Ronald Rolheiser

A spiritual journey through life's final years and its "mellowing of souls"--the long-awaited conclusion of Father Rolheiser's trilogy of modern spiritual classics, following The Holy Longing and Sacred Fire As the shadows lengthen and we find ourselves no longer in the morning or noon of life, but face its approaching dusk, we discover a new spiritual task: to give away the final years of our lives and our deaths. So argues beloved author Ronald Rolheiser. During life's first years, we embark on a search for meaning and discover in ourselves a profound, unquenchable thirst for the Divine. And when we reach adulthood, we find that we are called to give our lives away―to our spouses, children, careers, friends and neighbors in need. But in the end, we must learn to let it all go. In this highly anticipated conclusion to his trilogy the spiritual classics, The Holy Longing and Sacred Fire, and with characteristic attentiveness and care, Rolheiser accompanies readers on a spiritual journey through life's final years and its "mellowing of souls." In these years, bitterness can give way to forgiveness, mere imagination to profound and subtle faith, wishful optimism to virtuous hope, and control to surrender. Readers will learn see in Jesus a model for a spirituality of passivity, and find in him the courage to overcome the darkest nights of faith. Drawing on the work of John of the Cross and Henri Nouwen, Rolheiser outlines a spirituality capable of giving away one's death―and therefore a spirituality of truly living.

In our frenzied culture, the possibility of living in balanced rhythms of work and rest often feels elusive. This rings especially true for pastors and leaders who carry the weight of nonstop responsibility. Most know they need rest but might be surprised to find within themselves a deep resistance to letting go and resting in God one day a week, let alone for longer seasons of sabbatical. The journey to a meaningful sabbath practice is slow and gradual, and it is a journey we need to take in community. Sharing her own story of practicing sabbath for the past twenty years, Ruth Haley Barton offers hard-won wisdom regarding the rhythms of sabbath, exploring both weekly sabbath keeping as well as extended periods of sabbatical time. Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest grounds us in God's intentions in giving us the gift of sabbath, providing practical steps for embedding sabbath rhythms in churches and organizations. Each chapter concludes with "What Your Soul Wants to Say to God," an opportunity to reflect and engage God around your own journey with the material. Sabbath is more than a practice—it is a way of life ordered around God’s invitation to regular rhythms of work, rest, and replenishment that will sustain us for the long haul of life in leadership. Includes a conversation guide for small groups and communities.

Ronald Rolheiser, a Catholic priest and theologian, is one of the most popular and influential spiritual writers today. Through such bestselling books as The Holy Longing and Sacred Fire, as well as his syndicated column, "In Exile," he has shown an ability to outline a healthy Christian spirituality that relates to the deep desires, anxieties, and hopes of ordinary people living in the world. This collection of his essential writings, which draws in large part on his columns, first outlines the "holy longing" that underlies all spirituality. He then outlines the elements of a "generative," or fruitful spiritual life, including prayer, suffering and death, love and justice, faith and doubt.

For most religious people, the words God and sex never go together. God is conceived of as holy, pure, sexless, and as morally above the raw desires that so powerfully beset us. Sex, on the other hand, is conceived of as earthy and unholy, something we must snatch, and not without guilt, from the gods. Christianity has struggled mightily with sex; so too have most other religions. And yet when we look at sexual desire and ask where it comes from, there can be only one answer. It comes from God. This is a book on desire, its experience, its origins, its meaning, and how it might be generatively channeled. Sexuality is inside us to help lure us back to God, but dealing with this fire inside us is a lifelong struggle. Ron Rolheiser sheds light on this mystery and the journey it takes us on in these tantalizing fragments that help give us permission to feel what we feel and know that God is still smiling on us.

Recent events have shown again how suicide touches all of us — often when we least expect it. But how to unpack the grief that follows such a painful, and often stigmatized, death? Ron Rolheiser can help. When someone is stricken with cancer, one of three things can happen: Doctors treat the disease and cure it; professionals can’t cure the disease but can control it so that the person suffering can live with the disease for the rest of his or her life; or the cancer can be of a kind that cannot be treated and all the medicine and treatments in the world are powerless – the person dies. Emotional depression leading to suicide can work the same way. Sometimes a person can be treated so that, in effect, they are cured; sometimes they can’t ever really be cured, but can be treated in a way that they can live with the disease for their whole life; and sometimes, just as with certain kinds of cancer, the disease is untreatable, unstoppable, and no intervention by anyone or anything can halt its advance – it eventually kills the person and there is nothing anyone can do. Thus, Ronald Rolheiser begins this small, powerful book. With chapters also on “Removing the Taboo,” “Despair as Weakness Rather than Sin,” “Reclaiming the Memory of Our Loved One,” and “The Pain of the Ones Left Behind,” Fr. Rolheiser offers hope and a new way of understanding death by suicide.

