Something old and something new -- What do we mean by "mysticism"? -- A happy run downward: the inner authority of those who have suffered -- Living on the edge of the inside: simplicity and justice -- Home base: nature and the road -- Contemplation: a different way of knowing -- An alternative orthodoxy: paying attention to different things -- The Franciscan genius: the integration of the negative -- Lightness of heart and firmness of foot: the integration of feminine and masculine -- The legacy of Clare: living the life at depth -- Entering the world of another: Francis and the Sultan of Egypt -- Bonaventure: to yield to love is to return to the source -- John Duns Scotus: anything but a dunce -- Francis: a natural spiritual genius -- Appendix I. A dynamic unity between Jesus of Nazareth and the cosmic Christ -- Appendix II. Is God a person? The Franciscan view of the nature of the divine -- Appendix III. How are things "caused"?
Summary:
Richard Rohr focuses his attention on all frames and doorways to the divine--the alternative way of Francis of Assisi. Francis of Assisi, one of the most beloved of all saints, was at once very traditional and entirely revolutionary in the ways of holiness. As a standing paradox, he both stood barefoot on the earth and yet touched the heavens; he was grounded in the church and yet instinctively moved toward the cosmos; he lived happily inside the visible and tangible, and yet both suffered and rejoiced in the invisible. Rohr places the tradition as first practiced by Francis, and subsequently by others, within a context for the uninitiated audience. This is not a historical accounting, but rather a perspective about how the alternative orthodoxy can deepen spiritual life for anyone, whether Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, secular, or spiritual seeker. Eager to Love is grounded in the Gospels, the prophets, a broad blend of psychology and theology, and in literature and art, to continue to communicate through all the sources that articulate specific alternative ways of understanding God with us.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.