The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Joy & Justice, Birds
of a Feather 11/27/2023 |
In our last DM, we celebrated Aquinas’s teaching that joy is born of love, and that “the only person who truly has joy is one who lives in love.” And how such joy and love is deeper than even our suffering and sorrow. It keeps
us going when times are difficult, and injustice seems to be prevailing. |
We also celebrated the teaching of Terry Tempest Williams that the birds sing at dawn and at dusk to remind us of “that the world is meant to be celebrated.” This affirms Rabbi Heschel’s teaching that “when we sing, we sing for all things,” and that “joy |
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lies at the very heart of worship." And that God is not only the Creator of earth and heaven but is also the One ‘who
created delight and Joy’...Even lowly merriment has its ultimate origin in holiness. The fire of evil can be better fought with flames of ecstasy, than through fasting and mortification. |
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| Is it true or even possible that lowly merriment has its ultimate origin in holiness? Is joy a sign of holiness therefore? Is it also true that “the fire of evil” is best fought “with flames of ecstasy”? Joy, Justice, and justice-making go |
together. Justice and the struggle against injustice, whether that be eco, racial, gender, gender preference, social or economic injustice—all of it is to bring balance back, so that joy flows more freely. |
The poet Rilke says we “do justice only where we praise.” In this way he is linking justice and joy. Eckhart does the same when he says “what happens
to another, whether it be joy or sorrow, happens to me.” Interdependence, and therefore compassion, are being named here. |
Ecstasy of justice done: Demonstrators on the Supreme Court steps rejoice at the Obergefell decision in 2015. Video by BBC News. |
We do justice in order to render joy possible and more present. And the joy we undergo empowers us in the struggle for justice, and keeps us going as source and goal. |
Adapted from Matthew Fox,
Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality, pp. 118, 433, 116. And Fox, The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom For Hard Times, pp. 36-38. And Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth, pp. 18-26. Banner image: Birds await the dawn. Photo
by Alek Newton on Unsplash. |
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| To view today's video, please click the image. You will be taken to today's post on the Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox website, where you can see the
meditation in a larger version and also view and post your Comments. In the sharing that follows, a kind of community is developing around the DM.
If you can't reach today's post on the website directly, click HERE.
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Queries for Contemplation What examples can you give of the fire of evil being best fought with flames of ecstasy? Do you agree with Rilke that “we do justice only where we praise?” What examples can you give of that? |
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. |
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).
Foreword by Rupert
Sheldrake |
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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 |
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Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in South American Liberation Theology. Creation Spirituality challenges readers of every
religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice. |
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_____________________________________________________________________________________ UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE |
SPECIAL EVENT: 5-DAY WORKSHOP IN AQUINAS’ HOMETOWN OF ORVIETO, ITALY
WITH MATTHEW FOX, MESHI CHAVEZ, AND CLAUDIA PICARDI
JUNE 9-14,
2024
LEARN MORE 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 |
Join Matthew Fox as he lectures on “What the Mystics Tell Us About Dying “ at the Conference on Death, Grief and Belief, “Emerging Spiritualities: Death and Bereavement Across the Spiritual Spectrum,” Saturday, January 20, 9:00am – 5:00pm
PT Register HERE |
Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book “The Lotus & The Rose” in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat. Thursday, February 15, 4:00-6:00 pm PT Register HERE |
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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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Inspired by this post? Share your insights on Universeodon, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox FOLLOW MATTHEW FOX: |
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