'Full of profound insights ... These meditations on Christ's Passion culminate in a completely convincing understanding of the Resurrection. Rolheiser's great gift is to make faith real. This deserves to become a classic.' - The TabletDaily readings from Lent, from one of today's most influential spiritual writers. When we think of Jesus' passion and crucifixion, we often think of his physical suffering and death. But the Gospels themselves do not emphasise Jesus' physical sufferings; instead, the Gospel writers want us to understand Jesus as a faithful lover of humanity, who undergoes moral and emotional suffering without resentment or bitterness. Drawing from Scripture, story, theology, contemporary culture and his own life, Fr Ronald Rolheiser - one of the most influential spiritual writers of our day - invites us to a new understanding of redemption, and offers profound insights into the meaning of our own loss and suffering.

Discover Henri Nouwen's authentic, spacious spirituality of being deeply beloved." When we are at one with our self, it becomes effortless for us to welcome and embrace the same self where God resides, the self that God loves with the fi rst love, preceding all human love. With Nouwen, we are able to carry our own beautiful, deeply loved self in our heart."--from the IntroductionHenri Nouwen's compelling spirituality of the heart is at once simple and complex, accessible but deeply profound. For this beloved Catholic theologian, whose ecumenical writings continue to inspire Christians of all denominations and levels of involvement, spirituality is, at its most basic, simply "attention to the life of the spirit in us." This insightful distillation of Nouwen's vast literary legacy invites our tender hearts to take courage and be still, creating space for God and our true selves. It is in this place of trust and solitude that we discover our belovedness and our capacity to love God and others. A scholar and spiritual director intimately acquainted with Nouwen's understanding of the spiritual life, Wil Hernandez, PhD, Obl. OSB, offers an elegant synthesis of Nouwen's main themes, inspiring us to embrace the power and vulnerability of mere spirituality.

Channeling the deep, mysterious desires of our hearts, Ronald Rolheiser leads readers from restlessness to peace, showing a contemporary path to authentic and healthy spiritual life--now featuring a new reader's guide In The Holy Longing, Ronald Rolheiser probes the question "What is spirituality?", cutting through the misunderstanding and confusion that can often surround this subject with his trademark clarity. Using examples and stories relevant for today, and with great sensitivity to modern challenges to religious faith, he explains the essentials of spiritual life, including the importance of community worship, the imperatives surrounding social action, and the centrality of the Incarnation, to outline a Christian spirituality that reflects the yearning and search for meaning at the core of the human experience. Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand what Christian spirituality means and how to apply it to their own lives, The Holy Longing translates the universal struggle for love and integration of spirit into a language accessible to all, explaining God and the Church for a world that more often than not doubts the credibility of both.

The author of The Holy Longing explores the debilitating obsessions that often dominate our lives and offers down-to-earth guidance for learning to leave our fears, anxieties, and guilt forgotten among the lilies. Rarely do we taste the food we eat or the coffee we drink. Instead we go through our days too preoccupied, too compulsive, and too dissatisfied to really be able to be present for and celebrate our own lives, Ronald Rolheiser writes in the introduction to this powerful collection of essays. Forgotten Among the Lilies shows that there is a better way to find contentment and joy. Only by trusting in God s grace and providence, Rolheiser argues, can we move beyond our obsessions and rejoice in what we have and who we are. With his trademark blend of insight, compassion, and honesty laced with humor, the author teaches that it is possible to experience freedom instead of anxiety, solitude instead of loneliness, and a generosity of spirit that returns to the giver far more than it costs."

In the recent past, "missionary work" often meant bringing our familiar Gospel to faraway places and other peoples. In secular America today, however, even our own children know little about the Gospel. In this important contribution, Ronald Rolheiser, author of The Holy Longing, offers original chapters on the question of secularity, then introduces leading voices in Catholic thought to show how Christian faith can thrive in a secular world.

A systematic theologist and author of The Holy Longing explores issues related to present-day loneliness, identifying modern elements that contribute to different types of loneliness while providing contemporary parables from literature, film, and the author's life to demonstrate how loneliness can be a catalyst for creativity and healthy change. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.

This prequel and companion to The Holy Longing has sold over 40,000 copies in various editions. Crossroad now offers a wholly new edition of this excellent book, throughly re-edited, with attractive layout and guide for reflection.

Filled with personal anecdotes, healing wisdom, and fresh reflections on scripture, Against an Infinite Horizon, one of Fr. Ronald Rolheiser's most beloved books, leads us to a deeper experience of the beauty and poetry of Christian spirituality.

In this wide-ranging text, Ronald Rolheiser gives information and practical advice on how to build a spi rituality for today and for the next century. He also explai ns what Christian spirituality is and why we struggle with it.