Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer

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Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer

4.38 of 5 stars 4.38 · rating details · 587 ratings · 83 reviews

This popular and bestselling book of the renowned Franciscan challenges people to move beyond the comfort of a settled life toward an understanding of themselves that is rooted in their connection to God. Only when they rest in God can they find the certainty and the freedom to become all that they can be. Contemplation has its place at the heart of Christianity, a place t...more

Paperback, 192 pages

Published March 1st 2003 by The Crossroad Publishing Company (first published March 1st 1999)

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Jun 30, 2012 Sharen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am re-reading Everything Belongs.
This segment seemed especially significant:
Everything Belongs - Richard Rohr - Pg 132

THE RIVER
We are much larger than the good or bad stories
we tell about ourselves.
Please don't get caught in just "my" story,
my hurts,
my agenda.

It's too small.
it's not the whole You,
not the Great You.

It's not the great river.
It's not where life is really going to happen.

The Spirit is described as
"flowing water"
"a spring inside you"
"a river of life.

Strangely,
your life is not a...more

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Feb 28, 2008 R.L. Calixto rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: all.

Recommended to R.L. by: A friend who is also a priest.

I am a huge Richard Rohr fan! If you are very into your Christian faith, his books will help you see life and faith in a simpler angle. I love his "Franciscan" idealism (he is a Franciscan priest) of "emptying" yourself. Through his books, which are mostly speeches or talks put into book forms, he unlocks the key to what living a "gospel" life is truly about!

Everything Belongs, next to Simplicity and The Gospel According to Luke, is probably his best!
Very easy read! Just to warn everyone, Fr. R...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Shannon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: faith, nonfiction

Everything Belongs may be the best faith based book I've ever read. Rohr's left me feeling encouraged in who I am, with insight into who God is and with desire to know Him better. The writing is easy to read, which is great because there is so much here that can be challenging - about how the need to let go of who we think we are, about how the gospel is about subtraction, not addition, about how prayer is a stance, not an action.

Here's what this book isn't: 1) a how to guide on prayer. It won't...more Everything Belongs may be the best faith based book I've ever read. Rohr's left me feeling encouraged in who I am, with insight into who God is and with desire to know Him better. The writing is easy to read, which is great because there is so much here that can be challenging - about how the need to let go of who we think we are, about how the gospel is about subtraction, not addition, about how prayer is a stance, not an action.

Here's what this book isn't: 1) a how to guide on prayer. It won't give you step by step instructions on how to enter into contemplative prayer or who to pray for. 2) a book about the activity of prayer. This isn't a book that will tell you how to sit and where to sit and how often to pray. 3) the same book you've read on prayer by seven other Christian authors. Rohr isn't going to repeat what you've read elsewhere about the value of prayer.

Here's what it is instead: 1) a book about why we should desire contemplative prayer. Rohr explains early on in the book that we can't seek the presence of God - we're already in the presence of God. What we need is to be aware of that. 2) a book about the heart of prayer, not the activity of it. Rohr talks about prayer being a way to ask God to help us open our hands and hold everything loosely - and to keep them that way. 3) a book that will encourage you to see God in a new way. This passage was especially striking to me: "When we attach, when we fall in love, we risk pain and we will always suffer for it. The cross is not the price that Jesus had to pay to talk God into loving us. It is simply where love will lead us. Jesus names the agenda. If we love, if we give ourselves to feel the pain of the world, it will crucify us. (This understanding of the crucifixion is much better than thinking of Jesus as paying some debt to an alienated God, who needs to be talked into loving us.)"

If you are interested in a new way to see and think about prayer and your entire faith life, I highly recommend Everything Belongs. It may challenge you - you may not agree with everything Rohr says - but I doubt it will leave you unchanged.(less)

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Feb 06, 2012 Cathee rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book came into my hands just at the moment I needed some of its messages - not only that "everything belongs" which means God uses everything that happens to us, He's in the midst of all of it, and the idea of "second causes" is quite questionable. That's the main theme of the book, but there is so much more to soak up. How detaching from consumerism, cultural imprints, etc. and coming to the place of powerlessness and surrender are what the Christian life is all about. A book I'll go back...more

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Oct 01, 2007 Adam rated it 5 of 5 stars

I need to read and re-read this again and again.
Challenging, deep, beautifully written, and wise enough that you can return to it often and take away amazing kernels of goodness every time. This book was my introduction to Rohr's work, and I'd recommend it instantly.
In essence, peace, contemplation, simplicity, and the reality of the love and goodness and grace of God in the person of Christ. Wonderful.

