Hope Against Darkness: The Transforming Vision of Saint Francis in an Age of Anxiety

Rick Rohr has aged with wisdom and grace. I'll remain grateful for his gifts while I protect a deep wound that would seem to elude his perspective. That's okay. The pearls are worth cherishing. I'm happy to have made his acquaintance early on in his work with the New Jerusalem community in Cincinnati and then to have visited the Center for Action and Contemplation near Albuquerque.It is a good thing to gaze into a mirror of my soul. I'm quite beyond the energies of Reconstruction that he speaks of. If I manage to simply live so that I image Jesus and Francis to my small circle of publics i will consider myself redeemed and an effective peacemaker.

Fr. Rohr is probably my favorite spiritual writer. He has a sublime understanding of sacred scripture, and how it is relevant to the present day. I know some people, the fundamentas, would try to accuse him of picking and choosing from the biblical texts. They would wrong. He sees scripture as one whole cohesive message of love...a love that embraces all people, in all walks of life, in every age. "Hope Against Darkness" is an excellent treatment of what we are so afraid to encounter, if not admit to...our dark self. Rohr shows us it's not something to be feared or denied, but embraced, blessed and set free. If you are struggling with some type of dark shadow, this is the book for you.

This book has so much food for thought. It's small "chapters" allowed me to use it as a meditation, where I read a few pages every day. So many inspiring and thoughtful ideas. Richard Rohr writes beautifully and his words have so much meaning to me. Highly recommended.

It amazes me that a person who writes as much as Father Rohr can be as fresh and insightful as he is in each new book. Hope Against Darkness is nothing short of brilliant. As I understand him, Rohr argues that the spiritual searcher of today is caught between the modern and the post-modern worldviews. Both are no longer acceptable, but both contain strengths we ought to retain as best we can. The anxiety that arises from this ambiguous state of homelessness is the dis-ease he treats in this book, and his remedy is a richly creative appeal to Franciscan spirituality. Simply wonderful! A book to read, re-read, and give to others.

Great book. I can read this over and over and never grow tired of it. The ideas are all relevant to the times and speak to our politics. It gives structure and ideas about moving through difficult times.

Rohr is always challenging. His writing style is accessible and engaging. In this book he offers an understanding of faith that is transformative, and moves us past a spirituality that is more a matter of cultural norms, to a faith that challenges "what is" and move us toward "what can be." It is not my favorite among Rohr's books, but it is still well worth the read.

A well written and thoughtful book. This book truly has me looking at many aspects of my life. This is one of those books that will never gather dust as you will want to read its message of hope numerous times.

I love Richard Rohr. He is not afraid to confront the church knowing it may be infallible in regard to faith and morals, but overall they are people with human frailites. Handled in a very respectful manner..........

This is an excellent read for anyone who wants to seriously engage with the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it was intended. Not a theoretical or theological treatise, just common sense and a call to get up and do something.

I love Richard Rohr books. He always sees things from a different perspective and is very thought provoking. He puts into words what you know to be true.

Challenging, but I've found it very encouraging.

Superb insights here. Much to be pondered and responded to. But I guess that is the purpose of the work Is it not Father Richard? Many thanks for all you are and have been contributing to my own ongoing Formational research. Many thanks too, to Amazon for the great wealth of kindle resources.

Good, but not Rohr’s best IMO

I love this book, well written and very thought provoking. would recommend it to everyone to read. Can't wait for more

More than a religious text, this book is written by a great mind.