Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation

From the Center for Action and Contemplation

Week Thirty-Six: Life as Participation

Participating in Original Goodness

Everyone and every thing is created in the “image of God.” This is the objective connection or “divine DNA” given by God equally to all creatures at the moment of their conception. The philosopher Owen Barfield (1898–1997) called this phenomenon “original participation.” [1] We could also call it original innocence, unwoundedness, or use Matthew Fox’s brilliant term, “original blessing.” As Genesis 1 clearly and repeatedly states, creation is good. So how do we first see and then practice this original goodness?

Paul gives us an answer. He says, “There are only three things that last: faith, hope, and love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). In Roman Catholic theology we called these three essential attitudes the “theological virtues,” because they are a “participation in the very life of God.” They are given freely by God, “infused” into us at our conception. In this understanding, faith, hope, and love are far more defining of the human person than the “moral virtues,” which are the various good behaviors we learn as we grow older. For all of their poor formulations, Orthodox and Catholic Christianity still offer humanity a foundationally positive anthropology. We are made out of the faith, hope, and love of God—to increase faith, hope, and love in this world. If you have a negative anthropology, as some Reformers, and many cynical Catholics do, even a good theology cannot really undo it.

From the very beginning, faith, hope, and love are planted deep within our nature—indeed they are our very nature (Romans 5:5; 8:14–17). The Christian life is simply a matter of becoming who we already are (1 John 3:1–2; 2 Peter 1:3–4). But we have to awaken, allow, and advance this core identity by saying a conscious yes to it and drawing upon it as a reliable and Absolute Source. Again, image must become likeness. We must participate in the process!

I offer these words from Ilia Delio who draws her insights from her deep study of the Jesuit scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955):

Teilhard held that God is at the heart of cosmological and biological life, the depth and center of everything that exists. . . . Our nature is already endowed with grace, and thus our task is to be attentive to that which is within and that which is without—mind and heart—so that we may contribute to building up the world in love. Every action can be sacred action if [it] is rooted in love, and in this way, both Christians and non-Christians can participate in the emerging body of Christ. . . .

Our lives have meaning and purpose. . . . We either help build this world up in love or tear it apart. Either way, we bear the responsibility for the world’s future, and thus we bear responsibility for God’s life as well. [2]

In other words, we matter. We simply have to choose to trust reality, which is to finally trust both ourselves and God. They must work as one.

[1] Owen Barfield, Saving the Appearances: A Study in Idolatry, 2nd ed. (Wesleyan University Press: 1988, 1957), 40.

[2] Ilia Delio, The Hours of the Universe: Reflections on God, Science, and the Human Journey (Orbis Books: 2021), 41–42, 43.

Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe (Convergent: 2019), 60, 65.

Image credit: Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Figuras en el Castillo (detail), 1920, photograph, Wikiart. 

Image inspiration: We cannot see where these women have come from or where they are going. What is captured here is a moment of participation: taking each step, one at a time, together.

Prayer For Our Community

Loving God, you fill all things with a fullness and hope that we can never comprehend. Thank you for leading us into a time where more of reality is being unveiled for us all to see. We pray that you will take away our natural temptation for cynicism, denial, fear and despair. Help us have the courage to awaken to greater truth, greater humility, and greater care for one another. May we place our hope in what matters and what lasts, trusting in your eternal presence and love. Listen to our hearts’ longings for the healing of our suffering world. Please add your own intentions . . . Knowing, good God, you are hearing us better than we are speaking, we offer these prayers in all the holy names of God. Amen.
Listen to Father Richard pray this prayer aloud.

Story From Our Community

The Perennial Tradition of spirituality helped me imagine how our participation in the missio Dei is found in creation. I’ve experienced the movement of the Spirit using things in our lives that we feel safe with and love so much in order to show us God's unconditional love. Thank you for your Daily Meditations. They inspire me.
—Ashley C. 
Share your own story with us.

News from the CAC

CONSPIRE Registration Ends Soon!

Registration closes soon for the final CONSPIRE! Join thousands of spiritual seekers across the globe for opportunities to connect, daily contemplative practices led by Fr. Richard Rohr, and presentations from six of the most prolific wisdom teachers of our time. This online global gathering happens only once—Sept. 24-26. Check out the conference schedule, lists of optional workshops, and register today!

Learning How to See: BONUS EPISODE

In this bonus episode, CAC teacher Brian McLaren and CAC staff conclude the season with reflections on the dynamics of suffering and the art of beginning again. Listen to all of Learning How to See season two on our website or subscribe wherever you enjoy listening to podcasts.

Explore Richard Rohr's Daily Meditations archive at cac.org. 

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