Fr. Rolheiser to speak in Detroit
March 26
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published March 17, 2006
Detroit – We can still learn from classic writers on spirituality, such as St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila, says Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI, popular author and columnist who will speak at Most Holy Trinity Church on Sunday, March 26.
Fr. Rolheiser will discuss "some of the deeper principles" for spiritual direction that can be learned from such classic writings – whether for directing one's own life or in guiding others – when he gives his 3 p.m. presentation at the church in Detroit's Corktown district, his first-ever metro Detroit speaking engagement.
At 58, Fr. Rolheiser writes a weekly newspaper column carried in The Michigan Catholic and about 60 others in the United States and a dozen other countries. A philosophy professor at Newman Theological College in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, for most of his 28 years as a priest, he is now president of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas.
He is a much sought-after speaker and retreat director, and he has written six books and contributed to or edited several others.
"The Gospel and Secularity," a new book on evangelization he has edited, will be released around the end of this month by Crossroads, and should be available at local Catholic booksellers by early April.
"Our biggest missionary effort is to our own children," Fr. Rolheiser says of the challenges facing the Church. "I'm in a missionary order, and I can tell you that it is the First World (developed countries such as the United States and Western European nations) that is the toughest mission field in the world."
 See him
Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI, will speak 3 p.m. Sunday, March 26 at Most Holy Trinity Church, 1050 Porter St., Detroit.
Call: (313) 965-5567
Tickets: $15 ($25 for two) by Tuesday, March 21; $20 ($30 for two) at door. | But don't expect to find a simple answer to overcoming the developed world's indifference to God in the book, he cautions. "Nobody's really got the answer, but it does offer directions and principles. Evangelization is never a technique; it's more of a spirituality, a way of life, an attitude," Fr. Rolheiser says.
"For parents, the challenge is: How do you live your life so you convince your kids Christianity is real?" he adds.
For all of his reading of the classics of spirituality, Fr. Rolheiser says his own parents were probably his greatest source of inspiration. "I had deeply, deeply committed moral parents. After them, I would say it was the Ursuline sisters who taught me through grade school and high school in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan," he continues.
But the other influences he cites are accessible to all through their writings – such as St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. John of the Cross. "Augustine and Thomas helped me understand myself in the world; John of the Cross gave me a structure for spirituality," he says.
Fr. Rolheiser also cites more recent authors such as Karl Rahner, for his "brilliance and depth together," and Henri Nouwen, "who tried to pioneer a language of the soul."
"Also, I was very much helped by G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis – they are the greatest apologists ever," he says.
A contemporary author Fr. Rolheiser says he enjoys is Kathleen Norris: "She writes with a wide knowledge and extraordinary common sense, depth and prudence."
But the spiritual insight he believes would make the most difference in people's lives, if only they would embrace it comes from the words of Christ as reported in St. Mark's Gospel. "It's the great paradox that you've got to give your life in order to save your life. The wisdom of the cross says you're meant to be happy, but you will not achieve that happiness by pursuing it directly, but in serving others," he says.
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