The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage by Richard Rohr is about the writing of the Jewish prophets and how they warn and give hope even today. Rohr is always such a delight to read, as his spirituality comes through his writing. I highlighted so many sections in this book because they were so thought-provoking to me. "Please remember that certainty--not doubt--is the opposite of faith. The insistence on certainty reveals a need for control, not a need for love or understanding." Also, "every viewpoint is a view from a point, and we had best know our own. Where you start largely determines the questions you ask (or don't ask), the trajectory you set, and the goals you hope to achieve. Truth does not appear like an apparition of low-hanging fruit in a celestial garden. It always comes wrapped in the society and historical moment that produced it." Highly recommend this and any of Rohr's books. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

The Tears of Things by Richard Rohr is a book anyone longing to hear a word of hope from a prophet should read. This might be the most important book on the prophets since Heschel. In the introduction, Rohr describes a prophet as “an officially licensed critic, a devil’s advocate who names and exposes their own group’s shadow side!” (xiv). He goes on to say, “Prophets, then, are full truth-tellers, not fortune-tellers” (xix). The rest of the book invites us to experience the tears our souls—and our world—need. Because, as “the prophets knew, the soul must weep to be a soul at all” (6).

The first several chapters felt dense, full of insight and wisdom, but challenging at times to let penetrate deeply. But with each chapter, the messages of the biblical prophets became increasingly clear and relevant. Chapter 7 is the turning point where Rohr connects the tears he has been talking about to our lived experience, and from that point on the book is compelling, inspirational, a true page-turner.

If you want to learn more about the prophets, historically and in terms of contemporary relevance, read this book. Rohr makes each prophet come to life, helps us hear their messages, and encourages us to follow their example. At the same time, he reminds us, “God must be very humble; if not, he could not act through such fallible humans as all of us” (83). He also provides a framework for reading the prophetic books of the Bible, which I look forward to trying.

And if you are longing for prophetic voices right now, are losing hope, or feel like we must be living through end times, or at least exile, please, please read this book. You will be encouraged, comforted, and reminded that sometimes tears are exactly what we need. And you just might laugh, too, because Richard Rohr can be downright hilarious.

Never one to be disappointed by anything he writes, Richard Rohr brings, yet again, a poignant read on where we currently find ourselves. He asks the tough questions, points out the less than ideal. But always brings it back to scripture and the teachings of Christ in the midst of it all.

Using the power of the prophets, he directs us to follow the path the Bible has laid out for us, only that we should take it. Written in a way that's both deeply theological and accessible, Rohr provokes deep thoughts that should be followed with action.

I will definitely be revisiting this one in the future.

**Thank you NetGalley and Convergent Books for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.**

I've read and enjoyed a number of Richard Rohr's books, but this may be one of his best. Rohr examines the writings of Biblical prophets (there are more than thirty in the Old Testament, including seven women), with a focus on Amos, Jeremiah, Elijah, Isaiah, Jonah, and John the Baptist. His reading of the prophets identifies a common pattern that runs through their messages: they begin in anger, are then moved to tears and sadness, but end in finding their way to compassion and praise. It’s a progression that is timely in today's current climate of blame and division.

Rohr identifies the Jewish prophets as those who reformed from within, calling the people to return to God and justice. The prophets proclaimed that the status quo was not working, and the result was often a time of “holy disorder.” Rohr’s study reveals the discomfort and disorder that the truth-telling of the prophets often provoked; he notes, "Prophets seldom preach peace and prosperity... Why? Because things are always falling apart and the prophet's job is to illustrate that catastrophes eventually have to happen and we must allow them to happen."

Rohr argues that we are humbled by the experience of holy disorder, and it is through grief and sadness that we are most likely to experience grace and understand the limitlessness of God’s love and forgiveness – the love and forgiveness that we are called to show to others.

In one of the central messages of the book, Rohr writes, "Life is inherently sad, the prophets want us to know. Humanity is foundationally unfaithful to love and truth, they seem to shout.... We have to admit we are prone to the same failings we see in others -- and prone to deny them as well.”

The book calls its readers to a transformation that will allow us to “fully eat, absorb, and digest” our organizing anger and disorganizing sadness so that we can reorganize these responses into genuine praise, gratitude, and love.

Rohr’s book manages to do what so many Christian books try to do - inspire us toward a deeper spirituality while convicting us of that which holds us back. His vision of spiritual maturity as a transformative process has the potential to effect meaningful change without being yet another call to simply buckle down and get more disciplined about the rituals of faith.

This deceptively short, readable book takes us through the great Prophets of the Jewish tradition, tracing their transformation from anger at the sins of the world to grief over the suffering which is both the cause and result of that sin, and finally, to the “great Nevertheless” - the understanding that God’s love and grace are present in and endlessly redeeming that sin, anger, suffering, and sadness.

