Quotes from Richard Rohr

there is no path to peace, but peace itself is the path.

Religion is one of the safest places to hide from God.

Much of the Christian religion has largely become "holding on" instead of letting go. But God, it seems to me, does the holding on (to us!), and we must learn the letting go (of everything else).

Metaphor is the only possible language available to religion because it alone is honest about Mystery.

Once God and grace move us to the second half of life, religion becomes a mystical matter, rather than a moral matter.

Religion was made to order to "save the world," to use a phrase Christians use so much, but we really haven't been doing a good job of it for centuries. It's heartbreaking really.

In my opinion, most organized religion does neither agentic service nor relational nurturance very well.

It is in falling down that we learn almost everything that matters spiritually.

Life is not a matter of creating a special name for ourselves, but of uncovering the name we have always had.

God comes to us disguised as our life.

God comes to you disguised as your life.

A person who can laugh and go with life does not demand to be in control, which is why the most controlling people may be sarcastic but lack an authentic sense of humor.

Life is not, nor ever has been, a straight line forward ... Life is characterized much more by exception and disorder than by total or perfect order.

One wonders how far spiritual and political leaders can genuinely lead us without some degree of mystical seeing and action.

The spiritual world is hidden and perfectly revealed in the physical world.

After 32 years as a priest , I think its fair to say that most institutional churches are very limited in addressing higher levels of spiritual consciousness.

The Gospel is not a fire insurance policy for the next world, but a life assurance policy for this world.

Ancients knew that you need guidance, patronage and protection as you move from one place or state to another, whenever you cross a bridge. You had better know what you are doing when you leave one group or place to join another.

We Catholics must admit that there is a constant temptation among us to avoid the lectionary and the Word of God for private and pious devotions that usually have little power to actually change us or call our ego assumptions into question.

Most of the Catholics Christians I've met would for all practical purposes believe Jesus is God only, and we are human only. We missed the big point. The point is the integration, both in Jesus and ourselves.

Having a school really is the fulfillment of a longtime dream of mine.

The path of descent is the path of transformation. Darkness, failure, relapse, death, and woundedness are our primary teachers, rather than ideas or doctrines.

A good teacher teaches people how to see, not what to see.

Most women prefer circles of sharing to pyramids and hierarchies. They prefer conversation to construction. They will usually choose nurturance and empathy over competition and climbing. They will normally choose connection over simple performance games.