The Alchemy of Tears with Rabbi Tirzah Firestone

Everything Belongs: Living the Teachings of Richard Rohr Forward

Center for Action and Contemplation

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.8 • 723 Ratings

🗓️ 5 September 2025

⏱️ 83 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What does it mean to cry with God—and be healed by our tears? In this episode of Everything Belongs, we explore Chapter 7 of Richard Rohr’s The Tears of Things, called The Alchemy of Tears: How We Learn Universal Sympathy and Grace, which focuses on the "gift of tears" as a sacred pathway to healing and transformation. At Richard’s hermitage, co-hosts Mike Petrow and Paul Swanson discuss how grief, when honored, connects us to divine sadness and invites us into deeper compassion. Later, Mike and Carmen Acevedo Butcher are joined by Jungian psychotherapist, Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, to explore how we metabolize trauma and grief, heal intergenerational wounds, and move from pathologizing pain to putting it in service of love and justice. Resources: Find out more about Rabbi Tirzah Firestone here. Learn more about Tirzah's book, Wounds Into Wisdom here. Grab a copy of The Tears of Things ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. To learn more about The Tears of Things and additional offerings, including the trailer, a FREE Reader's Guide, and more, visit ⁠⁠thetearsofthings.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to a podcast by the Center for Action and Contemplation. To learn more, visit cac.org.
0:07.6	Welcome back, friends, to the Everything Belongs podcast with our favorite Franciscan, Father Richard Roar.
0:14.3	Each season of this podcast, we've explored one of Richard's books. And each episode, Paul Swanson, my partner in crime and I, travel over to
0:23.6	Father Richard's house to discuss the wisdom of one chapter of one of those books with him. And then we're
0:30.1	joined by a guest who helps us live the teachings forward, to think about Richard's teachings
0:35.1	in new ways and ask new questions in a rapidly
0:38.5	changing world. But this season is extra special because we're exploring Richard's brand new book,
0:46.3	The Tears of Things, Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage. As a reminder, you do not have to
0:53.4	read the book to follow along with us, but we'd love it if
0:55.7	you do. Hey, perhaps listening will inspire you to pick up the book later. Today, as always, we'll
1:01.8	join Richard in his hermitage. We talk to Richard about how to remember we're not alone in
1:06.9	carrying the suffering and the pain we feel. And in every tear, there is an invitation to alchemize those tears and to love and wisdom.
1:16.2	I know I say every single conversation is special, but friends, this one is extra, extra special.
1:22.1	After talking with Father Richard, Carmen Acevedo Butcher and I will be joined by Jungian psychotherapist Rabbi
1:30.4	Tiersa Firestone to discuss the role not just of tears, but also of trauma.
1:37.3	And what it means to metabolize our losses and metabolize our grief.
1:42.7	We'll wonder together what it means to turn our wounds
1:45.0	into wisdom and put our healing in the service of healing the world. Friends, I'm so excited
1:50.7	for you to join us for these conversations. Without further ado, let's jump in and head
1:55.9	over to the house with Father Richard.
2:07.6	From the Center for Action and Contemplation, I'm Mike Petro. I'm Paul Swanson.
2:09.6	I'm Carmen Acevedo Butcher.
	...

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