--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After 32 years as a priest , I think its…" description: "\"After 32 years as a priest , I think its fair to say that most institutional churches are very limited in addressing higher levels of spiritual conscio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/richard-rohr-618_church_after-32-years-as-a-priest-i-think-its-f_218880.png" --- # After 32 years as a priest , I think its fair to say that… ![“After 32 years as a priest , I think its fair to say that most institutional churches are very limited in addressing higher levels of spiritual consciousness.” quote by Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/richard-rohr-618_church_after-32-years-as-a-priest-i-think-its-f_218880.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/richard-rohr-618_church_after-32-years-as-a-priest-i-think-its-f_218880.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/369/richard-rohr-618_church_after-32-years-as-a-priest-i-think-its-f_218880.png) > “After 32 years as a priest , I think its fair to say that most institutional churches are very limited in addressing higher levels of spiritual consciousness.” [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Institutional churches often fail to address deeper spiritual consciousness. **In simple terms:** Churches limit higher spiritual growth. Key Takeaway Seek beyond institutional boundaries. Themes spirituality institution growth consciousness Mood contemplative critical Type theoretical inspirational When to use this quote - personal meditation - interfaith dialogue - spiritual retreats Key Concepts mysticism religious structures personal development Questions to Reflect On - What practices deepen spiritual consciousness? - How can institutions evolve? A Different Perspective May undervalue community support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Fairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairs/) [Higher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher/) [Higher level](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher-level/) [Institutional Churches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutional-churches-2241114/) [Levels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels/) [Levels Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels-spiritual-880853/) [Priest Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priest-think-2241113/) [Priests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Spiritual Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-consciousness-504325/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Priest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-priest-720507/) ## Related quotes > [“In all your years as a priest, I’m sure you’ve been asked this many times: ‘Why does he do this if he loves us?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-finney/in-all-your-years-as-a-priest-i-m-sure-you-ve-been-asked-this-many/) [Richard Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-finney/) > [“on the higher levels of the spiritual path, celibacy is considered a most important aspect of the training.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/on-the-higher-levels-of-the-spiritual-path-celibacy-is-considered-a/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [Oh, if you desire to rape the girl before the priest, but no one would think, would do your heart right with your daughter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/oh-if-you-desire-to-rape-the-girl-before-the-priest-but-no-one-would/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [The best decision I ever made was to become a priest and I think the second best was to resign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/the-best-decision-i-ever-made-was-to-become-a-priest-and-i-think-the/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [“If you are pure in intention and in alignment with beauty and love, in body and mind, the highest levels of your spiritual self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/if-you-are-pure-in-intention-and-in-alignment-with-beauty-and-love-in/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [The fact that institutional churches have gone into decline doesn't mean that we're going to enter some purely secular age. 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We are happy. We are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-klemp/as-we-raise-ourselves-in-the-spiritual-consciousness-we-are-better/) [Harold Klemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-klemp/) > [Science is leading us forward in our evolution in the area of spiritual consciousness, in a sense. They're leading us to a final realization,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-mctaggart/science-is-leading-us-forward-in-our-evolution-in-the-area-of/) [Lynne McTaggart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-mctaggart/) > [When we grow in spiritual consciousness, we identify with all that is in the world there is no exploitation. It is ourselves we're helping,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/govindappa-venkataswamy/when-we-grow-in-spiritual-consciousness-we-identify-with-all-that-is/) [Govindappa Venkataswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/govindappa-venkataswamy/) > [We live under the power of Modern Consciousness, which means that we are obsessed with progress. Wherever you are is not good enough. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satish-kumar/we-live-under-the-power-of-modern-consciousness-which-means-that-we/) [Satish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satish-kumar/) > [We do not build or create a spiritual consciousness; we merely get rid of all that obscures our pure vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-davis/we-do-not-build-or-create-a-spiritual-consciousness-we-merely-get-rid/) [Roy Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-davis/) ## More by Richard Rohr > [“We have become human doings more than human beings, and the verb “rest,” as Jesus uses it, is largely foreign to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-become-human-doings-more-than-human-beings-and-the-verb-rest/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [In my opinion, most organized religion does neither agentic service nor relational nurturance very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-my-opinion-most-organized-religion-does-neither-agentic-service/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-we-do-not-transform-our-pain-we-will-most-assuredly-transmit-it/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [In solitude, at last, we’re able to let God define us the way we are always supposed to be defined—by relationship: the I-thou relationship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-solitude-at-last-we-re-able-to-let-god-define-us-the-way-we-are/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Pain and suffering that are not transformed are usually projected onto others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/pain-and-suffering-that-are-not-transformed-are-usually-projected/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“In the end, we do not so much reclaim what we have lost as discover a significantly new self in and through the process.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-the-end-we-do-not-so-much-reclaim-what-we-have-lost-as-discover-a/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain. If we do not transform our pain, we will transmit it to those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/all-great-spirituality-is-about-what-we-do-with-our-pain-if-we-do-not/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“I would wonder if you could be a hero or heroine if you did not live in deep time, that is, Past, present, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-would-wonder-if-you-could-be-a-hero-or-heroine-if-you-did-not-live/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Nature is the one song of praise that never stops singing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/nature-is-the-one-song-of-praise-that-never-stops-singing/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“I believe contemplation shows us that nothing inside us is as bad as our hatred and denial of the bad. 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It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. 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