WHERE ALL'S ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS
"Creation itself, the natural world, already believes the Gospel, and lives the pattern of death and resurrection, even if unknowingly. The natural world believes in necessary suffering as the very cycle of life: just observe the daily dying of the sun so all things on this planet can live, the total change of the seasons, the plants and trees along with it, the violent world of animal predators and prey....Only the human species absents itself from the agreed - on pattern and the general dance of life and death." (77)
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"For me, that is what makes something inherently religious: whatever reconnects (re - ligio) our parts to the Whole is an experience of God, whether we will call it that or not. . . . also reconnecting [our] outer journey to the "inland" or [our] interior world, which is much of the task of the second half of life." (xxxiv - xxxv)from Falling Upward:
A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
by Richard Rohr, OFM
Author, Spiritual Writer, Franciscan Friar
Ordinarily, I record current reading and favorite passages on my book blog; however, upon reading the first few pages of Falling Upward, I knew right away that I needed to share Rohr's intriguing definition of religion and his emphasis on connection here on my Fortnightly blog of connection and coincidence!
Looking at the etymology that Rohr gives of the word religious, I realized for the first time that the first two letters are a prefix -- re; and the root is ligio -- as in ligament or ligature, as in to bind.
makes a similar connection on his blog, Medium:
"Ligament also shares its root with religion and as such binds muscle to bone. I always get a kick out of the whole 'spiritual but not religious' thing. While one can be religious without being spiritual one cannot really be spiritual without being religious. Spirituality hangs on religious discipline as muscles hang on bone. This comes as much from a modern misunderstanding of spirituality as a misunderstanding of religion. Of course, we Christians have created this misunderstanding. We have failed to convey what genuine spirituality looks like and therefore have misrepresented the value of religion. If we would see religion as that which vitally connects us to God through the power of the Holy Spirit, a deifying discipline, as blessed John Keble called it, then we would value it as the great treasure that it is, for we would be made more divine by it." [emphasis added]I have puzzled long over the distinction that Mirabile makes here: spirituality requires religion, but religion does not require spirituality. Yet religion goes beyond mere rules and dress codes (that always exclude) creating a tie that binds and includes, making a crucial connection between humanity and divinity. My thoughts return once more to Rohr's insistence on inclusion:
"If your notion of heaven is based on exclusion of anybody else, then it is by definition not heaven. The more you exclude, the more hellish and lonely your existence always is" (101).At the end of the day, everything meshes together into one connected (re - ligious!) conversation. Connect, only connect!
First time for a week that we’ve seen the sun!
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KITTI I SENT THIS TO THE ENTIRE WORSHIP COMMITTEE AT ALL SAINTS IN CHICAGO, WHICH IS FEEDING HUNDREDS EVERY WEEK. SORRY FOR THE CAPS.
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