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.

This timely book brings together the stories of St Francis – his preaching to birds, rejection of wealth, caring for lepers, befriending animals and living simply, his poetry and hymnody in praise of creation that is still sung today – and the influential writings and examples of inspiring Franciscans who have followed him such as Clare, Bonaventure, Duns Scotus and Angela of Foligno, and draws them into conversation with contemporary concerns for our planet. It gathers 800 years of accumulated wisdom and practical examples of how Franciscans have found ways to live at home and at peace with creation. It explores that long tradition and experience to ask what lessons can be drawn for today to challenge and enable readers to re-visit their own relationship with creation.

The predominant “stewardship model” of creation is the result of an intentional effort to correct approaches that reinforce human sovereignty and the resulting environmental degradation. However, as All God’s Creatures argues, the stewardship model actually does not offer a correction but rather reinscribes many of the very same pitfalls. After close analysis of the stewardship model, this book identifies scriptural, theological, and philosophical sources to support the adoption of a “community of creation” paradigm. Drawing on postcolonial theory, this book proposes the concept of “planetarity” as a framework for conceiving the relationship between human and nonhuman creation, and the Creator, in a new way. This theoretical framework is grounded by a retrieval of the medieval Franciscan theological and philosophical tradition. The result is what can be called a postcolonial Franciscan theology of creation imagined in terms of planetarity, providing a constructive and nonanthropocentric response to the need for a new conceptualization of the doctrine of creation.

“In the heart of this world, the Lord of life, who loves us so much, is always present. He does not abandon us, he does not leave us alone, for he has united himself definitively to our earth, and his love constantly impels us to find new ways forward. Praise be to him!” – Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ In his second encyclical, Laudato Si’: On the Care of Our Common Home, Pope Francis draws all Christians into a dialogue with every person on the planet about our common home. We as human beings are united by the concern for our planet, and every living thing that dwells on it, especially the poorest and most vulnerable. Pope Francis’ letter joins the body of the Church’s social and moral teaching, draws on the best scientific research, providing the foundation for “the ethical and spiritual itinerary that follows.” Laudato Si’ outlines: The current state of our “common home” The Gospel message as seen through creation The human causes of the ecological crisis Ecology and the common good Pope Francis’ call to action for each of us Our Sunday Visitor has included discussion questions, making it perfect for individual or group study, leading all Catholics and Christians into a deeper understanding of the importance of this teaching.

Masterfully written and intensely enlightening, Franciscan Prayer could very well be considered the essential handbook for all those seeking to pray and live the Franciscan way. With exquisite execution, Franciscan theologian Ilia Delio clearly outlines what it means to pray as a Franciscan. Through her experience as a discalced Carmelite nun and then her transformation into Franciscan scholar, Sister Delio brings to light the “contemplative,” “cosmic” and “evangelizing” aspects of Franciscan prayer. Everyone, says Delio, seems to know about Francis’ life, his miracles, his devotion to evangelization and his dedication to living a simple and humble life, yet few know about his prayer life, which seemed, over the centuries, to get lost in the paper shuffle between theologians, followers and historical biographers. It is through Clare of Assisi, Delio asserts, that we have insights into the Franciscan path of prayer. “[Clare] provides the ‘road-map’ of prayer for evangelical life…she was able to do this because she lived under monastic rule while ardently desiring evangelical life.” Through Clare’s letters and actions, we find the rudiments of Franciscan prayer: “Gaze—Consider—Contemplate—Imitate.” Delio also uses the insights of Saint Bonaventure as well as Saint Francis to fully show the meaning and purpose of prayer in the Franciscan tradition.