About the Author: Richard Rohr
Fr. Richard Rohr is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province. He founded the New Jerusalem Community in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1971, and the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1986, where he presently serves as Founding Director. Richard was born in Kansas in 1943. He entered the Franciscans in 1961, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1970. He received his Master's Degree in Theology from Dayton that same year. He now lives in a hermitage behind his Franciscan community in Albuquerque, and divides his time between local work and preaching and teaching on all continents. He considers the proclamation of the Gospel to be his primary call, and uses many different platforms to communicate the message. Themes he addresses in service of the Gospel include Scripture as liberation, the integration of action and contemplation, community building, peace and justice issues, male spirituality, the Enneagram, and eco-spirituality. An internationally known speaker, Richard's travels have recently carried the message to Europe and Australia/New Zealand. Teaching on such themes as adult Christianity, politics and spirituality, embracing the role of prophet in the modern world and presence to the Eternal Now, Richard has partnered with such esteemed teachers as Thomas Keating, OCSO, Ron Rolheiser, OMI, Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault, Joan Chittister, OSB and Jim Wallis. Richard is probably best known for his numerous recorded teachings, and through the Center's quarterly publication, Radical Grace. He is a regular contributing writer for Sojourners and Tikkun magazines. His current recorded teachings include: A New Way of Seeing, A New Way of Being: Jesus and Paul; The Great Chain of Being: Simplifying Our Lives; Holding the Tension: The Power of Paradox; Prophets Then, Prophets Now; How Do We Breathe Under Water; and The Divine Dance: Exploring the Mystery of Trinity. Some of his best known books include: Everything Belongs, Radical Grace: Daily Meditations, Adam's Return: The Five Promises of Male Initiation, Hope Against Darkness, The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective, From Wild Men to Wise Men: Reflections on Male Spirituality, and his latest book Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality was published in November 2007. Richard has also been a featured essayist on NPR's "This I Believe" and a guest of Dr. Mehmet Oz on the "Oprah and Friends" radio show, he also appears in the 2006 documentary, ONE, featuring spiritual teachers from around the world. Check the Mustard Seed Resource Center for all Fr. Richard's works.
Although Tolle is not a Christian teacher, we must not assume that makes him an anti-Christian teacher. Today we need whatever methods or help we can receive to allow the Christian message to take us to a deeper level of transformation. Our history, and our guidance of Western history, shows this has clearly not been happening on any broad scale. This is an opportunity for us to understand our own message at deeper levels. It would be a shame if we required him to speak our language and vocabulary before we could critically hear what he is saying-that is true and helpful to our own message.
