The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Week of 10/2-7/2023: The Sacred Masculine
in the Green Man, St. Francis & Louis Vitale 10/08/2023 |
October 2, 2023: Further Stories and Meaning Regarding the Green Man
In this meditation, we learn that the Green Man is not just a European archetype. For instance, at a lecture Matthew was giving in Hawaii, a Native Hawaiian told him that they have a Green Man who wears a cape of tea leaves. He is known as “the One Who Manages the Forest.” In addition, Green Men can display different states and emotions: playfulness, introspection, fierceness, etc. He is also connected with male sexuality, and he celebrates it, especially in the sense
of creativity, regeneration, and new life. |
‘Green Man’ stone carving ‘Green Man’ stone carving in the
medieval kitchen of Coventry City Council, England. Flickr |
October 3, 2023: Men and Christ as Stags according to Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen created a painting in which Christ was depicted as a stag. The stag was upon the torso of a woman representing Constancy. The deer, Hildegard says, is the Son of God about whom the psalmist writes: “I thirst for you as a deer after running waters.” The stag is also
linked symbolically with the Tree of Life and with regeneration since its antlers are renewed regularly. October 4, 2023: Authoritarianism and Fascism as Faux
Masculinity
We see in our world the rise of fascism, and men strutting around on the world stage surrounded by people who treat them as idols. There is plenty of evidence of toxic masculinity in our time. In addition, there is so much violence among men---toward others and self. (Ninety-five percent of mass shooters are men, and mostly young men. And suicide among men is four times that of women.) It is
time to recover the healthy masculine. October 5, 2023: Francis Balancing Masculine & Feminine in Father Sky, Mother Earth
Today is the Feast Day of St. Francis, beloved the world over. Medieval scholar Père Chenu reminds us that Francis’s vow of poverty was part of a “social evolution” that turned its back on an “obsolete” monastic sense of economics that was thoroughly tied up with the dying feudal regime. Chenu also tells us that Francis’s sense of Joy changed a civilization more than the kings and power brokers of the
time. |
St. Francis’ “Canticle of Creatures” – also known as the Canticle of the Sun, in the original Umbrian + English. Auxilium Christianorum |
October 6, 2023: Francis Balancing the Masculine & Feminine in Father Sky & Mother Earth
It is interesting that in his famous Cosmic Christ poem, St. Francis turns first to the sky, to “Lord Brother Sun,” and declares its splendor and radiance, words naming the doxa and glory that always accompany the Cosmic Christ. Francis shows an amazing balance
of feminine along with the masculine in this poem, so revealing of his balanced soul, for following immediately on praising his “brother sun,” he turns to praising his sisters, “Sister Moon and Stars.” He continues by praising “Brother Wind and Air” and “Sister Water.” Finally, he praises the Mother: All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Earth, our mother. May this kind of grateful, balanced, loving masculinity return to the world. October 7, 2023: Father Louis Vitale: Spiritual Warrior for Peace & Son of St. Francis
We have cause to celebrate another man who beautifully embodies
the sacred masculine. Today in San Francisco there is a memorial mass for Father Louis Vitale, a Franciscan brother and a devoted activist for peace and justice. He went to jail over 400 times protesting against war and injustice. He said he was inspired by Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. St. Francis translated the beatitude “Blessed are the peacemakers” this way: All praise be yours, my Lord, through those who grant pardon for love of you; through those
who endure sickness and trial. Happy are those who endure in peace. By you, Most High, they will be crowned. We salute you and honor you, Louis Vitale. |
“Vitale demonstrating against weaponized drones just before being arrested at
Creech Air Force Base, Nevada c. 2010 to 2012.” Wikimedia Commons |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their
higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God |
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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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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE Join Matthew Fox online as he lectures and responds to questions on his book on Meister Eckhart, A Spirituality Named Compassion. The event is hosted by the Weber Retreat and Conference Center. Thursday, October 12, 2023 , 4:00pm-5:30pm PT. Learn more HERE. Join Matthew Fox and other speakers in the 27th Howard Thurman Convocation and Reception, recognizing the recent designation of The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples as an historical San Francisco landmark, founded by Dr. Howard Thurman and Dr. Alfred Fisk as the nation’s first interracial, interfaith
congregation. Sunday, October 15, 2023, 3:00pm PT. Learn more HERE. Matthew Fox will be featured as the guest speaker at the Creation Spirituality Communities online course, Introduction to Creation Spirituality 6-Week Course, led by Instructor Rev. Mary Reaman. Tuesday, October 17, 4:00 PM PT. Learn more HERE. Join Matthew Fox as he discusses “A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity” in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, October 19, 4:00-6:00 pm PT. To register, click HERE. Join Matthew Fox for two days of learning and practice as he speaks at the online Stanford Medicine Contemplation by Design Summit, Wednesday and Thursday, November 1-2, 2023. Wed 4:00pm-5:30pm PT – Lecture, Q&A – Grounding & Expanding, Psyche
& Cosmos, Friendship with Self, Others, the Universe: Toward a “Cosmic Religion” (Einstein) and Human/Planetary Survival Thu 7:30am-8:15am – Guided Practice – Finding the Divine (the “I am”, the Christ, the Buddha Nature, the Tselem or Image of God) Within Thu 12:00pm-1:30pm – Workshop –
Recovering the Sacred Masculine and the Divine Feminine Register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Aaron Perry hosts Matthew Fox on the Y On Earth podcast, on “Hildegard von Bingen & Her “Viriditas,” sharing profound wisdom and deep insights about the essential importance of our relationship with Mother Earth, our celebration of the Divine Feminine, and our
connection with Creation Spirituality, drawing upon centuries of knowledge and wisdom from indigenous and mystical traditions world-wide… particularly from the Rhineland Mystic Movement of the medieval European Renaissance, and a most extraordinary woman at its helm: Hildegard von Bingen. |
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