The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
The Mystics on Justice,
the Holy Spirit,
and Compassion 11/18/2023 |
In the prophetic tradition of Israel, justice and compassion go together. “Compassion means justice,” Eckhart reminds us. |
Eckhart is not alone in connecting compassion and justice. Mechtild of Magdeburg, a Beguine of the
13th century in Germany, teaches this: If you love the justice of Jesus Christ more than you fear human judgment, then you will seek to do compassion.
Compassion means that if I see |
Not only helping a stranger materially, but listening to his story as well. Wolf House Pranks |
my friend and my enemy in equal need, I shall help both equally. Justice demands that we seek and find the stranger, the broken, the prisoner and comfort them and offer them our help. Here lies the holy compassion of God. Compassion is, of course, a kind of passion. A caring, a feeling of the suffering of others—and acting to relieve that suffering. It is the opposite of a cold heart. Compassion is also the work of the Holy Spirit. Eckhart insists, “the first outburst of whatever God does is always compassion.” Compassion then is our origin and our destiny. It is the Holy Spirit at work, as Mechtild of Magdeburg puts it: |
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| Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is a compassionate outpouring of the Creator and the
Son. This is why when we on earth pour out compassion and mercy from the depths of our hearts and give to the poor and dedicate our bodies to the service of the broken, to that extent do we resemble the Holy Spirit. Hildegard praises the Holy Spirt as “the hope of oneness for that which is separate,” and the power that empowers all life. “Holy Spirit, you make life alive, you move in all things, you are the |
root of all created being…You awaken and reawaken everything that is.” The Holy Spirit is “the life of the life of all
creatures.” Eckhart connects the Holy Spirit to justice making calling it the spirit of transformation, the “Transformer.” |
Adapted from Matthew Fox,
“Creation-Centered Spirituality from Hildegard to Julian: Three Hundred Years of an Ecological Spirituality in the West,” in Fox, Wrestling with the Prophets: Essays on Creation Spirituality and Everyday Life, pp. 75-104. See also: Fox, Passion For Creation: The
Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart, pp, 417-439.
Banner Image: “Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Dove of the Holy Spirit (alabaster stained glass, Chair of Saint Peter, Saint Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City), ca. 1660.” Wikimedia Commons |
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Queries for Contemplation Is it your experience also that the Holy Spirit is the Great Transformer? When have you seen that at work in your life and your work? |
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialog, please click HERE to go to
our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Wrestling with the Prophets: Essays on Creation Spirituality and Everyday Life
In one of his foundational works, Fox engages with some of history’s
greatest mystics, philosophers, and prophets in profound and hard-hitting essays on such varied topics as Eco-Spirituality, AIDS, homosexuality, spiritual feminism, environmental revolution, Native American spirituality, Christian mysticism, Art and Spirituality, Art as Meditation, Interfaith or Deep Ecumenism and more. |
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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. |
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A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
In A Spirituality Named Compassion, Matthew Fox delivers a profound exploration of the meaning and practice of compassion. Establishing a spirituality for the future that promises personal, social, and global healing, Fox marries mysticism with social justice, leading the way toward a gentler and more ecological spirituality and an acceptance of our interdependence which is the substratum of all compassionate
activity.
“Well worth our deepest consideration…Puts compassion into its proper focus after centuries of neglect.” –The Catholic Register |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book “Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest ” in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat. Thursday, January 18, 4:00-6:00 pm PT. Register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Hunger for Wholeness: What is Wholeness in the Midst of Crisis with Matthew Fox (Part 1) In the midst of increased violence between Israel and Palestine, Ilia Delio and theologian
Matthew Fox discuss the state of the world today and how to have courage in Part 1 of their conversation. Ilia and Matt discuss his mentor, Marie Dominique Chenu, the influence of liberation theology on social justice in the church today, and what can still be learned.
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reduces them to objects in whatever way they can. |
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