Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi

Richard Rohr focuses his attention on all frames and doorways to the divine¯the alternative way of Francis of Assisi. Francis of Assisi, one of the most beloved of all saints, was at once very traditional and entirely revolutionary in the ways of holiness. A standing paradox, he stood barefoot on the earth yet touched the heavens; he was grounded in the Church yet instinctively moved toward the cosmos; he lived happily inside the visible and tangible, yet both suffered and rejoiced in the invisible.

Rohr places the tradition as first practiced by Francis, and subsequently by others, within a context for the uninitiated audience. This is not a historical accounting, but a perspective on how the alternative orthodoxy can deepen spiritual life for anyone. Eager to Love is grounded in the Gospels, the prophets, a broad blend of psychology and theology, and in literature and art, to continue to communicate through all the sources that articulate specific alternative ways of understanding God with us.