The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers |
Sister Dorothy and Recovering the Sacred, Part III 03/02/2023 |
We are continuing our meditations on truth and action by sharing a talk I gave at the 18th anniversary of Sister Dorothy Stang’s martyrdom in the Amazon
forest. |
Père Chenu also talked about “reading the signs of our times”—a major phrase that made its way into several documents of Vatican II as well as into its very spirit. Among the signs of our time is the Webb Telescope beaming back pictures of the earliest stars and galaxies of our home, the universe. Is the awe being fed into our living rooms and | |
computers from 13.8 billion years ago
enough to wake our species up anew?Rabbi Heschel defines wonder as the “act in which the mind confronts the universe.” He informs us time and time again that “awe is the beginning of wisdom.” Sr. Dorothy knew these things. She
studied the signs of our times. She knew awe and wisdom and the delight that happens when our minds confront the universe and creation and the Sacred. This awareness kept her going, invigorated her, made her young again, nurtured her, and made her strong in the presence of evil. The opposite of evil is not the good; the opposite of evil is the Sacred. We challenge evil with a sense of the Sacred and the joy that follows from that expands the heart. Meister Eckhart says, “God is delighted to watch your soul enlarge.” From this
expanded soul/heart courage is born. And joy. |
| Sr. Dorothy was a joyful person. And serious. And strong. And concerned.
And caring. She drank deeply of the sacred in the forest and among the pastoral projects with the people she worked with, built schools with, stood with. |
May she stand with us—and especially the young students here contemplating your vocations–as we continue the “good fight” that St. Paul speaks of. And may we engage in making the “good trouble” that she dared make, and that John Lewis and MLK Jr. made as they read the signs of the times of their day and their place and their moment in history. May she intercede on our behalf as we travel our sacred journeys and as we make good trouble on behalf of Mother Earth and our species striving to recover a sense of the sacred. May generosity flow from that as it did from Sr. Dorothy. Thank you, Sr. Dorothy, for your generosity that we remember today. |
| To view today's video, please click the image. You will be taken to today's post on the Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox website, where you can see the meditation in a larger version and also view and post your Comments. In the sharing that follows, a kind of community is developing around the DM.
If you can't reach today's post on the website directly, click HERE.
If you can't reach Matthew's video on the website, try his Vimeo channel HERE. |
See Charles Burack, ed., "Conclusion: The Future: A Letter to Young Seekers from Matthew Fox," in Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality, pp. 242-250. Banner Image: During the visit of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, protesters marched in solidarity in front of the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, DC on April 9, 2012. The protesters were actively denouncing deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest, demanding protection of indigenous
peoples and tribes, and crying out for justice for activists killed whilst campaigning in Brazil. Photo by Eric Spiegel on Flickr. |
Queries for Contemplation What good trouble are you making these days? How does truth drive you and sustain you in that important and prophetic work? Does Sister Dorothy’s life and death nurture you as well? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation
Spirituality
To encapsulate the life and work of Matthew Fox would be a daunting task for any save his colleague Dr. Charles Burack, who had the full cooperation of his subject. Fox has devoted 50 years to developing and teaching the tradition of Creation Spirituality and in doing so has reinvented forms of education and worship. His more than 40 books, translated into 78 languages, are
inclusive of today’s science and world spiritual traditions and have awakened millions to the much neglected earth-based mystical tradition of the West. Essential Writings begins by exploring the influences on Fox’s life and spirituality, then presents selections from all Fox’s major works in 10 sections.
“The critical insights, the creative connections, the centrality of Matthew Fox’s writings and teaching are second to none for the
radical renewal of Christianity.” ~~ Richard Rohr, OFM. | |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join Matthew Fox for a lecture and Q&A on “The Reinvention of Work – A New Vision of Livelihood for Our Time” in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, March 16, 4:00-6:00 pm PT.
Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox and Isa Gucciardi for a new Lecture & Q&A on “ Liberation and Salvation: Healing Teachings in Buddhism & Christianity” at Convergence Hosted by
Cameron Trimble, Tuesday, March 21, 4:00-6:00 pm PT Register HERE. Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Matthew Fox speaks on "Jung and Teilhard in Dialogue" to the Creation Spirituality Communities at their Global Kinship event in January 2023. | |
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