Fr. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest teaches that the separation of spirituality from action is a false one.
Fr. Rohr says we are not called to do spiritual practices—prayer, Bible study, meditation, retreat, ritual—and then make our way, now inspired, to the work of mercy and justice.
He says that in fact, it might be argued that, if anything, it’s just the reverse: Love those who struggle with poverty and suffer abandonment and the effect is that we will find ourselves on a path that leads to maturity, prayer, wisdom, and Christ-likeness. On the other hand, if we choose to avoid engagement and community with those who suffer, we will certainly live an incomplete life, including an incomplete spiritual life.
The call of the Christian is to live with compassion and faith
utterly linked, each enriching the other.
