Richard Rohr

Richard Rohr (2004)

Richard Rohr OFM (born March 20, 1943 in Topeka , Kansas ) is an American Franciscan priest, preacher and author of spiritual books that have been translated into many languages ​​and have found worldwide distribution. His most famous books are Der wilde Mann , which was translated into German in 1986, and The Enneagram , which he wrote in 1989 with the German Lutheran pastor Andreas Ebert and which had sold over 500,000 times by 2019.

In the 1970s , as a young American Franciscan priest, Rohr was one of the leading figures of the charismatic movement in the USA, in which he campaigned for the renewal and revitalization of Christianity . Friendship and religious exchange connects him with the evangelical preacher and political activist Jim Wallis . He was mainly influenced spiritually by the Trappist monk Thomas Merton, who died in 1968 . Sources of his inspiration are also Jesus Christ , Franz von Assisi , Meister Eckhart , Martin Luther , Dietrich Bonhoeffer , Carl Gustav Jung , Ken Wilber as well as Sufi and Zen traditions.

Life

Richard Rohr grew up in a family of German descent with deeply conservative rural roots and served as an altar boy during his primary school years . Through recurring deep sensations of God's presence, the wish arose in him early on to become a priest. Around 1955 he was enthusiastic about Felix Timmerman's book Franziskus about Francis of Assisi , which for him represented the “free man who did not allow himself to be captured by the systems of the world”. When two Franciscans visited his home parish, it was clear to Richard that he wanted to become a Franciscan too. That is why he moved to Cincinnati at the age of 14, after eighth grade , so that he could later join the Franciscan order.

He was accepted into the order in 1961. In 1970 he was ordained a priest in the “Parish of the Pure Heart of Mary”, in the place where his parents lived in West Topeka . In the same year he was introduced to the personality theory Enneagram by a Jesuit and also completed his studies in theology at St. Leonhard Seminary in Dayton with a Masters degree. During his studies he was best known as "Brother Happy" because the insights from regular Bible study and his personal feelings filled him with enthusiasm .

As a young religious teacher , Father Rohr was the first to be commissioned by the archdiocese to lead the youth retreat. In November 1971, already during the first weekend set-up times, he enthused the young people with his sermons and awakened in them the longing for a religious life that found more and more interested parties. In 1974, when the movement grew to 1,000 participants and the sermons were held in gyms, it called itself the “New Jerusalem Community” and soon afterwards founded the charismatic family and lay community New Jerusalem in Cincinnati.

After many years of engagement in the peace movement , pastoral work and leadership of New Jerusalem , he was elected to the leadership of his order and put a sabbatical year in the hermitage of Thomas Merton . Since 1987 he has lived in the Franciscan community in Albuquerque , New Mexico , where he has built a Christian center for action and contemplation on behalf of the order's leadership . In addition, he also gives sermons and lectures all over the world. From 1988 to 2012 he was a speaker in Germany almost every year.

In 1994 he received the Thomas Merton Award for Peace and Social Justice.

Richard Rohr also founded the men's movement MALEs ( Men as Learners and Elders ). In addition to numerous men's seminars, he also campaigned for the implementation of men's initiation rites . These rites triggered a spiritual movement of men not only in the USA but also in numerous other countries (e.g. in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia).

criticism

Rohr is a lateral thinker, critic and reformer in the Roman Catholic official church with its established hierarchies. Nor does he consistently represent the official Roman Catholic doctrine, for example in matters of conception regulation, women's ordination and homosexuality. He has adopted rituals from various religious backgrounds and integrated them into his events. Rather conservative Roman Catholic and Protestant theologians criticize his understanding of God and his image of man as unbiblical and heretical, because it increasingly also contains essential Gnostic elements. Jesus, his crucifixion and his resurrection would be reduced to a symbol for a cosmic transformation, whereas humans and the universe would be exaggerated and deified.

