The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers |
Generosity and Nobility: Intrinsic to All, Basic to Worship 06/13/2023 |
According to Webster’s dictionary, the English word “generous” in its archaic use meant to be highborn and to be characterized by a noble or forbearing
spirit. |
Generosity has something to do with excellence and nobility. Nobility ought not signify being born of a noble class; rather it is being born, as Meister Eckhart put it, “from the noblest foundation of all,” that is, from the Godhead. The Godhead is itself so generous and so giving and so excellent and so much in pursuit of beauty and the sharing of beauty | Noblesse Oblige: a king delivers food to a starving peasant. Illustration for the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas,” 1904. Wikimedia Commons |
that creation itself exists, also abundant and beautiful, after the very image of its Creator. Generosity, like magnanimity, is about a great soul, a large soul, a giving heart, an abundance within us that gets
called outside us. Generosity allows us to democratize highborn-ness, or nobility, if you will. It is how each of us expresses the true nobility of our nature. A nature that is of “the image of God” or Tselem in
Hebrew. Of the Cosmic Christ. Of the Buddha Nature. All of us are born from sacred stock—14 billion years of generous giving and generous receiving. We are all noble and, in a real sense, divine. We will know this from
the fruits of our activities, for a good tree bears good fruit and a bad one bad fruit, as Jesus observed. |
Matthew Fox joins ministers across traditions to celebrate the Eucharist at a Cosmic Mass. Photo by Katy Gaughan, National Cathedral. Published with
permission. | There is a constant echo in both Latin and Old English in the family of words from which the word “generosity” derives, of being “highborn,” that is, of excellence. Ceremony or Liturgy or
Worship is then a gathering of noble people, excellent beings striving to be more |
excellent and wanting to live up to our nobility, to tap into it and live it out. In worship we gather to give thanks for our existence and our nobility and the accompanying invitation to be generous people. Kind and loving and willing-to-sacrifice people. This undergirds all community and family and stretching our souls to be larger people, more magnanimous, more sharing of the joy of living on this unique and special planet. And a willingness to sacrifice, to give back, to render holy for future generations. This is why Malidoma Some can say that “there is no community without
ritual.” |
Adapted from Matthew Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society, pp, 384f. See also, Matthew Fox, Passion for Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart. Banner Image; “Catholic
Worker Soup – Emmaus House, Troy, NY.” Photo by Jim Forest on Flickr. |
Queries for Contemplation Can you at times recognize yourself and others as “born of the noblest foundation of all, the Godhead”? What follows from that? How can we spread that good news? |
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Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh:
Transforming Evil in Soul and Society Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more
enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid
O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics | |
Passion for
Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart
Matthew Fox’s comprehensive translation of Meister Eckhart’s sermons is a meeting of true prophets across centuries, resulting in a spirituality for the new millennium. The holiness of creation, the divine life in each person and the divine power of our creativity, our call to do justice and practice compassion–these are among Eckhart’s themes, brilliantly interpreted and
explained for today’s reader.
“The most important book on mysticism in 500 years.” — Madonna Kolbenschlag, author of Kissing Sleeping Beauty Goodbye. | |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
Join Matthew Fox for an online lecture and Q&A on “Letting Our Minds be Remade Regarding Religion,” hosted by The World Community for Christian Meditation, Tuesday, June 13,
11:00am-12:30pm 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 as he discusses “The A.W.E. Project – Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human” in an online Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, June 15, 4:00-6:00 pm
PT. 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 |
Tikkun Magazine releases a new Interview of Matthew Fox by Andrew Harvey regarding Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality (Orbis, 2022) edited by Charles Burack. Read the interview HERE. | |
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