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Oct 17, 2012 Joe Dwyer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Unpretentious and unassuming—I was very touched by how "fucking human" and empathetic this work was.

My musings thought out reading this piece lead me back to Camus, who claimed that there is one truly serious philosophical problem, the question of suicide. In the face of what Camus ultimately posits as the absurdity of mankind’s existence, he defends through his existential allegorization of an Ancient Greek myth, in his 1942 essay, “The Myth of Sisyphus” [Le Mythe de Sisyphe]. Ultimately, Camu...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Craig Werner rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: religion-spirituality

Difficult book for me to respond to. I'm absolutely convinced Rohr and his Institute for Contemplation and Action (he says the key word is "and") is a positive force in the world. And there's little here I'd argue with. But the book has a self-help feel that grates on me at times even (maybe especially) when I'm in deep sympathy with his sense of how the contemplative tradition and prayer provide useful ways of getting beyond the simplistic and inadequate phrasings of our society. My problem may...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Jeff rated it 5 of 5 stars

A friend of mine had been recommending Richard Rohr to me for some time. I resisted. So now I'm telling you that I was (but no longer!) an idiot. This is one seriously good book. One of the best I've read on Christian spirituality. The subtitle is "The Gift of Contemplative Prayer" however Rohr's approach to prayer is almost certainly different than what comes to mind for most and thankfully so. I don't necessarily agree with everything but when is that ever the case and it's no reason not to go...more

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Jan 25, 2012 Audrey rated it 5 of 5 stars

In his book, “Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality,” Richard Rohr says that he writes not because he trusts strongly in his own ability to write, “but with a much stronger faith in the ‘Stable Witness’ within who will teach you everything (John 14:26) and whose law is already written on your hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). All that a spiritual teacher really does is ‘second the motions’ of the Holy Spirit.” He goes on to say that the best compliment he ever gets is when people tell him that he did...more In his book, “Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality,” Richard Rohr says that he writes not because he trusts strongly in his own ability to write, “but with a much stronger faith in the ‘Stable Witness’ within who will teach you everything (John 14:26) and whose law is already written on your hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). All that a spiritual teacher really does is ‘second the motions’ of the Holy Spirit.” He goes on to say that the best compliment he ever gets is when people tell him that he did not teach them anything new; somehow they already knew it but it did not become conscious or real for them until he said it. He says that on some level, spiritual cognition is invariably experienced as “re-cognition.” Even Peter said that his work was largely ‘recalling’ and ‘reminding’ (2 Peter 1:12-15) his people.”

In Richard Rohr’s book, “Everything Belongs,” I learned much, but also “recognized” much that God had already placed in my heart and mind but that had not yet found expression. Rohr has drawn my attention to and clarified a lot of spiritual truth for me as I’ve read (3 times) and interacted with the great wealth of material in this book. Following are some of Rohr’s thoughts and expressions that impressed me greatly.

This book is about seeing, which requires adopting a beginner’s mind (“a beginner’s mind is a posture of eagerness, of spiritual hunger – knowing you need something”). It’s also about death and rebirth, about suffering and death to self, about entering the sacred space. It’s about growth and transformation and about recognizing the divine – the sacred, and about the path of true prayer – simplistic prayer.

Rohr talks about letting go of the ego, our fixation with the “I” that compares and differentiates from the other, because as long as we are dong this, we cannot truly love but instead we judge. Prayer – contemplation helps us to let go of our “I” fixation. We need to cleanse the lens – to see humbly who we are, to live in awe before God’s wonder. We must be willing to be led through our fears and anxieties or we will never see or grow. We need to be willing to experience suffering in order to experience transformation. “Suffering is the letting go, and dying to the old order is necessary in order to experience true transformation. We are transformed through death and rising, probably many times. There seems to be no other cauldron of growth and transformation.” We need to become humble before God, for “the only people who grow in truth are those who are humble and honest.” We also need to look for our shadow, what we dismiss or disdain, what we’ve spent our whole lives avoiding (poverty, failure, being ordinary, being unsuccessful, etc). “When we integrate and forgive our shadow, life looks different. We see what we have never dared look at before. Biblical faith feels like giving up our eyes and seeing things as God sees them. God doesn’t look at our faults, but at the places in us that are trying to say ‘yes.’ God looks at us and sees that we reflect the divine image.”

