{"id":27879,"date":"2026-11-09T19:32:39","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T00:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=27879"},"modified":"2026-11-10T07:52:40","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T12:52:40","slug":"27879","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=27879","title":{"rendered":"A Special Note from Father Richard: Loving a World We Have Yet to See\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&quot;Make Me a Channel of Your Peace&quot; Lyric Video\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RZuk3lFz85A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>The work of the Center for Action and Contemplation is made possible thanks to the generosity of people like you. Thank you for your partnership and trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.cmail19.com\/ei\/d\/6D\/512\/6E7\/095544\/csfinal\/WhatIsMinetoDo_11-08-11-14-2026Week45-990000079e04513c.png\" alt=\"Three graphics from ONEING What is ours to do\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/email.cac.org\/t\/d-l-wttjyly-dkgktyktu-y\/\">Support This Work<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.cmail19.com\/ei\/d\/6D\/512\/6E7\/095544\/csfinal\/black_divider_600x11-9900000000079e3c.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Loving a World We Have Yet to See&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Dear Dave (&amp; COFew) ,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ever since I read a novel about Saint Francis when I was fourteen, I knew I wanted to be a friar. Francis of Assisi (1182\u20131226) seemed to understand something that I was only beginning to glimpse: God is not somewhere else. God is present in all things, being revealed in all creation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Francis lived in remarkable harmony with the world. He knew that care for the earth, justice for the poor, and nonviolence were not separate concerns. They were all expressions of one reality. What intuitive genius! I am blessed to include Francis among my spiritual teachers. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are always being shaped by lives we did not witness and people we never know. We carry our parents and grandparents within us, along with generations stretching farther back than we can imagine. We have also been impacted by the lives of the saints and mystics throughout history, whether we know them by name or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i3.cmail19.com\/ei\/d\/6D\/512\/6E7\/095544\/csfinal\/MKM001741-990000079e028a3c.jpg\" alt=\"A tall tree in front of a building at sunset\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Christian tradition gives us a beautiful name for this: the communion of saints. Past, present, and future are not nearly as separate as our ordinary minds imagine them to be. Once we begin to see ourselves as part of this much larger story, we can take our lives very seriously\u2014we are part of the Great Whole\u2014and not take ourselves too seriously at all\u2014we are only one small part of the Great Whole. What freedom!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We do not have to fix everything. We do not have to complete the work ourselves. We only have to listen for what is ours to do and then have the courage to do it. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contemplation helps us live from this deeper place. It returns us to the Divine center beneath all our striving, fear, and need for control. From there, we can participate in something much larger than ourselves\u2014the healing of our world today and planting seeds of love for people we will never know. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was touched by the way one reader of the<em>&nbsp;Daily Meditations&nbsp;<\/em>described this kind of discernment:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i4.cmail19.com\/ei\/d\/6D\/512\/6E7\/095544\/csfinal\/2025-10-24_ReVision_ABQ_Quick_2018-990000079e028a3c.jpg\" alt=\"A person holding up their hands in prayer\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;<em>I will retire from teaching at the end of this school year but, at the age of sixty, I know I am not done. I feel God is calling me to something more\u2014but what? I feel called to more activism, but so much needs to be done. Where does one begin? I now see that I need to take a longer view and not push this process of discernment. I am grateful for the assurance that leaving teaching is not a failure, but an opportunity to grow anew wherever God leads me.<\/em>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I suspect many of us know that question: With so much suffering in the world, where does one begin? &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i5.cmail19.com\/ei\/d\/6D\/512\/6E7\/095544\/csfinal\/black_divider_600x13-9900000000079e3c.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>We are grateful for the hundreds of thousands of spiritual seekers like you&nbsp;who allow the Daily Meditations to accompany you as you listen for what is yours to do and as part of your contemplative practice, seeking loving guidance from spiritual ancestors and contemporary companions on the journey.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Twice per year, we pause our usual Daily Meditations and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/email.cac.org\/t\/d-l-wttjyly-dkgktyktu-j\/\">ask for your financial support<\/a><\/strong>. If the CAC\u2019s work, including the Daily Meditations, has supported you on your spiritual journey,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/email.cac.org\/t\/d-l-wttjyly-dkgktyktu-t\/\">please consider making a gift<\/a>. