252: Unabridged Interview: Ronald Rolheiser

Mar 13, 2026

Ronald Rolheiser, a Catholic priest and spiritual theologian, reflects on aging as a spiritual invitation. He talks about turning diminishment into a gift. He explores loneliness, grief, forgiveness, and choosing a mellow, grateful heart. He urges letting go, embracing vulnerability, and cultivating wisdom for the final seasons of life.

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INSIGHT

Metanoia Means Putting On The Above Mind

Metanoia means 'put on the above mind'—a move from paranoid clinched-fist thinking to open-handed trust.
He links ancient fathers and Henry Nouwen's image of Jesus on the cross as the posture of metanoia.

INSIGHT

Human Longing Stems From Timelessness Inside Us

Loneliness is intrinsic because humans carry 'timelessness'—a longing that nothing finite can fully satisfy.
He cites Ecclesiastes and contrasts humans' existential restlessness with animals' contentment.

INSIGHT

Understand God More By Not Understanding

John of the Cross teaches understanding by 'not understanding': letting go of boxed pictures of God to simply 'sit in the water.'
Fr. Ronald Rolheiser borrows Thomas Keating's fish metaphor to explain the dark night.

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This is our unabridged interview with Ronald Rolheiser.

What if the final chapter of your life could become your greatest gift?

In this deeply wise conversation, Father Ronald Rolheiser joins Lee C. Camp to explore the spiritual invitation of aging. Drawing from his latest book ⁠Insane for the Light: A Spirituality for Our Wisdom Years⁠, Rolheiser reflects on loneliness, diminishment, forgiveness, and what it means to give not only our lives—but our deaths—away. This episode offers profound wisdom for anyone seeking authentic human flourishing in the final seasons of life.

Key Ideas:

Give Your Death Away The final stage of life invites us to offer our vulnerability and diminishment as a gift, leaving behind a spirit of peace rather than resentment.
Choose Your Old Fool Aging makes us all “old fools”—but we can become pathetic, angry, or holy, depending on whether we cling, resent, or receive with grace.
Grieve So You Don’t Grow Bitter Unhealed wounds harden into anger over time, but grieving what cannot be undone allows the soul to mellow.
Live from the “Above Mind” Jesus’ call to metanoia invites us out of defensive paranoia into open-handed trust, courage, and love.
Practice Gratitude and Forgiveness In the wisdom years, the spiritual vocabulary simplifies. Two words remain: gratitude and forgiveness.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Show Notes, Resources and Transcript⁠⁠ for abridged episode with Ronald Rolheiser⁠⁠⁠

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