Conversation w/ Ronald Rolheiser: Restlessness, Leaving a Legacy, Dealing With Anger + the Power of Fidelity
The Intentional Parents PodcastShow Notes
In this episode, Brook and Justin sit down with Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, one of the most trusted and influential spiritual voices of our time, and someone whose work we deeply admire and return to often. A Catholic priest, theologian, and author, Fr. Rolheiser has spent more than 50 years teaching and writing about prayer, vocation, and the interior life, helping countless people understand how God meets us in ordinary, everyday faithfulness.
Now 78 and a cancer survivor of more than a decade, Fr. Rolheiser reflects on this current stage of life and what it means to finish well. Drawing from his framework of getting your life together, giving your life away, and giving your death away, he shares wisdom shaped by experience, suffering, and surrender, reminding us that the way we die is the spirit we leave behind.
Much of the conversation centers on restlessness, particularly in midlife. Fr. Rolheiser explains that our restlessness is not something to eliminate but a sign that we are “built too big for this world.” Rather than escaping it, he invites us to listen for what God may be teaching us through it, especially as parents learning to integrate spiritual life with ordinary responsibilities.
We also explore ideas from his book, Domestic Monastery, where daily obligations — alarm clocks, mortgages, and kids’ schedules — become monastic bells calling us to faithfulness. Parents, he says, don’t raise kids; kids raise parents. The episode closes with reflections on surrender without passivity, responsibility without control, righteous anger, and the quiet power of fidelity. His final encouragement is simple and enduring: stay with your commitments, just show up for prayer, and trust that God is at work in your staying.
Ronald Rolheiser: Website + Books (New Book: Insane for the Light: A Spirituality for Our Wisdom Years)
Scripture Mentioned: John 21:15-19, Mark 15:37 + John 4:21
Books Mentioned: Domestic Monastery by Ronald Rolheiser, Sacred Fire by Ronald Rolheiser, Finding God at Home by Ernest Boyer Jr. + Naming the Whirlwind by Langdon Gilkey
Submit Questions: Send a voice recording to [email protected], mentioning your name and where you’re from.
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