A perfect book for Lent, Rohr presents an astonishingly achievable vision for anyone seeking a more mature spiritual life. He never loses sight of the greatness of the prophets and their message, while making it completely accessible to anyone willing to receive it. The central discipline the book calls readers to is a recognition of God’s unconditional and ever-present love through the transformative experience of lamentation and grateful contemplation of the natural world.

He does not shy away from contemporary issues that would certainly provoke righteous anger in contemporary prophets - climate change, wealth inequality, gun violence - while also calling out partisanship and ego-driven attempts to neatly divide the world into good vs bad. Rohr welcomes readers into a greater reality of God’s loving presence, made visible through the natural world and the expansive vision of the prophets.

i received an ARC of this book through Net Galley.
The Tears of Things by Richard Rohr is a book in which I believe has been begging to be written., nd I cannot think of anyone who could address our current world better than Father Rohr. His unique insight and perspective on our world and how the bibkical prophets not only call the nations of ancient Israel and Judah to return to the loving arms of their God but also how their teachings and exhortations apply to us today.
I have had many convesations over the last few years regarding, in my opinion, the need for a re-examination of the Prophets (and I am as Father Rohr does, include Jesus in the ranks of the Prophets as well) in order to apply their teachings to our world and our lives today.. There is much we can learn from them. So many avoid reading the prophetic writings for various reasons and i understand their thinking. However this book will assist everyone who have never read from the Prophets and further more how their teachings apply to our world in this day and age.
As.I was reading the thought crossed my mind how this book shoukd stand along side the writings on the Prophets of both Abraham Heschel and Walter Brueggemann. I was to learn, much to my surprise, that Father Rohr give credit to both and their writings for assisting in formulating his thoughts on the Prophets.
This is an important book, one that needed to be written and one that should be read.

Father Rohr uses this short book to show how the wisdom of the biblical prophets speaks volumes about what is so wrong and so right about our society today and brings hope to the current landscape of the world.

Thanks to Convergent Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this great book.

Even as I was reading it, I was already planning my re-read. Richard Rohr is such an extraordinary and necessary voice in Christianity today.

Rohr brings accessibility and clarity to some of the most difficult parts of the Old Testament, demonstrating the presence of eternal truths and elemental patterns in these ancient texts. It is truly a privilege to have my own chaotic thoughts about religion, God, and reality shaped by the wisdom of Richard Rohr.

Richard Rohr’s latest book THE TEARS OF THINGS: PROPHETIC WISDOM FOR AN AGE OF OUTRAGE is pure joy to read. A distillation of his wisdom and a call for each person to reread the Old Testament prophets with a new heart and mind. Rohr’s writing is pastoral. He is quite sure of his message. Accordingly, the prophets begin in righteous anger, mature through the crucible of Vergil’s famous line, lacrimae rerum, developing wider insight along the way, and “evolve into non-dualistic and compassionate truth-tellers.” Rohr suggests the way out of our current world mess is for us all to emulate the way of the prophets. So much more in this rich work. I will keep it handy for when the urge to judge and condemn comes upon me.
With thanks to NetGalley and Convergent Publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Richard Rohr never fails to disappoint. This is recommended for reflective Christians and progressive Catholics. Rohr has a special talent of bringing theolog and scripture to life by contrasting and comparing it with modern life.

Richard Rohr often offers insightful perspectives that challenge me, and The Tears of Things is certainly no exception. The book is an examination of the Old Testament prophets and invitation to wisely respond to injustices and tragedy within our own day. Yes, the prophets often began angry, even vindictive, but then they moved into mourning and grief and ultimately compassion. The same can be true of is, and this is undoubtedly a timely invitation/examination in a time of rampant outrage.

I felt this book was an expansion on some thoughts in his book Jesus' Plan for the New World (published in 1996), particularly where he said, "'The weeping mode' allows one to carry the dark side of things, the 'tears of things' as the Latin poet said, to bear the pain of the world without needing to define perpetrators or victims, but instead recognizing the tragic reality that both sides are usually caught up in. I must hold these contradictions, I need to suffer them, I let them transform me. The weeping mode of life is quite different than the succeeding mode, the controlling mode, the fixing mode, the climbing mode, or even the explaining mode."

Here we are now, nearly 30 years later, wrestling with the same thoughts on how to respond to the world's brokenness. To be fair, the prophets remind us we are here some thousands of years later wrestling with same brokenness. And, so, while this subtitled for "an age of outrage," I'm not certain we have known any other age. It, then, perhaps not only timely but perhaps timeless in this way.

I did find some of the writing difficult to follow at times. It won't necessarily be an easy read, by any means. But, it is a fascinating and challenging (personally and intellectually) read. I'm thankful to NetGalley and Convergent Books for the advanced readers' copy in exchange for my honest review.

