The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers
Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox
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John of the Cross on the Sacredness of Creation |
We are celebrating the sacredness of creation and the cosmos and the Earth. Another Christian mystic who celebrates the sacredness of the universe and does so in poetic form is John of the Cross, the sixteenth century mystic and prophet, reformer and warrior. |
In his powerful poem, “The Spiritual Canticle,” he tells us where the soul yearning for the divine finds the same: My Beloved is the mountains,
And lonely wooded
valleys,
Strange islands,
And resounding rivers,
The whistling of love-stirring breezes,
The tranquil night
At the time of the rising dawn,
Silent music,
Sounding
solitude,
The supper that refreshes, and deepens love. In exegeting his own poem, he offers a mantra that he repeats regularly: After the first stanza, “These mountains are what my Beloved is to
me.” | “Mountain Valley at Sunset” Photo by Sonja Wilkinson on Unsplash. |
After the second stanza, “These valleys are what my Beloved is to me.” After the third stanza, the soul sees in God,
“wonderful new things and the strange knowledge (far removed from common knowledge). God is “all the strangeness of islands never seen before, but also His ways, counsels, and works are very strange and new and wonderful to humans.” |
| God “is also strange to the holy angels and to the blessed…Not only men but also the angels can call God strange islands.” After the fourth stanza, the soul "says that her Beloved
is resounding rivers. Rivers of peace flow over her” and “this divine onslaught God causes in the soul is like a resounding river which fills everything with peace and glory.” |
In addition, “the divine water filling the
lower places of her humility and the voids of her appetites” like St. Luke speaks of, ‘he exalted the humble and filled the hungry with good things.” (Lk 1: 52f) And God also speaks with a “thunderous voice” to the soul—not unlike Jeremiah’s experience he
relates of his calling as a prophet. To be continued |
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Queries for Contemplation
What lines or teachings from John of the Cross inspire or challenge you in this essay? If the “Beloved” is the mountains, can it also be the supernovas and galaxies and stars as
well? Adapted from Matthew Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing From Global Faiths, pp. 110-113. Translation from Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD, The Collected
Works of St. John of the Cross, pp. 462-474. Banner Image: Peaceful forest river. Photo by Philippe Bout on Unsplash |
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from
Global Faiths Matthew Fox calls on all the world traditions for their wisdom and their inspiration in a work that is far more than a list of theological position papers but a new way to pray—to meditate in a global
spiritual context on the wisdom all our traditions share. Fox chooses 18 themes that are foundational to any spirituality and demonstrates how all the world spiritual traditions offer wisdom about each.
“Reading One River, Many Wells is like entering the rich silence of a masterfully directed retreat. As you read this text, you reflect, you pray, you embrace Divinity. Truly no words can fully express my respect and awe for this magnificent
contribution to contemporary spirituality.” –Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit | |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE
Join Matthew Fox as he offers a new, 12-week advanced course on the Shift Network:
7 Mystics on Recovering the Sacred and
Forging a New Story for Humanity: Timeless Wisdom to Deepen, Heal & Inspire Your Life Journey. NOTE: There is a prerequisite: In order to take this 12-week advanced course, one must have taken any prior shift course with Matthew Fox (not just the 7-week 7
Mystics course). Tuesdays, August 16-November 1, 5:00pm-6:30pm PT (GMT/UTC-7). Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox in a 6-week virtual course on “Mystics, Mysticism and Ourselves as Mystic-Prophets,” hosted by Creation Spirituality Communities. Wednesdays, 8/24, 8/31, 9/7, 9/14,
9/21, and 9/28, 4:00pm-6:00pm PT. Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox for the monthly Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, discussing The Coming of the Cosmic Christ, Thursday, September 15, 4:00pm-6:00pm PT. Register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality in Conversation |
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Host Sandie Sedbeer welcomes Matthew Fox in a discussion of Creation Spirituality: Fresh Perspectives and Approaches to the Most Vital Issues of Our Time on WHAT IS GOING OM. Navigate to the podcast page by clicking the image on the left. |
Announcing Matthew Fox's Newest Book!
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Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality
Selected with an introduction by Charles Burack
“This collection of Fox’s most life-giving insights blesses the connection between caring for our Mother-the-Earth and lifting up marginalized voices, between waking up from the dream of separation and stepping up to mend the net of creation.”
—Mirabai Starr, author, God of Love and Wild Mercy
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