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All of creation has a cruciform pattern. It is a "coincidence of opposites" (St. Bonaventure), a collision of cross-purposes, waiting for resolution--in us.
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Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation
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"Christ surrounded by Angels and Saints" (detail). Mosaic of a Ravennate Italian-Byzantine workshop, completed 526 AD by the so-called "Master of Sant'Apollinare," Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy.
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At Peace with Paradox
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
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A paradox is something that initially looks like a contradiction, but if you go deeper with it and hold it longer or at a different level, it isn't necessarily so. Holding out for a reconciling third, a tertium quid, allows a very different perspective and gives a different pair of eyes beyond mere either/or. You'd think Christians would have been prepared for this. Notice that Jesus in many classic icons is usually holding up two fingers as if to say, "I hold this seeming contradiction together in my one body!" Jesus is the living paradox, which, frankly, confounds and disturbs most of us. Normally humans identify with only one side of any seeming contradiction ("dualistic thinking" being the norm among humans). For Jesus to be totally human would logically cancel out the possibility that he is also totally divine. And for us to be grungy human beings would cancel out that we are children of God. Only the mystical, or non-dual mind, can reconcile such a creative tension. That's why Jesus is our icon of transformation! That's why we say we are saved "in him." We have to put together what Jesus put together. The same reconciliation has to take place in my soul. I have to know that I am a son of earth and a son of heaven. You have to know that you are a daughter of God and a daughter of earth at the same time, and they don't cancel one another out. All of creation has a cruciform pattern of loss and renewal, death and resurrection, letting go and becoming more. It is a "coincidence of opposites" (St. Bonaventure), a collision of cross-purposes waiting for resolution--in us. We are all filled with contradictions needing to be reconciled. The price we pay for holding together these opposites is always some form of crucifixion. Jesus himself was crucified between a good thief and a bad thief, hanging between heaven and earth, holding on to both his humanity and his divinity, a male body with a feminine soul. Yet he rejected neither side of these forces, but suffered them all, and "reconciled all things in himself" (Ephesians 2:10).
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Gateway to Silence
Jesus came to show God's love.
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A webcast with Richard Rohr, OFM
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Early Christianity Tuesday, April 14, 2015 5:00-6:30 p.m. Mountain Time Fr. Richard re-introduces us to the largely forgotten roots of our Christian faith--the Desert Fathers and Mothers and the Eastern Fathers of the Church. He helps us reclaim ancient teachings such as the prayer of quiet, the mutuality of Trinity, universal restoration, and a simple spirituality of transformation into Christ. Register at cac.org Register by Friday, April 10, 2015 to participate in the live webcast and/or to view the replay. The replay will become available approximately one week following the live webcast and will remain available for 30 days only to those who register in advance. |
Last chance to register! Breathing Under Water: A Spiritual Study of the Twelve Steps April 8-June 3, 2015 A self-paced, online course for anyone who seeks greater freedom and wholeness Learn more at cac.org Registration closes March 25 or when course reaches capacity. |
2015 Daily Meditation Theme
Richard Rohr's meditations this year explore his "Wisdom Lineage," the teachers, texts, and traditions that have most influenced his spirituality. Read an introduction to the year's theme and view a list of the elements of Fr. Richard's lineage in CAC's January newsletter, the Mendicant. |
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