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Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation

From the Center for Action and Contemplation

Week Thirty-seven

Wounded Healers

A Mutual Vulnerability
Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Earlier this year, my colleague and dear friend Jim Finley gave an unpublished talk to Illuman, an organization that supports men in authentic spiritual development. Jim shared some stories from his own life, including how he began to heal from his own childhood abuse and trauma with the help of Thomas Merton, who was his novice master and spiritual director at the Abbey of Gethsemani.

When I went in to see Merton for direction, I was eighteen years old, I was just out of high school. Because of my trauma history I had this issue with authority figures. So when I went in to try to talk to him, I hyperventilated; I had a hard time breathing. And he said to me, “What's going on?” I told him, my voice was shaking, and I said, “I'm scared because you're Thomas Merton.”

I can remember being so ashamed, because I wanted him to think well of me. . . . He said to me something that really was a turning point in my life. . . . I worked at the pig barn at the time. . . . He said, “Under obedience, every day after afternoon work, before vespers, I want you to come here every day and sit down and tell me one thing that happened at the pig barn each day.”. . .

I remember thinking to myself, “I can do that.” And it leveled the playing field. . . . Just two men sitting in a room, talking about daily work. And he became a father figure for me.

I learned a big lesson, which later really was to affect me in my own therapy and as a therapist, that when you risk sharing what hurts the most in the presence of someone who will not invade you or abandon you, you can learn not to invade or abandon yourself. Even deeper down, when you risk sharing what hurts the most in the presence of someone who will not invade you or abandon you, you can discover within yourself what Jesus called the pearl of great price [Matthew 13:46], your invincible preciousness in the midst of your fragility.

So through humility and through vulnerability, the true strength of being empowered, my manhood came forth, sitting in this room. Out of all the studies I've done with Merton, and my talks on Merton, I think nothing went deeper than talking with him about the pigs. Because that's compassion. . . .

So this is my sense of manhood, I guess: a radicality, a spirituality, that gives me the courage to face the most broken and lost places within myself, discovering through that acceptance the oceanic tender mercy of God that sustains us in that brokenness, so that by learning to be this way ourselves we can pass it on to others. We can be someone in whose presence it's safe to be vulnerable and to be open, and truly courageous and strong and powerful, as Jesus was strong and powerful, in the truest, deepest sense of the word.

Gateway to Action & Contemplation:
What word or phrase resonates with or challenges me? What sensations do I notice in my body? What is mine to do?

Prayer for Our Community:
O Great Love, thank you for living and loving in us and through us. May all that we do flow from our deep connection with you and all beings. Help us become a community that vulnerably shares each other’s burdens and the weight of glory. Listen to our hearts’ longings for the healing of our world. [Please add your own intentions.] . . . Knowing you are hearing us better than we are speaking, we offer these prayers in all the holy names of God, amen.

Listen to Fr. Richard read the prayer.

Story from Our Community:
My life went from forty-seven years of striving for constant perfection to crashing in the very setting that I thought defined me: on a stage, giving a presentation to hundreds of people. For decades, presenting and "putting on a show" was where I found my identity. Until that foundation was so unexpectedly and brilliantly pulled right out from under my feet. It began a two-year descent into deep depression and physical illness. It was the beginning of disorder. With the help of these daily emails, there has been a true seeing of this [separate, false] self that was created, and is now being seen for the illusion it is. [These daily meditations] have quite literally changed my life. —Missy M.

Share your own story with us.

Adapted from James Finley, “An Illuman Watering Hole Zoom Event,” (June 18, 2020), unpublished presentation. To learn more about this organization and its work, see www.illuman.org/about/.

Image credit: Resurrection of Lazarus (detail), circa 12th‒13th century, Athens.

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News from the CAC

Applications for the Living School for Action and Contemplation extended!

Are you ready to come alive in service of the world? The Living School is an immersive experience, going deep to the roots of faith to nurture a generative and compassionate life. Our faculty—Cynthia Bourgeault, James Finley, Barbara Holmes, and Richard Rohr—guide students through a formation experience rooted in a Christian lineage of contemplative practice, rigorous study, and meaningful engagement. The two-year program includes online course work and four gatherings in New Mexico (those gatherings may be virtual depending on the status of COVID-19). Applications are available for purchase until Sept. 23 and must be completed by Sept. 30.

Soularize 2020: The Masculine Path to Healing

October 15-18, 2020

Join Fr. Richard and Illuman for Soularize 2020 online!

For many men the wounding of their souls is not generally recognized until midlife. Unresolved grief, internalized shame and guilt, loneliness, personal family traumas, intergenerational issues, and societal pressures keep many men from moving beyond disorder and into reorder. The wounds of individuals lead to larger wounds in society, which further wound individuals in a negative feedback loop.

Illuman, a nonprofit organization with global allies committed to supporting men who are seeking to deepen their spiritual lives, offers a pathway through. What began as a series of retreats and workshops led by Richard Rohr, Illuman is about men transforming men, working together through order, disorder, and reorder. Drawing from Fr. Richard's teaching and the ancient tools of nature, ritual, image, storytelling, and council, men become healing agents for themselves, each other, and the world. Learn more and register for the virtual conference at illuman.org/soularize2020/.

The CAC is hiring!

We are currently seeking a CRM Product Manager — a senior Salesforce professional to lead the continued investment in our Salesforce implementation and the larger integrated ecosystem. As part of a coordinated Digital Product Team, this person will help empower the CAC staff to utilize Salesforce for maximum possible impact and effectiveness in their job. Know someone who might be interested? Apply today or help us spread the word!

Explore the Mystics on Instagram

Follow @CACradicalgrace on Instagram to learn about the life and teachings of mystics like Teresa of Avila, Symeon the New Theologian, Clare of Assisi and more. Visit our Mystics Highlight to discover what led these contemplatives into mystical union with the Divine, and the challenges that transformed them into wounded healers—from disapproving families to exile by the Church. Then, explore 5-10 minute practices inspired by each mystic in our Instagram feed, like learning to see the beauty in suffering from Teresa of Avila to sacred reading with the words of Howard Thurman.

Action & Contemplation

2020 Daily Meditations Theme

What does God ask of us? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. —Micah 6:8

Franciscan Richard Rohr founded the Center for Action and Contemplation in 1987 because he saw a deep need for the integration of both action and contemplation. If we pray but don’t act justly, our faith won’t bear fruit. And without contemplation, activists burn out and even well-intended actions can cause more harm than good. In today’s religious, environmental, and political climate our compassionate engagement is urgent and vital.

In this year’s Daily Meditations, Father Richard helps us learn the dance of action and contemplation. Each week builds on previous topics, but you can join at any time! Click the video to learn more about the theme and to find reflections you may have missed.

Click here to learn about contemplative prayer and other forms of meditation. For frequently asked questions—such as what versions of the Bible Father Richard recommends or how to ensure you receive every meditation—please see our email FAQ. Visit cac.org to explore other ways to connect with the Center for Action and Contemplation.

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Inspiration for this week's banner image: Being wounded, suffering, and dying are the quickest and most sure paths to truly living. —Richard Rohr