Prayer is being loved at a deep sweet level – it is intimacy with God. Rohr says that prayer is not a way of thinking but more that of not thinking. It moves beyond words into silence. It moves into the mystery that is too deep for words. Prayer must lead us beyond mind, words and ideas to a more spacious place where God has a chance to get in.”

We enter sacred space when we let go of what we’re used to, of that which has trapped us, so that we can live in the new realm where everything belongs … where darkness and light co-exist, where paradox is revealed; where death is a part of life; where failure is a part of victory; where opposites collide and unite. It’s loving and paying the price for it; it’s risking pain and suffering to participate in Jesus’ suffering on the cross; it’s experiencing love that is not self-seeking but the pure love of Jesus. Everything belongs.

A very poignant image to me came through Rohr’s comments about infancy. He said “psychologists now say there is no such thing as an infant. There’s only an infant/mother; in the first few years they are one, especially from the infant’s point of view. Infants see themselves as entirely mirrored in their parents’ eyes, especially the mother’s. What her eyes tell us about ourselves we believe and become. It’s a mirroring game. Prayer is much the same; we receive and return the divine gaze.” It’s a mirroring gaze - imagine spending glorious time in the presence of Jesus, gazing at his divine image and seeing ourselves as he sees us, as mirrored in his eyes – then allowing his gaze of love and compassion and acceptance to be mirrored through our eyes to those around us. We would cause no fear in others. No pain or hurt or offense would be transferred to them. We would not stand above or in judgment of anybody else. We would wait upon God and ask for the grace to respect and honour others even when they don’t agree with us or they oppose us. And we would look for the divine image of God in others. Rohr says, “When we see the image of God where we don’t want to see the image of God, then we see with eyes not our own.”

“Everything belongs – God uses everything. There are no dead ends. There is no wasted energy. Everything is recycled. God forgives us for being broken and poor. God forgives us for not being all that we thought we had to be and even for what God wanted us to be. That’s why we fall in love with such a God. God is always a true and perfect lover, more than we dared to hope for.”

What a wonderful book – I feel much richer in spirit for having read it!
(less)

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Glen Grunau I can't wait to hear your comments on this book Audrey. It was one of the most informative and provocative books I have read in some time. It sold me...more
Apr 16, 2011 07:26pm

Glen Grunau Thank you Audrey for sharing some of the highlights of this book. I liked your idea that your Internal Teacher has already taught you much, but that t...more
Dec 30, 2011 11:31am

Audrey Thanks, Glen .. my reading pleasure and the joy I receive seems to multiply with each reading. I've already read "Falling Upward" twice now and will n...more
Dec 30, 2011 03:00pm

Feb 19, 2009 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Rohr has written a meandering essay about the most meaningful things in life and spirit. Gems of insight abound throughout. A second reading would get me underlining. Others have said what he says in a more logically orderly way, but over and over he strips off the protective skin and exposes the heart of love as the only thing worth doing in this life. A challenging and encouraging message written in a conversational tone. If it weren't for the lack of organization, it would earn 4 stars.

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Aug 10, 2011 John Laliberte rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: thology

One of Rohr’s best works. For those who are interested in contemplative prayer, who want to begin to understand how to put the pieces together, Everything Belongs is essential. Rohr’s works are only a starting point. Like The Naked Now and his other works, he reveals and asks you to reflect, asks you taste and see, explains and gives insights to what you find as paradoxical and challenging, and shows you where the real work is. Like everything in life, we know it only comes from experiencing, do...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Rita rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Christian's point of view of The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. A theme, among many: greatness emerges through pain and suffering. Um, we'll see... But, a good read. Recommended. The big plus: no proselytizing.

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May 24, 2011 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm excited to read more Richard Rohr. His writing and theology are write up my alley. Written in accessible language, it still challenges you and invites you to think. There is a confidence in his arguments, without arrogance. It invites you into the wisdom of his vision and movement and ultimately, you read with a sense of the Divine love he writes about.

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Jan 01, 2013 Wade rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: prayer

While I don’t agree with all of the theology in this book, I was still very grateful to read it. I was very stretched and challenged by Rohr’s approach to prayer and to life. He just keeps throwing out these deep nuggets of wisdom that take a lot of time and thought to process and allow to sink in deeply.

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Mar 27, 2013 Tory rated it 1 of 5 stars

Should christians (or anyone else) "do" contemplative prayer? Will contemplative prayer be the biggest downfall of the American church? The site linked below and other pages also available on this site answer this question, and many more.

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.c...

