[Sundaycommunity] Fwd: Richard Rohr Meditation: This Is an Apocalypse
Catherine Walther
catherine.walther at gmail.com
Mon Apr 26 08:31:57 PDT 2021
I hope you benefit from them as I have, Jean. Blessings, Catherine
On Mon, Apr 26, 2021 at 11:27 AM Jean Leahy via Sundaycommunity <
sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca> wrote:
> Thank you for forwarding this article from Richard Rohr. I have recently
> thinking about receiving these reflections from Richard Rohr and so I
> clicked onto the link at the bottom of this reflection to now receive
> them.
>
> Blessings,
> Jean Leahy
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 26, 2021 at 10:49 AM Patricia Smiley via Sundaycommunity <
> sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca> wrote:
>
>> Thanks, Catherine. I truly enjoyed this reflection and it has given me
>> much food for thought during these strange and discomforting times.
>> Despite my respect for science and scientists, this is pushing the limits
>> of human control over this world God gave us.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *Patricia Smiley*
>>
>> *email: smileypatricia76 at gmail.com <smileypatricia76 at gmail.com>*
>>
>> *mobile: 647-517-1599*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 26, 2021 at 10:07 AM Catherine Walther via Sundaycommunity <
>> sundaycommunity at lists.integralshift.ca> wrote:
>>
>>> This was the Richard Rohr reflection today. It really impressed me and
>>> gives me food for thought. Hope it’s good for you too. Catherine
>>>
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
>>> From: Center for Action and Contemplation <Meditations at cac.org>
>>> Date: Mon, Apr 26, 2021 at 2:12 AM
>>> Subject: Richard Rohr Meditation: This Is an Apocalypse
>>> To: Catherine Walther <catherine.walther at gmail.com>
>>>
>>>
>>> Apocalyptic means to pull back the veil, to reveal the underbelly of
>>> reality.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> No images? Click here
>>> <https://email.cac.org/t/d-e-qttkhtt-tlkrtkhhuj-v/>
>>>
>>> Monday, April 26th, 2021
>>>
>>>
>>> Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation
>>>
>>> From the Center for Action and Contemplation
>>>
>>> [image: Image credit: Belinda Rain, Frost - Touched Grass (detail), 1972
>>> photograph, public domain, National Archives.]
>>> <https://email.cac.org/t/d-l-qttkhtt-tlkrtkhhuj-r/>
>>>
>>>
>>> Week Seventeen: Apocalyptic Hope
>>>
>>> This Is an Apocalypse
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In April of last year, I was invited by the Call to Unite [1] to share
>>> my thoughts about what we might learn from the COVID-19 pandemic. I knew it
>>> might be a risk, but I felt a strong urge to speak about the
>>> much-misunderstood meaning of biblical apocalypse. Here is a portion of
>>> that conversation:
>>>
>>> What apocalyptic means is to pull back the veil, to reveal the
>>> underbelly of reality. It uses hyperbolic images, stars falling from the
>>> sky, the moon turning to blood. The closest thing would be contemporary
>>> science fiction, where suddenly you’re placed in an utterly different
>>> world, where what you used to call “normal” doesn’t apply anymore. That
>>> perfectly describes this COVID-19 event.
>>>
>>> So hear this word rightly—it is *meant *to shock: this is an
>>> *apocalypse*, happening to us in our lifetime, that’s leaving us
>>> utterly out of control. We’re grasping to retake control, by things like
>>> refusing to wear masks and defying boundaries at potential superspreader
>>> events. But I think we now know in a new way that we can’t totally take
>>> control.
>>>
>>> There is a giveaway in all of the apocalyptic sections of the three
>>> Synoptic Gospels. In Matthew 24:8, hidden there in the middle of the wars
>>> and earthquakes it says, “All this is only the beginning of the birth
>>> pangs.” Apocalypse is for the sake of birth not death. Yet most of us have
>>> heard this reading as a threat. Apparently, it’s not. Anything that upsets
>>> our normalcy is a threat to the ego but in the Big Picture, it really
>>> isn’t. In Luke 21, Jesus says right in the middle of the catastrophic
>>> description: “Your endurance will win you your souls.” Falling apart is for
>>> the sake of renewal, not punishment. Again, such a telling line. In Mark
>>> 13, Jesus says “Stay awake” four times in the last paragraph (Mark
>>> 13:32–37). In other words, “Learn the lesson that this has to teach you.”