Works

• The wild man: Spiritual speeches for the liberation of men. Claudius, Munich 1986, ISBN 3-532-62042-1 . Revised edition: From wild man to wise man. Claudius, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-532-62334-3 .
• The naked God: pleading for a Christianity made of flesh and blood. Claudius, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-532-62061-8 .
• The Risen Book: The New Testament Life Force. Herder Verlag, Freiburg 1992, ISBN 3-451-22043-1 .
• The sparkling word: daily surprises. Church year reading book. Herder, Freiburg 1993, ISBN 3-451-23252-9 .
• The Journey to Assisi: Community of the Wounded - Experiences with the radical mysticism of Francis of Assisi. Claudius, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-532-62148-7 .
• Not the eternal lyre: faith brought back to life. Herder, Freiburg 1993, ISBN 3-451-23280-4 .
• Letting go of freedom: letting go. Claudius, Munich 2000, ISBN 978-3-532-62108-0 .
• The Unleashed Book: An Introduction to the Bible - Old and New Testaments. Herder, Freiburg 2003, ISBN 3-451-28248-8 .
• Whoever lets go is held: the gift of contemplative prayer. Claudius, Munich 2005, ISBN 978-3-532-62263-6 .
• The Liberated Man: Biblical Encouragement. Catholic Biblical Works, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-460-32109-1 .
• Finally becoming a man: the rediscovery of initiation. Claudius, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-532-62325-0 .
• Job's message: of the mystery of suffering. Claudius, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-532-62250-6 .
• From wild man to wise man. Claudius Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-532-62334-3 .
• From the splendor of the inconspicuous: Franciscan spirituality. Claudius, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-532-62349-7 .
• Father, son and masculinity: how a man becomes a man. Tyrolia, Innsbruck, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8367-0661-2 .
• Written in the heart: the wisdom of the Bible as a spiritual path. Herder, Freiburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-451-32005-7 .
• Liberation From Ego: Paths To The True Self. Claudius, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-532-62382-4 .
• On the way to Christmas: A companion through the Advent season. Herder, Freiburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-451-31060-7 .
• Only those who descend will get there: the radical message of the Bible. Claudius, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-532-62387-9 .
• The Enneagram: the 9 faces of the soul. Claudius, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-532-62395-4 (47 editions, first edition 1989).
• Hope and Mindfulness: The Spiritual Path for the 21st Century. Herder, Freiburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-451-32414-7 .
• Pure presence: learn to see like the mystics. Claudius, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-532-62413-5 .
• The men's Bible. Kösel, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-466-37020-7 .
• Transformation: what radical change means. Claudius, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-532-62426-5 .
• God has many names: spiritual experiences that touch our hearts. with Sebastian Painadath . Four towers, Münsterschwarzach 2011, ISBN 978-3-89680-526-3 .
• The AND is crucial: live contemplatively AND act with commitment. Claudius, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-532-62433-3 .
• Meeting the miracle: a companion on the way to Easter. Herder, Freiburg 2012, ISBN 978-3-451-32613-4 .
• Mature life, a spiritual journey. Herder Freiburg, 2012, ISBN 978-3-451-32394-2 .
• Twelve Steps of Healing: Health and Spirituality. Herder, Freiburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-451-32395-9 .
• The real self. Become who we really are. Herder, Freiburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-451-32589-2 .
• "Introduction" to Paul Coutinho: How big is your God? Chalice, Xanten 2017, ISBN 978-3-942914-24-6 .
• The divine dance. How a life in harmony with the Triune God can change us profoundly. Adeo Verlag, Asslar 2017, ISBN 978-3-86334-139-8 .
• Mystery and grace. Stations on a spiritual journey . Claudius, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-532-62808-9 .
• Right there. Live simply and contemplatively . Claudius, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-532-62823-2 .
• What the Bible has to tell us. Claudius, Munich 2020, ISBN 978-3-532-62843-0 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Richard Rohr in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Richard Rohr  in the German Digital Library
• Illuman.org (organization that continues Richard Rohr's spiritual work for men, which was spun off from the CAC)
• Information on MALEs (Rohr-founded organization for spiritual masculinity; in English)
• mannsein.at - German language website of "MALEs International" in Austria

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} book: Pure Presence , pp. 13, 9
2. ↑ Andreas Ebert, Richard Rohr: Das Enneagram - The 9 Faces of the Soul , Claudius, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-532-62395-4 .
3. ↑ The Enneagram: the 9 faces of the soul ; Claudius Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-532-62390-9 , introduction
4. ^ Andreas Ebert: Franziskanerpater Richard Rohr: Last lecture tour to Germany , Sunday paper, June 3, 2012
5. ^ Excitement about Franciscan Father Richard Rohr , website kath.net, 28 January 2010
6. ^ Fred Sanders: Why I Don't Flow with Richard Rohr , website thegospelcoalition, December 2, 2016
7. ^ Ian Paul: Is Richard Rohr a heretic? Psephizo website, February 20, 2018
8. ↑ Johannes Hartl: Farewell to a teacher , website / blog April 21, 2020