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>If you are able,\u202fwe invite you to consider making a monthly gift as a member of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/email.cac.org\/t\/d-l-wttjyly-dkgktyktu-i\/\">Bonaventure Circle of Support<\/a>,\u202fCAC\u2019s monthly giving community. Monthly gifts help provide scholarships to learners, expand the programs we offer, and make transformative wisdom more accessible for future generations. &nbsp;<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i6.cmail19.com\/ei\/d\/6D\/512\/6E7\/095544\/csfinal\/black_divider_600x13-9900000000079e3c.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The world has changed in unimaginable ways since I was a small boy in Kansas, and it will change again and again. We can\u2019t know for certain what is coming, but we have an opportunity in our lifetimes to love the world we have not yet seen. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Somehow, our occupation and vocation as believers in this time is to restore and strengthen the Divine center in us. From there, we will know what is ours to do\u2014and have the courage to do it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Peace and every good,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fr. Richard Rohr&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i7.cmail19.com\/ei\/d\/6D\/512\/6E7\/095544\/csfinal\/Richard-Rohr_Conspire20191-990000045101453c.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i8.cmail19.com\/ei\/d\/6D\/512\/6E7\/095544\/csfinal\/fr-richard-signature-2016-11-11-Edited-990a280000028a3c.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Founder, Center for Action and Contemplation&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/app-link\/post?publication_id=3367802&amp;post_id=223914857&amp;utm_source=post-email-title&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=2dkj2&amp;token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozOTkyMzY2LCJwb3N0X2lkIjoyMjM5MTQ4NTcsImlhdCI6MTc5NDE0ODk4NCwiZXhwIjoxNzk2NzQwOTg0LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMzM2NzgwMiIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.Zx2di8lT6-H4DalLkM-lPr_0LCfk9yT4mz5HKprGSPA\">a faith we\u2019re meant to outgrow<\/a><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">trading control for the cruciform path<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/@chuckdegroat\">CHUCK DEGROAT<\/a>   NOV 8<\/td><td><a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/@chuckdegroat\"><\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From ancient spiritual writers to contemporary developmental psychologists, there is a long tradition that recognizes unique seasons within a journey to maturity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Irenaeus, Bernard of Clairvaux, Jan van Ruysbroeck, Teresa of Avila, and others from centuries past intuited what James Fowler, Janet Hagberg, Robert Guelich, Walter Brueggemann, and Richard Rohr have made more widely known\u2014growth isn\u2019t an up-and-to-the-right rocket-ship of righteousness. It\u2019s a long-and-winding wilderness journey, to be sure, but it\u2019s a journey that unfolds in a discernible pattern. And it\u2019s a journey that invites us to reckon with&nbsp;<strong>everything within us prone to control, certainty, and ego-centricity for the sake of our maturity<\/strong>\u2014aimed at a&nbsp;<strong>cruciform<\/strong>&nbsp;life in&nbsp;<strong>communion<\/strong>&nbsp;with God.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That sounds beautiful\u2014but we\u2019re too often stuck, personally and collectively, at the stage of control, certainty, and ego-centricity. And sometimes this is baptized as godly strength, even a masculine ideal in a weak and woke world\u2014which tells me that we\u2019ve lost the Storyline, we\u2019re missing the ultimate aim, and we\u2019ve traded the strength-through-weakness of Jesus for the power-to-conquer of Caesar.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/redirect\/afe3e0bd-2a40-484f-ad3a-61ddb70d6326?j=eyJ1IjoiMmRrajIifQ.ND0qR5RKsmVnltuWgIlyr3BY7uwq2Kt9ZzX29UJK4cg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!Sh01!,w_398,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb3422eca-e99c-41af-b06a-a9b33eb63558_1536x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Many models of the unfolding journey see something similar\u2014an early spiritual journey which requires some strengthening of the ego. Just as a child learns to stand on her own two feet and declare her presence to her parents, so we learn early in the journey to develop convictions, establish boundaries, make commitments, and grow in competence.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Early on, we\u2019re often formed within communities with clear theological frameworks and moral certainties and a clear sense of where they stand\u2014and this is quite necessary for the formation of selfhood.<strong> But this isn\u2019t a destination, it\u2019s only a passageway on the journey. Conviction is meant to deepen into wisdom. Competence is meant to ripen into service to others. Control is meant to soften into humility. <\/strong>Even boundaries are meant to cultivate generosity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, what I\u2019ve observed personally and culturally over decades is that this early <strong>scaffolding of the faith is mistaken for maturity itself. In<\/strong> fact, the s<strong>caffolding meant to be a support is turned into a sword.<\/strong> What was meant to nurture and develop early in the faith journey is traded for self-protection and defense.