Book
Review – Everything Belongs
The Gift of Contemplative
Prayer |
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Author — Richard
Rohr, OFM
Publisher - Crossroad
Review by Tom Gilbert — © July, 2009
Everything Belongs is the one book by Richard
Rohr (noted author, speaker and founder of the Center for Action
and Contemplation) I recommend more than any of his others.
He has written many wonderful books, but this one contains several
of the oft-repeated themes found in his other writings.
Subtitled The Gift of Contemplative Prayer, this
work helps us to see a number of things that we often have been
blinded to, even if we think we are good Christians. Each chapter
has many nuggets of insight which help us discover, or remind
us again of the existence of what I call the Great Mystery
of Divine Reality.
The book reminds me of several important things about life
and God.
Life is not about me; I am about life. It is about participation
in the great dance of life. And how I participate reveals whether
I get it or not, because in my interaction with people and creation
I reveal my true motives. Selfish or of service?
God is not out there. Where is God? Everywhere! Right
here, right now. In you and in me. Jesus and the Incarnation
- God as human as the rest of us - is to show us that God is
one of us, in us and always among us. That's radical to embrace
because then our response to life and to others must be love.
Otherwise we are not really loving God (1
John).
God seems to be all about mercy and forgiveness. This is how
He expresses His constant love to us. He hopes for us to turn
away from "darkness" (our sin) and embrace the "light"
(reality). God forgives us before we even ask, but I believe
it takes recognizing this reality and our sin (repentance) and
accepting the forgiveness to have any effect. And of course
God asks us to forgive others just as we are forgiven.
We don't come to God by doing it right. It's not a performance
thing; we can't earn it. We should strive to do right because
that is love, but God is waiting for us to recognize our imperfection
and powerlessness. As Rohr says, "We come to God by doing
it wrong!"
We have to learn to really see. Clean the lens. Change our perspective.
Understand that our limited "small" mind wants to
protect our ego and is counterintuitive to the "big"
mind of the Divine. Religion should be teaching us this, especially
Christianity which should proclaim the Truth that is found in
all of Creation. We are wrong to condemn the spiritual path
and seeking of others. God is bigger than our religion. God
doesn't only use Christians to proclaim His message. But Christianity
can add to all religions and spiritual seekers the truth that
God chooses relationship with us to the point that as Jesus
Christ He became one of us and willingly suffered and died for
us. In his humanity Jesus also shows us how to live.
We all come to the Great Mystery through our own experience
- our own story. The Bible is God revealed inside a great story.
Over and over again we learn about others seeking and discovering
God, but still failing and making mistakes, sinning and God
calling them back with forgiveness to teach us not to give up.
It is a safe universe. We should not live in fear. Over and
over again throughout the Bible God's messengers say "Don't
be afraid".
Contemplation allows us to be still and to be aware of God's
presence. It is not about saying the right words. According
to Rohr, prayer is a stance. It is a stance of humble awe; it
is not about being for or against something. How different from
the way we usually live. If we call ourselves Christian and
yet spend most of our time pointing out what is right and what
is wrong we are missing the point. God judges - it is not our
job. We need to do the interior work of changing and transforming
so that we truly live in Christ. Only God has the power to do
this in us. And only God has the power to do this with everyone
else. Can we accept the task of being instruments of God's love
and grace?
God is like a great flowing river of love. We cannot control
the flow. It is useless to swim against the flow. We can only
be a part of it. We should be in a constant state of humility
at the enormity of God's love.
What we discover about God is important, but what we do with
what we know about God is more important.
God uses all things and redeems all things for His vast and
infinite goodness. Everyone is invited. God is not threatened
by diversity; instead he seems to encourage it! We don't get
to say who is "in" and who is "out". Everything
is right here, right now and all that is needed is surrender
and gratitude. When we truly embrace that everything belongs
we can see that all is sacred.
Richard Rohr, O.F.M., is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico
Province. He has authored many books on a variety of spiritual
and religious topics. He is an in-demand speaker and retreat
leader. He presently serves as the founding director of the
Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
More at www.cacradicalgrace.org.
Everything Belongs - The Gift of Contemplative Prayer
is published by the Crossroad Publishing Company and is available
online, including at Amazon.com.
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| Tom Gilbert writes articles
and reviews about the Christian life and maintains the e-ministry,
Living the Solution (www.livingthesolution.com) |
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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978,
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the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
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Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,
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of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All
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