NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In his first major work since The Universal Christ one of our most
prominent spiritual voices offers a wholehearted and hope-filled model for the world today
grounded in the timeless wisdom of the Hebrew prophets. “Richard Rohr is one of the great
Christian spiritual masters of our time. Of any time.”—James Martin SJ author of Come Forth
How do we live compassionately in a time of violence and despair? What can we do with our
private disappointments and the anger we feel in such an unjust world? In his most personal
book yet Richard Rohr turns to the writings of the Jewish prophets revealing how some of the
lesser-read books of the Bible offer us a crucial path forward today. The prophets’ writings
reflect the full spectrum of human maturity. In almost every case their initial rage and their
accusatory words evolve into a profound pathos and lamentation about our shared human condition
and the world’s suffering. Through astute critiques of culture and institutions and their
journey from anger to sadness and ultimately compassion the prophets exemplify what Rohr
calls “sacred criticism”—a distinct approach to confronting evil and injustice that
acknowledges the wholeness of history the interconnectedness of every living being and the
reality of a divine and universal love. In this they set the stage for Jesus who follows this
identical pattern. Drawing on a century of biblical scholarship and written in the warm
pastoral voice that has endeared Rohr to millions The Tears of Things breathes new life into
ancient wisdom. It paves a path of enlightenment for anyone seeking a compassionate way of
living in a hurting world.
