Fr. Richard Rohr: Seeing with God's eyes

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Seeing with God's eyes: Prayer as a new form of consciousness
Franciscan Fr. Richard Rohr lives in a hermitage behind his Franciscan community in Albuquerque, N.M., and divides his time between local work, and preaching and teaching. He has invitations to speak from around the world. He considers the proclamation of the Gospel to be his primary call, and uses many different platforms to communicate that message. Scripture as liberation, integrating action and contemplation, building community, peace and justice, male spirituality, the enneagram and eco-spirituality are all themes that he addresses in service of the Gospel.

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Episode 1: A different consciousness (27 min.)
Rohr tells Tom Fox: "I am convinced that prayer is a descriptor word for a different consciousness. When Jesus goes out and prays for 40 days, he is not saying Hail Marys and Our Fathers. He is looking out at life with a different set of eyes."

Episode 2: 'We don't have time for opposition' (13 min.)
"The future of Christianity is ecumenical," Rohr tells Tom Fox. No single denomination is big enough to contain Jesus, he says and outlines three characteristics of "the emerging church": 1) A recognition of social justice, Christianity has to be concerned about this world and suffering, 2) Openness to contemplation, and 3) Honest scholarship about Jesus.

Episode 3: What do we mean by 'transformation'? (15 min.)
"A lot of people still think that transformation means becoming more pious or becoming more law abiding or becoming more polite," Rohr tells Tom Fox. "By transformation I mean a different consciousness." It’s not about moral mandates, he said. "It’s looking at reality in a different way, which will certainly lead you to operate in highly moral ways, but you don’t start with morality and think that will get you there.

More about Richard Rohr
Everything Belongs is Rohr’s best selling book of 21 books he has written. I sequal to it, titled The Third Eye is expected soon. You may want to visit these Web sites: Center for Action and Contemplation (Radical Grace) or Men As Learners and Elders (MALEs)
Richard Rohr was born in 1943 in Kansas. 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 that message. Scripture as liberation, the integration of action and contemplation, community building, peace and justice issues, male spirituality, the enneagram, and eco-spirituality would all be themes that he addresses in service of the Gospel.
Rohr is a Franciscan of the New Mexico Province. He was the founder of 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.