Most Popular Books by Richard Rohr

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In his first major work since The Universal Christ, one of our most prominent spiritual voices offers a wholehearted and hope-filled model for the world today, grounded in the timeless wisdom of the Hebrew prophets. “Richard Rohr is one of the great Christian spiritual masters of our time. Of any time.”—James Martin, SJ, author of Come Forth How do we live compassionately in a time of violence and despair? What can we do with our private disappointments and the anger we feel in such an unjust world? In his most personal book yet, Richard Rohr turns to the writings of the Jewish prophets, revealing how some of the lesser-read books of the Bible offer us a crucial path forward today. The prophets’ writings reflect the full spectrum of human maturity. In almost every case, their initial rage and their accusatory words evolve into a profound pathos and lamentation about our shared human condition and the world’s suffering. Through astute critiques of culture and institutions, and their journey from anger to sadness, and ultimately compassion, the prophets exemplify what Rohr calls “sacred criticism”—a distinct approach to confronting evil and injustice that acknowledges the wholeness of history, the interconnectedness of every living being, and the reality of a divine and universal love. In this, they set the stage for Jesus, who follows this identical pattern. Drawing on a century of biblical scholarship and written in the warm, pastoral voice that has endeared Rohr to millions, The Tears of Things breathes new life into ancient wisdom. It paves a path of enlightenment for anyone seeking a compassionate way of living in a hurting world.

In this companion to The Universal Christ, Richard Rohr and Patrick Boland offer forty reflections and practices exploring what it means to live “in Christ.” In his landmark book The Universal Christ, Richard Rohr articulated a transformative view of what it means to recognize Jesus as “Christ”—as a portrait of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world. Now, in partnership with Patrick Boland, a psychotherapist and member of Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation community, he invites readers to engage with the themes of the book through spiritual practice. Each reflection in this book draws on a key passage of The Universal Christ, paired with prayers, journal prompts, and embodied exercises that invite readers into a more personal encounter with the truth that the presence and compassion of the Christ are in every thing. Whether read daily for the season of Lent or explored over the course of a year, Every Thing Is Sacred is a hope-filled journey into the love at the heart of all things.

In this companion guide to Richard Rohr’s Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, readers are invited into a contemplative, experiential journey through the Bible as a path of inner transformation. Organized chapter by chapter to correspond with Things Hidden, this companion guide helps readers move beyond analysis of Scripture into lived encounter. It offers structured reflections, lectio practices, contemplative sits, and embodied exercises that deepen Rohr’s central themes. Each chapter includes selected quotations from Things Hidden, Scripture passages, and carefully crafted questions designed to foster honest self-examination and spiritual growth. Rather than presenting theology as abstract doctrine, the guide creates space to engage the Bible as a transformative story—one that reshapes consciousness, heals division, and invites readers into divine union. Written in a pastoral and accessible voice, the Things Hidden Companion Guide is ideal for individuals or groups seeking to move from information to transformation, discovering Scripture not as a set of conclusions, but as an invitation into mutual indwelling with God.

Advent is not about a sentimental waiting for the Baby Jesus --Richard Rohr Advent is a time to focus our expectation and anticipation on the adult Christ, the Cosmic Christ, who challenges us to empty ourselves, to lose ourselves, to surrender. Preparing for Christmas offers daily meditations, prayers, Scripture readings, and questions for reflection for each day of Advent.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From one of the world’s most influential spiritual thinkers, a long-awaited book exploring what it means that Jesus was called “Christ,” and how this forgotten truth can restore hope and meaning to our lives. “Anyone who strives to put their faith into action will find encouragement and inspiration in the pages of this book.”—Melinda Gates In his decades as a globally recognized teacher, Richard Rohr has helped millions realize what is at stake in matters of faith and spirituality. Yet Rohr has never written on the most perennially talked about topic in Christianity: Jesus. Most know who Jesus was, but who was Christ? Is the word simply Jesus’s last name? Too often, Rohr writes, our understandings have been limited by culture, religious debate, and the human tendency to put ourselves at the center. Drawing on scripture, history, and spiritual practice, Rohr articulates a transformative view of Jesus Christ as a portrait of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world. “God loves things by becoming them,” he writes, and Jesus’s life was meant to declare that humanity has never been separate from God—except by its own negative choice. When we recover this fundamental truth, faith becomes less about proving Jesus was God, and more about learning to recognize the Creator’s presence all around us, and in everyone we meet. Thought-provoking, practical, and full of deep hope and vision, The Universal Christ is a landmark book from one of our most beloved spiritual writers, and an invitation to contemplate how God liberates and loves all that is.

