9 Quotes from The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr
I’m continuing to learn from the book without opening it again (yet). It took me 4 months to get through it the first time. I finished it in April.
Since then, I’ve been listening to the podcasts centered on Richard Rohr’s book, The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For and Believe.
It’s deep.
As with the book, I know I’m not catching everything in the podcast. But as I skirt around the fringes of the message, I hope I am getting closer to the center with each passing.
And eventually, I hope to reread The Universal Christ and understand even more about the message of hope and beauty and the oneness of Christ.
For now, I’ve been rereading through the quotes I marked in the book. Here are nine quotes from the first few chapters.
“The essential function of religion is to radically connect us with everything. (Re-ligio = to re-ligament or reconnect.) It is to help us see the world and ourselves in wholeness, and not just in parts.”
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“Contemplation is waiting patiently for the gaps to be filled in, and it does not insist on quick closure or easy answers.”
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“Remember, light is not so much what you directly see as that by which you see everything else. This is why in John’s Gospel, Jesus Christ makes the almost boastful statement ‘I am the Light of the world’ (John 8:12).”
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“Many are still praying and waiting for something that has already been given to us three times: first in creation; second in Jesus; and third, in the ongoing beloved community (what Christians call the Body of Christ), which is slowly evolving throughout all of human history (Romans 8:18ff.). We are still in the Flow.”
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“Seeing and recognizing are not the same thing.”
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“We have faith in Christ so we can have the faith of Christ.”
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“You are a child of God, and always will be, even when you don’t believe it.”
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“In God you do not include less and less; you always see and love more and more.”
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“We must—yes, must—make a daily and even hourly choice to focus on the good, the true, and the beautiful.”
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Listen to the podcasts here on The Universal Christ (Another Name for Every Thing) with Richard Rohr.
Do you have a favorite Richard Rohr book? Is there a book you have read that you need to reread to fully understand it? Please share in the comments.
Thanks for sharing the quotes. I haven’t read anything by Rohr. I like deep books when I have time to go through them slow. Sometimes you can only read a paragraph at a time because it gives you so much to consider. Rereading the underlined portions is a good way to take more in. Does the book have a study guide? Sometimes those help too.
I’ve never read anything by Richard Rohr, Lisa, but now you’ve made me want to!
Blessings!
Lisa, thank you for these. So many of them spoke to me, like the last one on focusing on the good and true. And the second one about quick closure or easy answers. These are soooo good!
Ah, this book is in my stack to read. I love, love, love Richard Rohr! Also, love almost everything and everyone he recommends. Such a loving, inclusive voice for these trying times. I’ll have to check out the podcast.
My favorite book by Rohr and one I do understand more is Everything Belongs. Falling Upward is another one. I have Universal Christ and like you wow it is beyond me most of the time. I read in tiny bits so appreciate your quotes here and suggestion about the podcast.
Lisa, thank you for sharing this. I like the one on light being that by which we see everything else. So true!
Hmmm. Maybe time for me to read some of his work… Thanks, Lisa. Serious mind and wisdom there.
I have been blessed to be a part of an Episcopalian group study of the Universal Christ, complete with the guide book. We met for 8 weeks, and it wasn’t enough!
When the pandemic clears, we are destined to work on the three other platforms (in the guide book). I can’t wait.
Thanks for posting!
What a blessing that must have been to work through The Universal Christ together with a group. I would have loved doing that! The closest I came to that was listening to the podcast about the book with Father Rohr. 😉 Thanks for sharing your experience, Marcy. Praying that it’ll be sooner rather than later when you can work on the three other platforms.
Breathing Underwater is absolutely amazing.
Lisa, thank you for sharing these quotes. This was a favorite of mine, -“You are a child of God, and always will be, even when you don’t believe it.”