The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers |
A Cosmic Homecoming &
Other Spiritual Insights from
Ernesto
Cardenal 06/23/2023 |
Yesterday, in continuing our meditations on generosity and expansiveness as signs of holiness in the 21st century, we invoked Nicaraguan poet
Ernesto Cardenal. He is author of Cantico Cosmico, Cosmic Canticle, which is an epic poem celebrating the new creation story and human and Nicaraguan history.
|
My video which
accompanied the DM yesterday actually ran twice this week by mistake and I apologize for that on the one hand. But on the other, maybe there was a reason for that. I think my mistake may have been a “happy accident” because in that video | In this memoriam for Ernesto Cardenal, we look back on some of his glorious cosmic poetry. PBS NewsHour |
I was sharing Cardenal’s thoughts about love and nature and God and the human heart, and I think his thoughts on such important subjects are worth hearing more than once. So in this DM, I invite you to spend some more time with Ernesto Cardenal’s deep and creation-centered spiritual teachings. |
| For example, he tells us
that all the appetites and anxieties of humans, our eating habits, our sexuality, our friendships, are one single appetite and one single anxiety to achieve union with one another and with the cosmos….This cosmic homecoming is what Christ wanted to reveal to us in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Notice how he takes for granted our relationship to the cosmos
and how integral it is to all our yearnings or appetites. Like Thomas Aquinas, who said that “the greatness of the human person consists in this: that |
we are capable of the universe,” we seek a “union with one another and with the cosmos,” the poet tells us. He is naming the unio mystica and this
constitutes a “cosmic homecoming” such as Jesus was speaking of in the story of the Prodigal Son. The modern era aborted our relationship to the whole and to the cosmos when religion and science split. But we can put that behind
us now and rejoice at the cosmic homecoming of science and spirituality, cosmos and psyche reuniting. Poets like Cardenal are a big help in assisting us to grow our souls, expand and live generously. Another observation from Cardenal follows: |
We have come from the heart of God
And are as much a part of God as the fetus is a part of the mother.
And we all tend to return to
God
As humanity tends to return to the maternal womb.
| |
Notice he is speaking here from a metaphor of God as mother. |
Adapted from Matthew Fox, Christian Mystics, pp. 335f. And Fox, The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times, pp. 21-24. Banner image: Wonder and union with the cosmos. Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash |
Queries for Contemplation Do you recognize a
“cosmic homecoming” in the story of the Prodigal Son? What difference does that make in your keeping spirituality alive in your life and work in the world? |
| 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.
|
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations As Matthew Fox notes, when an aging Albert Einstein was asked if he had any regrets, he replied, “I wish I had
read more of the mystics earlier in my life.” The 365 writings in Christian Mystics represent a wide-ranging sampling of these readings for modern-day seekers of all faiths — or no faith. The visionaries quoted range from Julian of Norwich to Martin Luther King, Jr., from Thomas Merton to Dorothee Soelle and Thomas Berry.
“Our world is in crisis, and we need road maps that can ground us I wisdom, inspire us to action, and help us gather our talents
in service of compassion and justice. This revolutionary book does just that. Matthew Fox takes some of te most profound spiritual teachings of the West and translates them into practical daily mediations. Study and practice these teachings. Take what’s in this book and teach it to the youth because the new generation cannot afford to suffer the spirit and ethical illiteracy of the past.” — Adam Bucko, spiritual activist and co-founder of the Reciprocity Foundation for Homeless
Youth | |
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 | |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
Join Matthew Fox and Others in a Panel Discussion – “The Sacred Marriage: Unifying the Divine Feminine and Masculine to Co-Create the New Earth” Part of a Free Virtual Plenary Event for World Unity Week: New Earth Rising. Friday, June 23, 4:00pm PT.
Learn more HERE. Join Matthew Fox and 35 speakers for “The 2023 Mystics Summit: Draw Inspiration From Ancient & Contemporary Mystics to Illuminate Your Unique Path of Love” where Matthew discusses "The Unio Mystica according to Otto Rank, Julian of Norwich,
Meister Eckhart, Mary Oliver & Others" Monday - Friday, June 26-30 Register HERE. Join Matthew Fox for a Cosmic Mass and Panel Forum at the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions - A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom & Human Rights, August 14-18 in Chicago, IL Wed., 8/16, 7:00pm CT - The Cosmic Mass - Honoring Gaia, Solidarity for Our Earth Thurs., 8/17, 1:00pm CT – Panel and Response to The Cosmic Mass Register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Brentwood Inspired Living Center, APRIL 16, 2023. REV. MATTHEW FOX, PhD shares the message with Otto Rank and Père Chenu: Two 'Real, Raw and Radiant' Guides calling us to Deep Freedom. See the full worship service HERE. | |
Please share this post! Just click the buttons below.
OR share your insights on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox
|
|
|
|
