 20th, 2018
"Thisness - 75 years of Life"
https://tinyurl.com/ya945kqd
--
Lorna Dueck,
Toronto, ON
Globe and Mail,
March 21st, 2018
"Faith-Based Students
Should Never be Denied Summer Jobs"
“Smart, ambitious, innovative …. and religious young
Canadians just got kicked to the curb by the Liberal
government. Faith-based youth have had their prospects
for summer jobs dimmed and their convictions marginalized
as all but one Liberal member of Parliament voted Monday
night to limit access for summer job grants to those who
believe in a pro-choice ethic. Something simple and open
such as the funding for summer jobs has become a public
relations nightmare for a government that champions
inclusion and diversity.” — Lorna Dueck
--
James Wall,
Chicago, IL
Wallwritings.
March 17th, 2018
"White Evangelicals Stifle Own Values for Trump"
https://tinyurl.com/ybpcddpk
--
Martin Marty
Chicago, IL.
Sightings,
March 19th, 2018
"Protesting Children"
https://tinyurl.com/y78rqzp8
--
Jim Taylor,
Okanagan, BC
Personal Web Log
March 14th, 2018
"The Real Miracle of the Miracle Mile"
https://tinyurl.com/y8wxhbb8
--
Ron Rolheiser,
San Antonio, TX
Personal Web Site,
March 19th, 2018
"Our Need to Pray"
https://tinyurl.com/ybv88o5x
*****
NET NOTES
THE CARDINAL WHO FELL FROM GRACE
Scottish Catholic Prelate Died This Week
The Tablet,
March 21st, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y8g3wzph
--
SIR ROGER BANNISTER'S "MIRACLE" ON THE TRACK
Remembering the Four Minute Mile Achievement
Sightings,
March 22nd, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y9zddd5g
--
TRUMP SURVIVING "STORMY" STORM
WITH EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN SUPPORT
Morning Consult
March 20th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y96eje9g
--
STEPHEN HAWKING DIED AN ATHEIST
No Deathbed Conversion for Him
Religion News Service
March 20th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/ybkdhgcu
--
"AND A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM"
American Youth Lead Protest Against Gun Laws
by Joan Chittister,
National Catholic Reporter,
March 19th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/yaob73xx
--
EGERTON RYERSON: TARNISHED HERO
How Should We Try to Understand Him Today?
United Church Observer,
March, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y8jlxhly
--
FOUR MYTHS ABOUT SAINT PATRICK'S DAY
Much of it Did Not Originate in Ireland
CBC.ca News
March 17th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/yczd5vmz
"The True Meaning Behind St. Patrick's Day"
An American Perspective
America Magazine,
March 15th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/yb3cuvwx
--
COPTIC CATHOLIC BISHOP WELCOMES
EGYPTIAN CHANGE OF HEART
Persecution Has Strengthened the Church
La Croix International
March 16th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y9abhyhm
--
EASTERN ICONS CHALLENGE WESTERN
NOTION OF THE RESURRECTION
A Review of "Resurrecting Easter" -
by John Dominic and Sarah Sexton Crossan
National Catholic Reporter,
March 21st, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/y9jenv9e
--
FROM 'DOWNTON' TO JERUSALEM
HUGH BONNEVILLE SEARCHES FOR JESUS
Popular Actor Continues to Develop His Faith
Religion News Service
March 16th, 2018
https://tinyurl.com/ycrroepm
*****
WISDOM OF THE WEEK
From Sojourners and the Bruderhof online:
Earth’s crammed with heaven...
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
--
Violence is a symptom of impotence.
- Anaïs Nin
--
There is a different kind of prayer without ceasing; it is
longing. Whatever you may be doing, if you long for the
day of everlasting rest do not cease praying. If you do not
wish to cease praying, then do not cease your longing.
Your persistent longing is your persistent voice. But when
love grows cold, the heart grows silent. Burning love is the
outcry of the heart! If you are filled with longing all the time,
you will keep crying out, and if your love perseveres, your
cry will be heard without fail.
- Saint Augustine
--
“They have taken the Lord out of his tomb and we do not
know where they have laid him,” Mary Magdalene said,
and we can say this with her in times of doubt and
questioning. Then there’s that last glorious chapter of Saint
Luke, where Jesus says, “Why are you so perturbed? Why
do questions arise in your minds? Look at my hands and
my feet. It is I myself. Touch me and see.” Yes, sometimes
it is most surely an exercise of faith for us to see Christ,
especially in each other.
But it is through such exercise that we grow, and the joy
of our calling assures us we are on the right path. Most
certainly, it is easier to believe now that the sun warms us,
and we know that buds will appear on the sycamore trees
in the wasteland across the street, that life will spring out
of the dull clods of that littered park. There are wars and
rumors of war, poverty and plague, hunger and pain. Still,
the sap is rising, again there is the resurrection of spring,
God’s continuing promise to us that he is with us always,
with his comfort and joy, if we will only ask.
- Dorothy Day