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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What Aquinas & Hildegard Might Say about the Webb Telescope
Those who dismiss Webb Telescope has “pretty pictures” ought to explore its meaning more deeply.
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First, they should consider what Thomas Aquinas says about nature and religion when he tells us that
"Revelation comes in two volumes: Nature and the Bible." This means of course that we must enter deeply and spiritually into what nature is telling us. And:
| One of the early contributors to the James Webb Space Telescope explains how the newly released images allow us to explore the origins of the universe. Washington
Post
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One meditates on creation in order to view and marvel at divine wisdom….Indeed, divine wisdom first appears in the creation of things.
Of course he had no idea that the universe was two trillion galaxies big with hundreds of billions of stars in each galaxy–and expanding! Nor that the universe is 13.8 billion years old. Nor that humans can now bring the light from the original generation of stars and galaxies into our homes and computers.
But we do and we can. And Aquinas would be beside himself with this reality—and of course be hanging on every discovery that scientists will be making about the nature of nature, the history of the universe, the story of how we—earth, sun, moon, and humans sharing the earth with so many amazing creatures—got here.
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Unmistakably feminine imagery in “The Cosmic Egg,” Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias
| For this is, in his words, revelation, just as the Bible is revelation. Not more and
not less.
Hildegard too would be over the moon to be learning more about the universe which God made and to which we belong. She said “all science comes from God” and listened to scientists when her first book appeared (at the age of 52) who told her the universe was egg shaped—so she painted that. Then, in her last book, scientists had changed their mind so she offered three
pictures of the universe as a circle.
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There is much “revelation” that comes along with cosmology. Thomas Berry certainly believes so. His commitment to the ‘Great Work’ is a commitment to implementing the values that derive from an awareness of the sanctity of the universe as a whole and from how the universe works including how all beings form a communion of
subjects (not objects).
And, since “ecology is functional cosmology,” one can work for a deeper and more broad recognition of the sacredness of this planet, our home, put denial about climate change aside, and commit to rendering our planet sustainable again.
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So an awakening to cosmology such as Webb can contribute to can hopefully inspire and nurture those committed to seeing our earth and all living creatures on it thrive.
In this regard, Pope Francis too should be consulted for his encyclical on “Our Common Home,” called “Laudato Si,” which means to Praise the Earth is very much in this same creation spirituality tradition.
| Pope Francis speaks on his “Laudato Si'” encyclical, May 2021. Vatican IHD
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Those who reduce the Webb Telescope to giving us “pretty pictures” have some homework to do—inner work around wonder and awe and gratitude, the Via Positiva; and about the suffering of Mother Earth, the Via Negativa; and outer work about working toward a sustainable future for the planet (Via Creativa and Transformativa).
Compassion and eco-justice are calling us all. And Webb is part of that call.
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Queries for Contemplation
Do you meditate on creation in order to view and marvel at divine wisdom? Will meditation on the findings of the Webb Telescope assist you in that marveling?
Adapted from Matthew Fox, The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times, pp. 17-21, 11f., 19f.
And Fox, Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen, pp. 48-70.
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video teaching, click HERE.
Banner Image: This side-by-side comparison of photos from from NASA’s Webb Telescope shows the Southern Ring Nebula in near-infrared light (NIRCAM), at left, and mid-infrared light (MIRI), at right. Notice a dying white dwarf star to the lower left of the bright, central star in the NIRCAM image: the same star appears – but brighter, larger, and redder, cloaked in thick layers of dust – in the MIRI image. Today, the white dwarf is heating up the gas in the inner regions – which appear blue at
left and red at right – and the outer regions, shown in orange and blue, respectively. Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STSc |
Tao of Thomas
Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times
A stunning spiritual handbook drawn from the substantive teachings of Aquinas’ mystical/prophetic genius, offering a sublime roadmap for spirituality and action.
Foreword by Ilia Delio.
“What a wonderful book! Only Matt Fox could bring to life the wisdom and brilliance of Aquinas with so much creativity. The Tao of Thomas Aquinas is a masterpiece.”
–Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit
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Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen
An introduction to the life and work of Hildegard of Bingen, Illuminations reveals the life and teachings of one of the greatest female artists and intellectuals of the Western Mystical Tradition. At the age of 42, she began to have visions; these were captured as 36 illuminations–24 of which are recorded in this book along with her commentaries on them.
“If one person deserves credit for the great Hildegard renaissance in our time, it is Matthew Fox.” – Dr Mary Ford-Grabowsky, author of Sacred Voices.
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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 and special guest Caroline Myss for a 6-part Reflections Parallel course, “Beyond Patriarchy: Recovering the Divine Feminine and Sacred Masculine and
Why it Matters Today,” hosted by the Caroline Myss Educational Institute. July 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, 27 (Mondays & Wednesdays) 4:00pm-5:30pm PT (GMT/UTC-7) Register HERE.
Join Matthew Fox for the monthly Our Lady of the Prairie virtual retreat, discussing One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths. Thursday, August
18, 4:00-6:00pm PT. Learn more HERE.
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Creation Spirituality in Conversation.
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Victor Fuhrman of Destination Unlimited on OMTimes interviews Matthew Fox on Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality. Navigate to the podcast page by clicking the image on the left.
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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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