Dissolve the distractions of ego to find our authentic selves in God In his bestselling book Falling Upward, Richard Rohr talked about ego (or the False Self) and how it gets in the way of spiritual maturity. But if there''s a False Self, is there also a True Self? What is it? How is it found? Why does it matter? And what does it have to do with the spiritual journey? This book likens True Self to a diamond, buried deep within us, formed under the intense pressure of our lives, that must be searched for, uncovered, separated from all the debris of ego that surrounds it. In a sense True Self must, like Jesus, be resurrected, and that process is not resuscitation but transformation. Shows how to navigate spiritually difficult terrain with clear vision and tools to uncover our True Selves Written by Father Richard Rohr, the bestselling author of Falling Upward Examines the fundamental issues of who we are and helps us on our path of spiritual maturity Immortal Diamond (whose title is taken from a line in a Gerard Manley Hopkins poem) explores the deepest questions of identity, spirituality, and meaning in Richard Rohr''s inimitable style.

A valuable new companion journal for the best-selling Falling Upward In Falling Upward, Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or "gone down" are the only ones who understand "up." The Companion Journal helps those who have (and those who have not) read Falling Upward to engage more deeply with the questions the book raises. Using a blend of quotes, questions for individual and group reflection, stories, and suggestions for spiritual practices, it provides a wise guide for deepening the spiritual journey. . . at any time of life. Explains why the second half of life can and should be full of spiritual richness Offers tools for spiritual growth and greater understanding of the ideas in Falling Upward Richard Rohr is a regular contributing writer for Sojourners and Tikkun magazines This important companion to Falling Upward is an excellent tool for exploring the counterintuitive messages of how we grow spiritually.

Just This is a collection of brief and evocative meditations and practices that invite us to cultivate the gift of waking up to the beauty of reality in all its glorious ordinariness. With his signature blend of contemplation, theology, and pastoral sensitivity, Fr Richard Rohr creates a spaciousness for the soul to grow into a kind of seeing that goes far beyond merely looking to recognizing and thus appreciating.

When Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God, he was talking about an utterly different way of relating to human society as we know it. Discover a transformative understanding of faith in Jesus’ Alternative Plan: The Sermon on the Mount by acclaimed spiritual leader and Franciscan priest Richard Rohr. In this updated edition of Jesus’ Plan for a New World, Rohr explores the implications of Christ’s best-known teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, offering a fresh perspective on what it means for Christian life today. Through his insightful analysis and commentary, Rohr explains the historical and cultural context of each of these Bible verses, shedding light on the revolutionary nature of Jesus’ blueprint for an alternative way of being. From the Beatitudes to overturning conventional wisdom and challenging traditional power structures, this paperback book provides guidance and inspiration for those seeking the true heart of their faith. The enlightening book offers a new way of understanding and living as a Christian woman or man, according to the teachings of Jesus. Whether you are a long-time follower of Jesus, a knowledge truth seeker, or are just beginning to study his religious sermons, Jesus’ Alternative Plan: The Sermon on the Mount offers a clear yet challenging look at the vision presented by the holy Jesus. Gain a transformative understanding of his preaching and embark on a spiritual journey toward a complete relationship with the Kingdom of God.

The loving, inclusive life and preaching of Francis of Assisi make him a recognizable and beloved saint across many faith traditions. In the ten-year-anniversary edition of Eager to Love, globally recognized spiritual teacher Richard Rohr, OFM, provides for spiritual seekers a pathway to the inclusivity, freedom, and beauty found in the Christian mystical tradition. As an integrative thinker, Rohr expertly weaves psychological insights and literary and artistic references with Franciscan theology, showing that the rich theological contributions of St. Francis, St. Clare, St. Bonaventure, and John Duns Scotus are guiding lights for sincere spiritual seekers.

St. Francis of Assisi may be one of Catholicism’s most popular saints, but he is also perhaps the most misunderstood, often caricatured in birdbaths and gardens. In this Eager to Love Companion Guide, globally recognized teacher Richard Rohr invites readers into the dynamism of Franciscan spirituality. As Pope Francis has also done in several encyclicals, Rohr invites readers into the expansive and inclusive tradition founded on St. Francis’s revolutionary embrace of the teachings of Jesus. It is recommended that this guide is read alongside Rohr’s Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi.