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One reason is that we lack wise elders in the cruciform way.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ancient traditions, including the Christian tradition, have often taught that we need elders to apprentice us in an initiation into maturity, where we learn the gift of limitations, where we learn to metabolize rather than resist suffering, where we abandon the sturdy scaffolding for surrendered trust.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the cruciform journey, where humility grows. Here, we don\u2019t demonstrate our strength. Rather, a deeper strength is recognized in the character of one who no longer needs to prove or protect.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/substack.com\/redirect\/0656c760-4469-4867-af7c-88b655c0f9c3?j=eyJ1IjoiMmRrajIifQ.ND0qR5RKsmVnltuWgIlyr3BY7uwq2Kt9ZzX29UJK4cg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!1THX!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F01a43c69-8f58-442d-a49f-f9ab833f540a_992x730.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Ancient traditions recognized the significance of an early, safe community where the scaffolding is offered, where an elder guides our path, where a community invites vulnerability and mutuality, and where a sacred story provides a frame and&nbsp;<em>telos<\/em>&nbsp;for unfolding maturation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But we\u2019ve largely lost the ancient vision and the tested path. Today, we are seeing a diminishment of curiosity, a narrowing of empathy, an intolerance to difference, a fear of weakness, and a clinging to control.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the more tightly we control, the more narrow our world becomes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of growing into generosity, we calcify in arrogance. This is where some of my larger work on narcissism is relevant\u2014narcissism, as I\u2019ve often said, isn\u2019t excessive self-love, it\u2019s self-defense. It\u2019s a shame-based self, one who needs to prove himself in outward displays of strength\u2014like the Caesars of old and the contemporary \u201cPatriots\u201d of today\u2014outwardly impressive but inwardly impoverished.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ancient sages and contemporary theorists agree\u2014it\u2019s a life stuck in a developmental rut, a perpetual adolescence, like a boy with his guns playing cowboys and Indians at 13 who hasn\u2019t learned the wisdom of surrender and humility. He simply isn\u2019t able to live in a world the prophet Isaiah imagined, a world where God reigns and where the \u201cproud and lofty\u201d are judged, where:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>They will beat their swords into plowshares<br>and their spears into pruning hooks.<br>Nation will not take up sword against nation,<br>nor will they train for war anymore.<\/em>&nbsp;(see Isa. 2).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As ancient and modern sages might say, a sure sign that you\u2019re stuck in an adolescent faith is that the world centers on you, your power, even (as we see today) your capacity to save Christianity,&nbsp;<em>even to save God.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And while that\u2019s a stage of early faith, we\u2019re meant to grow in cruciform hope and loving communion, a life shaped more by a paradoxical victory through the Cross rather than by the sword of control.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I sense today that we have too few elders of maturity and character who are able to hold space for others on this unfolding journey.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve elevated the charismatic and the competent at the expense of character.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve prized quick and microwavable formation for the sake of efficiency and influence while sacrificing the slow and courageous work of cultivating depth and wisdom.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many shout from the mountaintops these days that we\u2019re abandoning orthodoxy, but perhaps the orthodoxy we\u2019ve more tragically abandoned is the cruciform way.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what Scripture and history attest to is this: while <strong>the way of power and control makes for quick and spectacular victories, the way of the Cross endures<\/strong>. Caesar\u2019s palaces and military complexes lie in ruins today, as vanity projects often do when the shine wears off.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But among the ruins and ashes, a shoot invariably appears, small and unrecognizable at first, yet capable of greening the earth and bearing fruit, if we have the eyes to see and the patience to allow it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you listen closely, you might even hear the hopeful whisper:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cSee, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.\u201d&nbsp;<\/em>(Isaiah 43:19)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The work of the Center for Action and Contemplation is made possible thanks to the generosity of people like you. Thank you for your partnership and trust. Support This Work Loving a World We Have Yet to See&nbsp; Dear Dave (&amp; COFew) , Ever since I read a novel about Saint Francis when I was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27879"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27879"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27884,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27879\/revisions\/27884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}