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Mar 04, 2009 George rated it 5 of 5 stars

After years of struggle with anger, and the attempt to define myself by being against things, this book is exactly what I needed to hear. A beautiful description of how to move through the threshold, from ego to God (Self). It helped me clearly see the path to acceptance of "What Is". This book would be welcome reading for anyone wanting to better love themselves and the neighbor.

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Feb 02, 2011 Pamela rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

An excellent "introductory" book by Rohr that I highly recommend. A perfect read for anybody who is disillusioned with the Catholic church and traditional teachings. He presents a unique, progressive interpretation of Christ's teachings that makes sense and is very hopeful and uplifting.

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May 12, 2013 Gillian rated it 5 of 5 stars

I went to the library to pick up this book and ran into a friend of mine who works there. When she saw what I had, she said, "Oh you're going to want to buy that one!" She was absolutely right. There is so much in this little book. I am going to want to revisit it.

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Nov 16, 2012 Russ rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

A quote from page 97 was the gem that I found in this book.

That, by the way, was Francis's word as he lay dying. He said, "I have done what was mine to do; now you must do what is yours to do." We must find out what part of the mystery it is ours to reflect. That's the only true meaning of heroism as far as I can see. In this ego-comparison game, we have had centuries of Christians comparing themselves to the Mother Teresa's of each age, saying that she was the only name for holiness. Thank God...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Sheila rated it 5 of 5 stars

LOVE Rohr...Love his audios better than his books, but he's just a wise man. I've read this a couple of times and have started it again. Always one of those on the cutting edge of our Christian spirituality, Rohr always broadens my vision.

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Feb 16, 2012 Wayne Siggelkow rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow!! Richard gracefully opens the path to a contemplative prayer lifestyle that opens a whole new way of looking at the world and your life and the lifes of everyone around you. Perhaps even seeing hte world as God sees it.....

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Aug 31, 2009 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

What amazing insight on how to effectively live a contemplative, spiritual life while being stuck in these crazy "skin suits." I will come back to this one again and again for the reminder that this both is and is not all there is..... there are ways to find true joy amidst suffering...... and ways to connect with self/others/God while I'm at it........

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Dec 29, 2012 Jeanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: spiritual-growth, the-right-book-at-the-right-time

This book has helped me to grow in my Christian faith and given me a deeper understanding of the importance of spending time in quiet contemplation. I look forward to reading other works by the author.

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Jan 16, 2010 Carol rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: faith-spirituality, read-again-someday

"In mature religion, the secular becomes sacred. There are no longer two worlds. We no longer have to leave the secular world to find sacred space because they've come together."

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Nov 01, 2012 Monster rated it 4 of 5 stars

An incredibly marvelous work for the dogma-averse. The writing was often technically mediocre (changing voice, incoherent organization, monotonous zeal) but everything about Rohr's message resonates from a place where (all/any) God and Humans (if not humanism) coincide.

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Aug 18, 2012 Freda Marie added it

I love this book. I read it over and over again ...meditatively. It helps me make sense of my life. Richard Rohr is a wonderful writer and a wise man.

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Jul 25, 2010 Lavonne is currently reading it

didn't like the first chapter . . . to heady and philosophical for me. but starting with ch. 2 the book is delightful and encouraging and wise.

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Sep 10, 2011 Melanie Griffin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Totally loved this book. It changed the way I look at a lot of things. Recommended it to my book group and all felt the same.

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May 25, 2012 Heather added it

Extremely insightful and thought provoking. This is one that I will continuously re-read to fully digest and apply.

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Apr 18, 2011 Eileen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: christian, spirituality

A wonderful book that brings together the best of both East and West and makes a unified whole within the worldview of the Christian faith. I highly recommend it. Some quotes: “True life comes only through death journeys.” “Letting go is the nature of all true spirituality and transformation.” “God needs some who are conformed to the pattern of his death and transformed into the power of his resurrection. They are not 'saved' as much as chosen, used, purified, and beloved by God.” I hate to put...more

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About Richard Rohr

Fr. Richard Rohr is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province. He founded the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1986, where he presently serves as Founding Director. An internationally known speaker to many thousands of people a year, Richard's travels have recently taken him to Europe, Australia/New Zealand and South Africa. Teaching on such themes as adult Ch...more

More about Richard Rohr...

Books by Richard Rohr

Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See

Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality

Breathing Underwater: Spirituality and the 12 Steps

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“Our first experience of life is primarily felt in the *body.* ... We know ourselves in the security of those who hold us and gaze upon us. It's not heard or seen or thought it's felt. That's the original knowing.” — 1 person liked it

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