Yes, And: Daily Meditation, by Richard Rohr. Franciscan Media, 2013.
David G. Benner writes in the "Foreword" of this book that Rohr is basing his reflections on the 8th of Erick Erickson's stages of developmental life, the movement from generativity to ego integrity. The challenge of the 8th
stage is to avoid despair by reflecting on one's life and understanding its meaning and significance. This book is not just a series of musings; the seven big themes of this book are : methodology, foundation, frame, ecumenism, transformation, process, and goal. These are the issues for any serious Christian who wants to develop a healthy and holistic spiritual worldview.
Benner states
that these meditations offer meat for chewing, not milk to make one feel good. They require pondering, and since they are offered in bite size portions, there is no worry about choking. "Make space in your day to chew on what you are reading. Doing so will deepen your life."
Rohr, a long time student of the Scriptures, invites his readers to take this journey through Scripture
with Jesus at one's side, interpreting events as Jesus did. "Sacred texts always maximize your possibilities for life and love, which is why we call them sacred." Using the Bible to prove church positions will narrow their range and depth; Rohr admits that he has often done just that. The Bible then becomes ammunition instead of being transformative.
In one of Rohr's reflections he
wrote about prayer. He defines prayer as an interior journey or practice that allows one to experience faith, hope, and love within oneself. It is not a technique to get things, a pious exercise that somehow makes God happy, or a requirement for entry into heaven. It is much more like practicing heaven now.
On a page called "To love is to allow something to flow through us", Rohr writes:
Jesus commanded us to love, so we know love is not just a feeling, since we cannot command feelings. Love is mostly a decision. Jesus did not say: When you get healed, love. When you grow up, love. When you feel loving, love. When you get it together and have dealt with all your mother/father/husband/children wounds, then you must love. No, the commandment for all of us is to love now, and
thus fill the gaps of every moment. He believes we can know love more by "doing love" rather than by hearing others say we are loveable.
(Thanks to Sr. Irene Hartman OP for this review)
