Richard Rohr
American Franciscan priest, ecumenical contemplative teacher, and founder (1987) of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque — one of the most widely-read contemplative Christian voices of the twenty-first century, with daily meditations reaching more than half a million readers. Born 1943 in Topeka, Kansas, Rohr was ordained Franciscan in 1970 and has become a bridge figure for readers across Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and secular contemplative streams: drawing on the Desert Mothers and Fathers, Francis of Assisi, Julian of Norwich, Meister Eckhart, Carl Jung, and the perennial tradition. His best-known books — Falling Upward, The Universal Christ, Immortal Diamond, Everything Belongs, Breathing Under Water — reframe Christian doctrine through the lens of contemplative experience and the second half of life.
116
quotes in library
Quotes by Richard Rohr
116 quotes“Practice the art of letting go.”
letting-goThe Naked Now
“There is a part of you that has always said yes to God.”
yesEager to Love
“Find that part of yourself, and live there.”
true-selfEager to Love
“Francis was a fully practical mystic.”
francisEager to Love
“Mysticism does not mean being weird.”
mysticismEager to Love
“It means being grounded in your own experience of the divine.”
mysticismEager to Love
“All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain.”
spiritualityAdam's Return
“If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.”
painAdam's Return
“Pain that is not transformed is transmitted.”
painAdam's Return
“To pass on our pain to others, we don't have to do anything; we just have to do nothing about it.”
painAdam's Return
“Most religion has been about transferring blame and not about absorbing pain.”
religionAdam's Return
“True religion is about absorbing pain, not avoiding it.”
religionAdam's Return
“Suffering is the price you pay for being awake.”
sufferingAdam's Return
“The path you find under your feet is your path.”
pathEager to Love
“Don't compare it to anyone else's.”
pathEager to Love
“You only know what you really believe by what you actually do.”
beliefBreathing Under Water
“Breathing under water is a choice and an art that we must learn.”
practiceBreathing Under Water
“You learn to live again — wet, dependent, and not in control.”
surrenderBreathing Under Water
“There is no precise scientific way to access this truth.”
mysteryBreathing Under Water
Explore More Teachers
Discover wisdom from 500+ spiritual teachers across all traditions.
Browse All Teachers