The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers |
From Aquinas to Sunken Ships:
The Amazing Ingenuity of Humanity |
Last night I saw a documentary on the raising of the half-sunken
ship Costa Concordia from its watery grave near the Giglio Porto at Tuscan Island off the shores of Italy in 2014. It was an astounding film and I highly recommend it.* |
Astounding for the very reasons that Aquinas spoke of in yesterday’s DM: The human capacity with mind, imagination, hands, skill, engineering prowess and motivation to do amazing things. The process took over two years and cost over 1.2 billion dollars. But | |
it was necessary because the large ship—three football fields long and thirteen decks tall—was lying on its side held up by two granite rocks, and if it slipped off those rocks it would sink to the bottom of the deep
sea and endanger all the coral and clear waters and living beings in that area of the Mediterranean. The movie for me was a story of humanity’s capacity to solve problems, to get necessary but difficult things done. And to work together to save Mother
Earth and her creatures, to care for the waters and living things habitating them—and to care for humans, too, insofar as future generations will be able to enjoy the beauty of that pristine place. But the engineers and courageous workers (500 had to go into the
sea in dangerous circumstances to do much of the work—one lost his life) had to apply all their skills and hearts to do this job and do it together. |
| What an archetype of our potential as a species! Our potential to care for the planet. Can we translate that on a larger scale to healing the planet? Such a healing must include healing ourselves, being willing to sacrifice, to believe in
something greater than |
our own personal agendas and tribal ideologies. To work for a common good. Community: Sharing a common task. |
*On PBS, Nova: Sunken Ship Rescue See yesterday’s DM on “Aquinas on Consciousness, Cosmos, Creativity & Enlarging Our Souls.” See also Matthew Fox, The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times, pp. 21-23. And Fox, Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality, pp. 138, 142. Banner image: The Costa Concordia, sinking. Wikimedia Commons. |
Queries for Contemplation What lessons do you draw from this story of amazing human accomplishment? How do you see applying it to the greater problems of human and planetary survival today? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, please click HERE
to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
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 | |
Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality Matthew Fox renders Thomas Aquinas accessible by interviewing him and thus descholasticizing him. He also translated many of his works such as Biblical commentaries never before in English (or Italian or German of French). He gives Aquinas a forum so that he can be heard in our own time. He presents Thomas Aquinas entirely in his own words, but in a form designed to allow late 20th-century minds and hearts to hear him in a fresh way. “The teaching of Aquinas comes through will a fullness and an insight that has never been present in English before and [with] a vital message for the world today.” ~ Fr. Bede Griffiths (Afterword). | |
See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
Lecture/Q&A: "The Hidden Spirituality of Men" - ONLINE
Thursday, September 14, 2023
4:00 PM 6:00 PM
The Matthew Fox Legacy Project (map)
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses “The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine” in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat Thursday, September 14, 4:00-6:00 pm PT To register, click HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox and a speaker’s panel for brief Creation Spirituality presentations, music, songs, prayer, and refreshments in a free online and on-site Celebration of Matthew Fox's donation of
papers to the University of Colorado, Boulder. University of Colorado Boulder Libraries – Center for British & Irish Studies – 5th Floor Thursday, September 21, 4:00pm-6:00pm PT RSVP HERE for on-site attendance only. Virtual attendance link will be
forthcoming. |
Lecture/Q&A: "A New Reformation: Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity"- ONLINE
Thursday, October 19, 2023
4:00 PM 6:00
PM
The Matthew Fox Legacy Project (map)
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. |
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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