Journeying through Advent

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Dear John,

We’re midway through Advent, the new year is getting closer, and many people feel overwhelmed by the frantic pace of the holiday season and its many obligations. Amid all the activity, we invite you to slow down and consider how to be more present to God who comes hidden in the ordinary moments of your life.

As Fr. Richard has said, “When we speak of Advent or preparing for Christmas, we’re not talking about waiting for a little baby to be born. We’re in fact welcoming the universal, cosmic Christ—the Christ that is forever being born in the human soul and history.” In Franciscan spirituality:

Creation is the first and probably final Bible,
Incarnation is already Redemption,
Christmas is already Easter, and
Jesus is already Christ.

The loving message of the Divine Incarnation is bigger than just one man. It is the ultimate character of all reality, including each one of us in community as the ongoing Body of Christ. From Richard’s recent book, The Universal Christ: “Incarnation is the oldest Christian story. Through Christ, God is pouring God's self into all creation. To be Christian, then, is to see Christ in every thing.”

This reality informs everything we do at the Center for Action & Contemplation (CAC), the nonprofit organization Richard Rohr founded in 1987 to teach the wisdom and practices of the Christian contemplative traditions in service to the healing of our world. The incarnational flow guides us, expanding our ability to integrate, platform, and support new teachers rooted in Richard’s lineage with their own unique positions and contexts. A growing diversity of online courses, podcasts, books, and meditations help unpack evolving wisdom, leading us through the work of personal transformation, embodied practice, and engaged living.

Thank you for being with us on the journey this year. If our work has been meaningful to you and you are able to participate in holiday giving, please consider making a donation to the CAC.

The generosity from this community is helping us step purposefully and creatively into the future, increasing both the reach of these teachings and the support we can provide to the emerging contemplative community.

In gratitude for an online donation of any amount now through the end of the year, we’ll send you a free digital copy of “The Future of Christianity,” our fall issue of the journal Oneing.

Thank you for participating in the incarnational flow with us. We are so grateful for you and all your help sharing this message.

Peace and Every Good,

Center for Action & Contemplation

You can donate securely online or send a check (USD only) to CAC, PO Box 12464, Albuquerque, NM 87195. Learn more about charitable giving at cac.org/support. Email us at Development@cac.org if you are considering making a legacy or estate gift. Thank you!

A collision of opposites forms the cross of Christ.
One leads downward preferring the truth of the humble.
The other moves leftward against the grain.
But all are wrapped safely inside a hidden harmony.
One world, God's cosmos, a benevolent universe.