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Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox 

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Harvey, Boff, and the Call of the Mother, continued

02/09/2024

We continue our meditations on the return of the Divine Feminine by way of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as both Andrew Harvey and Leonardo Boff speak of it.

Andrew applies Boff’s call for liberation that we saw in yesterday’s DM to saving creation:

…and it is not only Christianity that has to make this effort to actualize justice, but every religion. We all have to hear the voice of the Mother in Mary’s pleas for transformation in this world.

Andrew Harvey discusses “the way through” to a quantum leap in consciousness, introducing “the return of the sacred feminine” and its meaning at this critical time in history.

Harvey believes that if Christianity were to receive the sacred call of the Divine Mother in Mary it could also at long last open itself to the force of Christ. Because they are the same force, Mary’s and Christ’s.  

13th-century icon of Mary as the Great Panagia (Our Lady of the Sign), bearing Christ as infant and eternal God. From Yaroslavl, Russia. Wikimedia Commons

Andrew was with his mentor, Benedictine monk Father Bede Griffith, who lived in a Christian ashram for 50 years in southern India, during his final illness. Bede kept saying, “Serve the growing Christ! Serve the growing Christ!” 

Harvey suggests that the best way to serve Christ is to birth him as Mary did.  

This insight parallels that of Meister Eckhart who exclaimed: What good is it to me if Mary gave birth to Christ fourteen centuries ago and I don’t do the same in my time and place and culture?

Harvey recognizes the kingdom that Christ called for as a place where there are no more poor, where there is no more cruelty and exploitation and injustice, where the forests are safe and the seas clean and the world protected, and human life and human love recognized as utterly sacred and holy.

The catastrophes our generation is undergoing put us face to face with Mary and her Son to transform everything in the name of divine love and to see justice done in every area of life. 

Harvey talks of personally having encountered Christ by way of Mary–the Christ who is as much the son of the Mother as of the Father.  

He discovered for the first time, with awe and amazement, the overwhelming presence of the sacred feminine in Christ himself, 

Painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe holding St Juan Diego. Photo by Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP on Flickr.

discovered intuitively and mystically, in the core of my mind and heart and body.*

Andrew Harvey, The Return of the Mother, pp. 378f, 381f.

See Matthew Fox, “Sermon Twenty-Three: We are Children of God and Mothers of God,” in Fox, Passion For Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart, pp, 325-337.

Banner Image: Radiant creation: Sunset with a rainbow in a field of poppies in El Suspiro del Moro. Villa de Otura, Granada – Spain. Photo by Jorge Fernández Salas on Unsplash

Statement of Solidarity with Israel/Palestine.

Queries for Contemplation

What does “serve the growing Christ” mean to you? What does Eckhart’s teaching that we “birth the Christ” like Mary did mean to you and to our world today?

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.

Recommended Reading

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.  

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.

In the Beginning There Was Joy: A Cosmic Celebration for Kids of All Ages

The first book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series tells the story of the big bang and how humans fit into the awesome, fantastical, cosmic picture! With artwork curated from illustrators around the world, this book expresses the joy and wonder of all peoples and cultures, planting seeds of respect, cooperation and hope to work together for the healing of our planet.

"This delicious book for children of all ages celebrates joy as the essential truth of reality." - 

Andrew Harvey, Author of The Hope and Radical Regeneration

"I absolutely LOVED reading this beautiful, creative, stirring story—a charming, whimsical, powerful, parable." - Robert Holden, Author of Happiness NOW! and Higher Purpose

Receive a 20% discount when you buy this and one other book from Matthew Fox’s store! Use Promo Code 20% at checkout.

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.

Creation Spirituality Conversations

Matthew Fox speaks on "What the Mystics Tell Us About Dying" at the 2024 Symposium on Death and Bereavement Studies. To listen, click the video thumbnail at right. 

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