The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers |
Cardenal on Prayer, Body, and Gratitude 06/24/2023 |
It was my pleasure to meet Cardenal on two occasions. One was spending some time with him at his home in Nicaragua back in 1990 when he was
cultural minister of the Sandinista government; and the second was at Cody’s bookstore near the University of California campus on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley when he came north for a book reading about ten years later.
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About prayer, he writes: Prayer is nothing more than getting into intimate contact with God. It is communication with God, and as such it need not be expressed in words, nor even articulated mentally. One can communicate with a glance of the eyes, with a smile, with a sigh, as well as by a human act. Even…the painting of a picture, or a look toward heaven on the taking of a drink of water [can be prayer] | |
All our acts, if from a deep and honest place, can be a kind of prayer. All our bodily acts are of the nature of prayer. Our body performs a perfect physiological act of thanksgiving when, thirsting, it receives into itself a glass of water. Or, when on a hot day, we bathe in a cool river, our skin sings a hymn of thanksgiving in praise of the Creator, even though
this kind of prayer may be non-rational, unconscious and at times involuntary. |
| Yes, all bodily acts and other actions as well can be our prayer—but not if we define prayer almost exclusively as asking for something. Prayer is praise, it is thanks, it is using the gifts of life we have been given fully and well and for a more peaceful world. |
This is why I define prayer as a “radical response to life.” Whether awe or grief, creativity or working for justice and compassion, all our acts can and ought to be our prayer. |
He continues.
“We are able to transform everything we do into prayer. Work and labor are forms of existential prayer.” This is possible because the divine, Spirit, is everywhere all the time. God surrounds us on all sides like the air. And like the atmosphere he/she emits visible and audible waves…. God’s love is the water we drink and the air we breathe and
the light we behold. All natural phenomena are but different forms of God’s love. Nature and grace are wedded. Nature is grace and nature is love. | |
Adapted from Matthew Fox, Christian Mystics, pp. 345-347. See also Fox, Prayer: A Radical Response to Life. See also Fox,
Reinvention of Work. Banner image: Gratitude for it all. Photo by Ashley Inguanta on Unsplash |
Queries for Contemplation Are you able to “transform everything you do into prayer”? What difference does that make in your
life and work? |
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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 | |
Prayer: A Radical Response to Life
How do prayer and mysticism relate to the struggle for social and ecological justice? Fox defines prayer as a radical response to life that includes our “Yes” to life (mysticism) and our “No” to forces that combat life (prophecy). How do we define adult prayer? And how—if at all—do prayer and mysticism relate to the struggle for social and ecological justice? One of Matthew Fox’s earliest books, originally published under the title On Becoming a
Musical, Mystical Bear: Spirituality American Style, Prayer introduces a mystical/prophetic spirituality and a mature conception of how to pray. Called a “classic” when it first appeared, it lays out the difference between the creation spirituality tradition and the fall/redemption tradition that has so dominated Western theology since Augustine. A practical and theoretical book, it lays the groundwork for Fox’s later works.
“One of the
finest books I have read on contemporary spirituality.” – Rabbi Sholom A. Singer
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The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood For Our Time Thomas Aquinas said, “To live well is to work well,” and in this bold call for the revitalization of daily work, Fox shares his vision of a world where our personal and professional lives are celebrated in harmony–a world where the self is not sacrificed for a job but is sanctified by authentic “soul work.”
“Fox approaches the level of poetry in describing the
reciprocity that must be present between one’s inner and outer work…[A]n important road map to social change.” ~~ National Catholic Reporter | |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar
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. Matthew's talk begins at timestamp 34:25. | |
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