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St. Patrick's Day 2023: Honoring the Celtic Tradition of Sacred Creation 03/17/2023 |
The Celtic tradition is the indigenous tradition of a great part of Western
Europe that has gifted us with many of the Rhineland mystics whom we celebrate in the creation spirituality lineage. From Hildegard to Eckhart, from Francis of Assisi to Dominic, Julian of Norwich and more. The scholar Scotus Erigena in the 9th century and Pelagius in the 4th century took on St. Augustine’s dualisms as did Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. |
It seems then that St. Patrick’s day is a good time to reflect on Celtic wisdom and recognize its likeness to indigenous wisdom in North America and elsewhere where also matter and the cosmos are understood as bearing the sacredness within them. | |
Especially at this time in history when the planet and all the systems and species of the planet find ourselves in grave jeopardy because of climate change brought about by humans turning our backs on the sacredness of creation. As we do also when we once again engage in the folly of war that threatens both the health of the earth and the future of humanity and democracy and more. |
| In his excellent study on Celtic spirituality called Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul, Scottish theologian John Philip Newell* brings alive Celtic wisdom. He reminds us that the “earliest recorded Celtic Christian community was in Lyon in second century Gaul” where Irenaeus of Lyons (c 140-202) was a leading
theologian who emphasized that matter is sacred. Newell shares other Celtic teachers such as Pelagius, St. Brigid, Scotus Erigena, John Muir, Teilhard de Chardin and more. |
The high-standing crosses
of the Celtic world sometimes stood more than twenty feet in height and reflected the Celtic worship outside in “the great cathedral of earth, sea, and sky.” Often planted deep in the earth. they point to the “connection between grace and nature, spirit and matter, heaven and earth." |
They consisted of two symbols—the first of Christ and the cross; the second of the cosmos–a sun or circle image that overlays the cross—a resurrection symbol also perhaps? “Thus, Celtic art speaks of Christ and the cosmos coming forth from the same point of origin”—the Cosmic Christ therefore? “The sacred was seen as
the very heart of all things.” On St. Patrick’s day, let us celebrate this creation-centered wisdom of the Celtic world. | |
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*John Philip Newell, Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul: Celtic Wisdom for Reawakening to What Our Souls Know and Healing the
World, pp. 26-28, 83f. See also Charles Burack, ed., Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality, pp. 198-217. And Fox, Original Blessing and The Coming of the Cosmic Christ. To read a transcript of Matthew Fox’s video teaching, click HERE. Banner image: Ireland: the great cathedral of earth, sea and sky. Photo by Sean Kuriyan on Unsplash |
Queries for Contemplation Do you feel recovering the sacredness of matter and cosmos and earth are at the heart of a renewed spirituality today? How do you practice that? |
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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. | |
The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance In what may be considered the most comprehensive outline of the Christian paradigm shift of our
Age, Matthew Fox eloquently foreshadows the manner in which the spirit of Christ resurrects in terms of the return to an earth-based mysticism, the expression of creativity, mystical sexuality, the respect due the young, the rebirth of effective forms of worship—all of these mirroring the ongoing blessings of Mother Earth and the recovery of Eros, the feminine aspect of the Divine. “The eighth wonder of the world…convincing proof that our Western religious tradition does indeed have the depth of imagination to reinvent its faith.” — Brian Swimme, author of The Universe Story and Journey of the Universe. | |
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Join Matthew Fox and 20 other presenters as we take inspiration from the Dalai Lama’s vision, kindness, humility, and wisdom and explore how to navigate our increasingly uncertain
world with compassion, goodness, and virtue. Free online event, March 16 - 20. Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox and Isa Gucciardi for a new Dialog & Q&A on “ Liberation and Salvation: Healing Teachings in Buddhism & Christianity” at Convergence Hosted by Cameron
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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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