>>> It points to everything that we take for granted and says, “Don’t take
>>> anything for granted.” An apocalyptic event reframes reality in a radical
>>> way by flipping our imagination.
>>>
>>> We would have done history a great favor if we would have understood
>>> apocalyptic literature. *It’s not* *meant to strike fear in us as much
>>> as a radical rearrangement. *It’s not the end of the world. It’s the
>>> end of *worlds—*our *worlds that we have created*. In the book of
>>> Revelation (also called the Apocalypse, or Revelation to John), John is
>>> trying to describe what it feels like when everything falls apart. It’s not
>>> a threat. It’s an invitation to depth. It’s what it takes to wake people up
>>> to the real, to the lasting, to what matters. It presents the serious
>>> reader with a great “What if?”
>>>
>>> Our best response is to end our fight with reality-as-it-is. We will
>>> benefit from anything that approaches a welcoming prayer—diving into the
>>> change positively, preemptively, saying, “Come, what is; teach me your good
>>> lessons.” Saying yes to “What is” ironically sets us up for “What if?”
>>> Otherwise, we get trapped in the negative past.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> [1] The Call to Unite
>>> <https://email.cac.org/t/d-l-qttkhtt-tlkrtkhhuj-y/> is a national
>>> movement promoting a culture of crossing lines that divide and embracing
>>> ideas that unite.
>>>
>>> Richard Rohr, “This Is an Apocalypse,” in *The Call to Unite: Voices of
>>> Hope and Awakening*, ed. Tim Shriver and Tom Rosshirt (Viking: 2021),
>>> 54–55.
>>>
>>> *Image credit:* Belinda Rain, *Frost - Touched Grass* (detail), 1972
>>> photograph, public domain, National Archives
>>> <https://email.cac.org/t/d-l-qttkhtt-tlkrtkhhuj-j/>.
>>>
>>> *Image inspiration:* *This image may not present itself clearly upon
>>> first glance. With a closer look shape, color, recognition and new
>>> understanding fall into place.*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *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.
>>> <https://email.cac.org/t/d-l-qttkhtt-tlkrtkhhuj-t/>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Story From Our Community*
>>>
>>> *In these times there are so many ways to get “off track” in deed, word,
>>> or thought. The real and sustaining light for me has been Richard Rohr and
>>> the daily devotions from CAC! These times of unveiling demand a calm,
>>> steady, and accepting voice to remind me we are merely experiencing the
>>> natural evolution of growth. It can be quite challenging and painful. A
>>> true, trusted, insightful guide is appreciated more than words can express.*
>>> —Jimmy W.
>>> Share your own story with us.
>>> <https://email.cac.org/t/d-l-qttkhtt-tlkrtkhhuj-i/>
>>>
>>>
>>> JOIN NOW <https://email.cac.org/t/d-l-qttkhtt-tlkrtkhhuj-d/>
>>>
>>>
>>> Was this email forwarded to you? Join now for daily, weekly, or monthly
>>> meditations.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *News from the CAC*
>>>
>>>
>>> *New edition of ONEING now available*
>>>
>>> This past year many across the world have suffered, and this new issue
>>> of *ONEING* invites readers to participate in our collective healing. *ONEING:
>>> Trauma* explores how “great love and great suffering bring us back to
>>> God” through a thoughtfully curated collection of essays, poetry, and
>>> critical responses from Fr. Richard Rohr, Matthew Fox, Joan Halifax,
>>> Kaitlin Curtice and more. *ONEING: Trauma* is available now *in print*
>>> <https://email.cac.org/t/d-l-qttkhtt-tlkrtkhhuj-h/> or a *downloadable
>>> PDF* <https://email.cac.org/t/d-l-qttkhtt-tlkrtkhhuj-k/>.
>>>
>>> *The Divine Exchange*
>>>
>>> How can your exchanges and interactions be more united with the divine?
>>> Cynthia Bourgeault leads you on a path of discovery in The Divine
>>> Exchange <https://email.cac.org/t/d-l-qttkhtt-tlkrtkhhuj-u/>, a 14-week
>>> online course for intermediate and advanced students of the path. Teaching
>>> on the power of exchange, learn to give and receive in a framework that
>>> embraces everything.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Explore Richard Rohr's Daily Meditations archive at cac.org
>>> <https://email.cac.org/t/d-l-qttkhtt-tlkrtkhhuj-o/>.
>>>
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>>> *May you walk in joy as love calls us on.*
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--
*May you walk in joy as love calls us on.*
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