Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation

From the Center for Action and Contemplation

Week Thirty-Four Summary and Practice

Unveiling the Universal Christ

August 22 - August 27, 2021

Sunday
The Christ Mystery that Paul speaks of in Colossians 1 is the indwelling of the Divine Presence in everyone and everything.

Monday
If we can believe that we are loved just as we are and that everything else is equally loved, we unveil a cosmic reality that is life-giving and a Christ-like reality that affirms the goodness of all creation. —Barbara Holmes

Tuesday
The true and essential work of all religion is to help us recognize the divine image in everyone and every thing. It is to mirror things correctly, deeply, and fully until all things know who they are.

Wednesday
When Christ calls himself the “Light of the World” (John 8:12), he is not telling us to look just at him, but to look out at life with his all-merciful eyes. We see him so we can see like him, and with the same infinite compassion.

Thursday
The Universal Christ helps us to see that we can follow the embodied Jesus, accept the suffering fact that “in this life, you will have trouble” [John 16:33], while also knowing that all creation is moving and evolving toward more diversity, creativity, and wholeness. —Barbara Holmes

Friday
Look at the animals roaming the forest: God’s spirit dwells within them. Look at the birds flying across the sky: God’s spirit dwells within them. Look at the tiny insects crawling in the grass: God’s spirit dwells within them. —Pelagius

Encountering Christ in Nature

Without a sense of the inherent sacredness of the world—of every tiny bit of life and death—we struggle to see God in our own reality, let alone to respect reality, protect it, or love it. The consequences of this ignorance are all around us, seen in the way we have exploited and damaged our fellow human beings, the dear animals, the web of growing things, the land, the waters, and the very air. My good friend and co-author Patrick Boland invites us to experience Christ in nature:

What difference would it make to the quality of our lives, I wonder, if we spent a little more time in nature? Would paying attention to the life cycles of animals or the annual changes of landscapes give us an increased sense of respect for the environment? How would eating seasonal local food affect our patterns of consumption and our health and well-being? Ordinary experiences of nature can renew our sense of reverence and remind us of how deeply interconnected we all are.

Spend some time in nature, ideally somewhere you can encounter at least one animal. This could be any of the following places:

• In a garden
• In a field
• In a forest
• By the coast

Go anywhere that feels wild and alive. (If this is difficult for you to do, watch a video clip of your favorite landscapes or some wildlife footage.)

1. At some point during your time in nature, quiet your body and pay attention to the beauty, the complexity, and the sacredness of this landscape and any animals with which you share this space.
    
2. Reflect on how God is revealed to you through this first incarnation [of the natural world]. By writing, drawing, or another creative way, express what this evokes within you.

Experience a version of this practice through video and sound.

Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe (Convergent: 2019), 18; and  

Richard Rohr and Patrick Boland, Every Thing Is Sacred: 40 Practices and Reflections on the Universal Christ (Convergent: 2021), 37–39.

Image credit: Charles O’Rear, Grasses After Spring Rain (detail), 1973, photograph, Nebraska, National Archives. 

Image inspiration: Each blade of dew-graced grass is part of a larger braided design, just as each person is part of a larger whole. The extraordinary glistens in the most ordinary. 

News from the CAC

The Final CONSPIRE: Online Sept. 24-26

Join us for a virtual global gathering to explore God’s Great Story. Unite Richard Rohr's seven themes of the Alternative Orthodoxy in the Great Story Line connecting us all—and discover how the Universal Christ is the key to holding it all together. Register now for the Final CONSPIRE event.

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

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