"Love is who you are. When you don't live according to love, you are outside of being. You're not being real. When you love, you are acting according to your deepest being, your deepest truth. You are operating according to your dignity."

-- Richard Rohr

Born in Kansas in 1943, Richard Rohr was ordained into the Franciscan priesthood in 1970. After founding the New Jerusalem Community in Cincinnati, Ohio; creating The Great Themes of Scripture on cassette tapes in the 1970s; and then after leading retreats around the world, Rohr established the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1987.

Since then, Rohr has been a very busy spiritual teacher interpreting Scripture as liberation, integrating action and contemplation, illuminating peace and justice issues, and shedding light on male spirituality, the 12 steps, the enneagram, eco-spirituality, conscious aging, and much more.

In 2013 Rohr launched the Living School for Action and Contemplation where he, James Finley, and Cynthia Bourgeault serve as the core factory. Together they are role models and teachers engaged in the mission to reconnect with the Source of Love and engage in acts of justice and compassion. In 2015, Rohr appeared on Oprah Winfrey's Super Soul Sunday.

This collection of excerpts from his books and talks was selected and is introduced by Joelle Chase and Judy Traeger, who edit Richard Rohr's Daily Meditations, a free email service from cac.org. Part of Orbis Books Modern Spiritual Masters Series, it focuses on Rohr's teachings about love as the foundation of everything and how we love God by loving others, our selves, and everything else. Bridges between passages include biographical information on when and how Rohr came to these understandings. Many of them are taken from interviews done in late 2016 and early 2017. Because most of the teachings here are only a few pages long, this book would make a good daily reader.