Contemplation, Love, and Action
I’m inspired by the word “engaged” from my Buddhist friends who talk about engaged Buddhism. What Jesus talks about is not attending or belonging but doing. He focuses on the way we do life and do life with and for the neighbor. If going to service on Sunday morning keeps us from volunteer work on Monday, service work on Thursday, and pro bono work on Friday, I don’t think it’s what Jesus had in mind. The soul is refined in engagement, in relationship, in doing, in connecting. [1]
When we named the Center for Action and Contemplation, I hoped our rather long name would itself keep us honest and force us toward balance and ongoing integration. However, over the years, I have witnessed how many of us attach to contemplation or to action for the wrong reasons. Introverts may use contemplation to affirm quiet time; those with the luxury of free time sometimes use it for “navel-gazing.” On the other hand, some activists see our call to action as an affirmation of their particular agenda and not much else. Neither is the delicate art and balance that we hope to affirm.
By contemplation, we mean the deliberate seeking of God through a willingness to detach from the passing self, the tyranny of emotions, the addiction to self-image, and the false promises of the world. Action, as we are using the word, means a decisive commitment to involvement and engagement in the social order. Issues will not be resolved by mere reflection, discussion, or even prayer; nor will they be resolved only by protests, boycotts, or votes. Rather, God works together with all those who love (see Romans 8:28).
Though “Love” is not in our Center’s name, I hope that it is the driving force behind all we do, just as it was for Jesus who knew God’s love intimately and fully, and for the early church who proclaimed that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Amidst this time of planetary change and disruption, the CAC envisions a movement of transformed people working together for a transformed world.
The only way out and through any dualism, including that between action and contemplation, is a kind of universal forgiveness of reality for being what it is. This becomes the bonding glue of grace which heals all separations that law, religion, or logic can never finally or fully restore.
We are all on this journey together and we are all in need of liberation (which might be a better word than salvation). God’s intention is never to shame the individual (which actually disempowers), but solidarity with and universal responsibility for the whole (which creates healthy people). That is an act of radical solidarity that few Christians seem to enjoy but which the CAC is committed to fostering. [2]
References:
[1] Adapted from Richard Rohr, “What Is Engaged Contemplation?,” Essentials of Engaged Contemplation, Center for Action and Contemplation, 2024. Presentation for the Living School.
[2] Adapted from Richard Rohr, “Not the Center for Activism & Introspection,” Radical Grace 4, no. 6 (December 1991–January 1992).
Richard Rohr is a globally recognized Franciscan friar and ecumenical teacher whose work bears witness to the deep wisdom of Christian mysticism. He is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an educational nonprofit that introduces spiritual seekers to the Christian contemplative path of transformation. He is the author of many books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Tears of Things and The Universal Christ. His work has been featured on Oprah’s SuperSoul Sunday, Krista Tippett’s On Being, and in The New Yorker and Harper’s Magazine.
The Center for Action and Contemplation’s mission is to introduce Christian contemplative wisdom and practices that support transformation and inspire loving action. In this issue of the Mendicant, we are honored to share with you articles from five members of CAC’s community about what loving action looks like in their lives. Download a PDF of this issue.