“Richard Rohr’s work has been life-changing in my own experience. Over the last twenty years, no other teacher has had a more formative impact on my mind and heart than this unpretentious Franciscan brother. Being set free from the need to perform—to get it right—has been a particularly important gift for me.”—Belden C. Lane, from the foreword A newly revised edition of Richard Rohr''s perennial bestseller, this book reflects and incorporates his years of experience with men''s work as well as changes in society. With Richard Rohr as mentor and guide, men—and women who care about men—will want to study and discuss the ideas presented here. A new foreword from Belden C. Lane emphasizes the need for this work to continue.

The beloved landmark book illuminating the spiritual journey of untangling our lives from addiction, from the bestselling author of The Tears of Things and The Universal Christ “Brother Rohr may just take you to places you’ve both avoided and longed for—to truth, union, joy, laughter, and, greatest of all, to your own precious self, here on earth with us, child of God.”—Anne Lamott, from the foreword to Breathing Under Water In Breathing Under Water, Richard Rohr brings together the wisdom of Christian spirituality and the lived practice of the Twelve Steps, revealing how both point to the same transformative path of surrender, healing, and grace. Drawing on Scripture, psychology, and decades of pastoral experience, Rohr shows how addiction—whether to substances, behaviors, or rigid patterns of thinking—names a universal human condition rather than a personal failure. Moving through each of the Twelve Steps, Rohr reframes them as a practical, incarnational spirituality that leads not merely to sobriety but to a profound reorientation of consciousness, relationship, and desire. Addiction becomes a doorway to awakening; admitting our powerlessness becomes the first step in attaining freedom. Written in Rohr’s characteristic blend of theological depth and pastoral compassion, Breathing Under Water offers a hopeful and demanding vision of recovery—one that invites readers to let go of false control, encounter a merciful God, and discover what it means to truly learn how to breathe again.

Richard Rohr, internationally known retreat leader, speaker and writer, plumbs the depths of the Job''s story and its relevance for us today. Rohr strips Christian faith down to the essentials, beyond glib answers and a "hand-me-down" experience of God, and points the way to true knowing. In this invigorating exploration, the tension between suffering and faith becomes a powerful means to an authentic, open connection with the divine.

Designed to be used alongside Richard Rohr’s Breathing Under Water, this companion journal offers a practical, prayerful way to engage the Twelve Steps as a path of spiritual transformation. “Brother Rohr may just take you to places you’ve both avoided and longed for—to truth, union, joy, laughter, and, greatest of all, to your own precious self, here on earth with us, child of God.”—Anne Lamott, from the foreword to Breathing Under Water Organized chapter by chapter to mirror the original book, this companion journal invites readers to move slowly and honestly through each of the Twelve Steps, grounding Rohr’s insights in personal reflection, writing, and embodied practice. Each chapter includes selected passages from Scripture, core teachings from Breathing Under Water, and carefully crafted questions that encourage self-examination without judgment. Reflective exercises—called “Breathing Lessons”—help integrate the work into daily life, guiding readers toward greater freedom and conscious contact with God. Rather than offering quick fixes or abstract theology, this journal creates space for sustained inner work that is rooted in vulnerability, compassion, and shared human experience. Written in Rohr’s pastoral voice, the Breathing Under Water Companion Journal is perfect for individuals or groups looking to move beyond theory into lived transformation.

A powerful, timeless book of meditations for the Lenten season from one of the most beloved spiritual writers alive today What if Lent were not primarily about self-improvement, but about real transformation through encountering God? In Wondrous Encounters, Richard Rohr invites readers into a forty-day journey through Scripture that is less about explanation and more about lived experience. Written during a season of silence and solitude, these reflections follow the daily Lenten readings from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, tracing a downward path of surrender that quietly becomes a movement toward new life. Rather than offering moral instruction or theological argument, Rohr approaches the Bible as a living dialogue—one that mirrors our inner struggles, unmasks false certainties, and opens us to deeper seeing. Drawing on themes of non-dual awareness, mercy, and divine intimacy, he shows how Scripture shapes us not by answers alone, but by encounter itself. Written in Rohr’s characteristically spacious pastoral voice, Wondrous Encounters offers a contemplative companion for Lent—one that invites readers to be fully known, fully honest, and gradually transformed through the slow, faithful reading of God’s Word.

In this collection of 365 meditations, Fr. Richard Rohr helps men navigate their way to greater wholeness and holiness.

When politicians today talk about a "new world order", they are actually referring to the "old world order"--the heart of the New Testament. Rohr and Feister explore the Gospel According to Matthew and delve into the Sermon on the Mount, considered the blueprint of the Christian lifestyle. They emerge with a clearer understanding of the Gospel writers, especially Matthew, who passed the sermon on to us.