I alway enjoy Richard Rohr's writing. He teaches me new things, helps me see Scripture in a new light and I feel inspired when I finish his books. This book did not disappoint. He works through the prophets in the Bible and how their wisdom is still needed in our current times. He shows how they often start out vindictive, then mourn and then rejoice following the pattern of order, disorder, reorder. I have seen this pattern in my own life so it was interesting to see it in the prophets. Rohr shows how the prophets decenter ourselves and help us not make a god in our own image but a God of love who wants people to turn to Him.

"The Tears of Things" concerns the biblical prophets and how they challenged injustice. Rohr examines the way they responded that takes into consideration both history and our interconnectedness with each other. Richard Rohr is a great thinker, writer, and a voice of reason for our time. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Pub Date: March 4, 2025.

#TheTearsofThings

This thought-provoking guide to the prophetic stream of Judeo-Christian spirituality inspired me to start reading those difficult and often angry books, seeing them in a new light. The path from anger to tears to compassion, asserts Rohr, is the way of a true prophet as well as of the God of the Bible, and of all who read the Bible with love. Although there are parts I don't agree with, and I think Rohr's conversational style could use some more rigor and fact-checking, his overall message seems spot-on for where our culture finds itself at the moment. We need to embrace holy disorder so that a new order, more integrative, more whole, can arise ... knowing it will be overturned in time, but that it is a step in our spiritual maturing. A great book to read when so much anger is flying around, showing a way past and through that defensive emotion, letting tears do their healing work.

Man, do I love some good Christian philosophy. Even better if it's wrapped in the stories of the prophets and the patterns of speaking truth.

There were points at which I was fairly confused, thinking that the author was working his way toward a specific point only to pull back and make no point at all but simply to leave the reflection there for the reader to pick up. Perhaps my mind has been too jaded by the world; I used to relish in this sort of thing, but there was something in me that wanted to call it "unfinished." That said, I appreciate that it was left that way because we're living in a world that is so busy trying to tell you WHAT to think that most persons have forgotten HOW to think, and the role of the prophet is to be a thinking person - a reflective one. One who can see and understand and interpret and not simply mimic or repeat or accept.

I have studied the Bible, and the prophets, and Christian philosophy fairly extensively over the years, as matter of personal devotion and professional exercise and just general curiosity and a certain leaning toward the world, and yet, there were still things in this work that caused me to see something in a new light or to think in a new way. It had me reflecting on my own understandings and postures, as well as those of persons I allow to speak into my life in some way, shape, or form.

I am very appreciative of this book. It was by no means an easy read - fairly dense in many places - but such a worthwhile one.

Interesting perspective on the prophetic writings of Scripture and how that can impact the relationship between anger, compassion, and grief in uncertain times.

(I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

I found this to be an interesting study of Biblical themes and motifs to our current reality. The focus is on both Jewish and Christian scriptures and is well handled by a master teacher

I began reading Richard Rohr's "The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage" in the days following my latest Tenderness Tour event. For a little over a week, I wheeled along the trails of Indiana in my wheelchair, over 150 miles total, raising money to eliminate medical debt for Hoosiers. Along the way, I encountered those who were hopeful and those who experienced despair. I encountered anger and I encountered joy. I encountered those filled with gratitude and those praying for a miracle.

In short, it felt like I was experiencing a world that would prepare me for reading "The Tears of Things," a book that easily becomes my favorite Rohr work because of its wild intelligence, absolute heart, immense hope, and incredible accessibility.

"The Tears of Things" is grounded within the timeless wisdom of the Hebrew prophets and explores a world in which we are called to somehow figure out how to live compassionately while being surrounded with violence and despair and anger and injustice. Rohr, with extensive research and remarkable insight, reveals how some of the lesser-read books of the Bible offer us a crucial, surprisingly clear path forward.

Rohr doesn't do this blindly. He vividly portrays the strengths and weaknesses of these prophets and realistically portrays their spectrum of human maturity. What he captures, and what nearly brought me to tears quite often, was how human beings evolved and grew into their spiritual maturity and abilities to serve.

For Rohr, these prophets exemplify the ability to practice what he calls "sacred criticism" - a distinct approach to confronting evil and justice that acknowledges the fullness of history, our interconnectedness, and the reality of a divine, universal love. Rohr offers inside into these prophets, an insight presented with such wonderful clarity that it feels as if they come to life within his pages. I found myself learning from and loving his words.

I must confess that I have not always found Rohr's writings accessible. While I adore his lectures and teachings, I've often struggled with his writings. Yet, there's been no struggle here - nothing but sacred learning and spiritual enchantment. While Rohr always writes with a pastoral voice, there's a warmth in this writing that perfectly complements his extensive and engaging biblical scholarship.

As I prepare for my next Tenderness Tour event, "The Tears of Things" prepares me to better engage in a compassionate way with a hurting world.

For this, I give thanks.