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Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox

 Happy (Belated) Feast Day of Thomas Aquinas

01/30/2023

I am writing this DM on January 28 which is the Feast Day of Thomas Aquinas.  It won’t appear until Monday, however, so it will be two days late.

It was my privilege to lecture at the Weber conference center of the Dominican sisters in Adrian, Michigan a few days ago on Thomas Aquinas and my book,The Tao of Thomas Aquinas which in turn is drawn from my major work, Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality.  In that book I offer translations from many of his Biblical commentaries and other works such as his Commentary on Dennis the Areopagite’s Divine Names book that have never been translated before

Each chapter title in the Tao book is a sentence taken from Aquinas and at the end of the book I created a poem simply made of these title chapters.  A poem by Aquinas (gathered by myself).  I offer that poem here.

Triumph of St Thomas Aquinas, “Doctor Communis”, between Plato and Aristotle, Benozzo Gozzoli,1471. Louvre, Paris. Wikimedia Commons.

Conclusion: The Tao of Fierce Wisdom by Thomas Aquinas  

The experience of God 
must not be restricted  
to the few  
or to the old. 
 

Image of the Resurrection by Indigenous Artist, Ullrich Javier Lemus, which can by found in Matthew Fox‘s book, Stations of the Cosmic Christ.

“’They shall get drunk  
on the beauty  
of thy house,’ 
i.e. the Universe.” 

Revelation comes  
in two volumes:  
Nature  
and the Bible. 

The greatness of the human person 
consists in this: 
that we are capable of the universe. 

A mistake about nature  
results in  
a mistake about God. 

Sheer Joy is God’s  
and this demands  
companionship.   

Joy is the human’s  
noblest act. 

Religion is  
supreme thankfulness  
or gratitude. 

The first and primary meaning of salvation  
is this: To preserve all things  
in the good. 

The same Spirit who hovered over the waters at the beginning of creation  
hovers over the mind  of the artist at work. 

Matthew Fox was recently a guest on the podcast, What If Project, where he spoke his book on Thomas Aquinas and the two resurrections. Podcast episode here.

We ought to cherish the body 
and celebrate the wonderful communion  
of body and soul. 

                                                                                      To be continued.

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Adapted from Matthew Fox, The Tao of Thomas Aquinas, pp. 191f.

Banner Image: Mosaic of St Thomas Aquinas writing the sequence hymn of Corpus Christi, located on the facade of the church of St Joachim in Rome. Photo by Lawrence OP, on Flickr.

Queries for Contemplation

What touches you deeply from Aquinas’ poem? 

Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field.

Recommended Reading

The 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

Upcoming Events

Join Matthew Fox for a Lecture and Q&A on “Original Blessing and a Preferential Option for the Young”  hosted by the Unity Columbine Spiritual Center. Wednesday, February 1, 4:30pm PT. Register HERE.

Join Matthew Fox at an online Creation Spirituality Communities event: Global Kinship: Exploring the Emerging Noosphere, as he offers a lecture and Q&A on “Jung, Teilhard and Creation Spirituality.” Thursday, Feb 2, 1:00pm PT. Join us HERE. 

Please join Matthew Fox, Tom Stang, and the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur for a Commemoration and Rededication to the Legacy of Sister Dorothy Stang, livestreamed from the SNDdeN Cunningham Chapel, Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont CA. Saturday, February 11 2:00-4:00 pm  PT.  For More Information & Livestream Link, email: Bvaughn@ndnu.edu 

Creation Spirituality Conversations

Matthew Fox at the Center for Contemporary Mysticism discusses “Birthing a New World: Can Creation-Centered Spirituality Help Reclaim the Sacredness of the Earth?" 

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