Richard Rohr - How Can We Be Holy…?

Paul writes – After yesterday’s long post, and before at least one other long post, time for a short (but pithy) quote. It’s by Richard Rohr, and is taken from his (co-written) book Contemplation in Action (p. 84).

“…’How can I be more holy?’ We don’t have to make ourselves holy. We already are, and we just don’t know it. In Christian terminology is called the Divine Indwelling or the free gift of the Holy Spirit. That proclamation, and all that proceeds from it, is the essential, foundational, and primary task of all religion. Thus, authentic religion is more about subtraction than addition, more letting go of the false self than any attempt at engineering a true self. You can’t create what you already have…”

p.s. for those of you who read Rohr, he has a new book out – Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality (Jan 2008)…More here on the book, the contents page, and sample chapter. Excerpt from pg. 133, below:

“…The Bible, as I will continue to say, is a “text in travail,” struggling toward its conclusions, and only getting the point step by step, and frequently stepping backward. The important thing is to stay in the process, stay with the unfolding text and allow it to lead you forward…”

Comments

[Simon]

Love the quote ... holiness that is rather than holiness to be conjured up! Inspired to read more ...