The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Today's the day: Matthew Fox's video meditation is below! |
A
Mother’s Wisdom in Resisting Ecclesial Complicity & Religious Nonsense 05/20/2024 |
In the Saturday DM, I cited Pope Francis criticizing American Catholics bishops for their backwardness. I write this DM on Saturday, May 18, the 110th birthday of my mother (who died at 89 years of age). She left behind many stories that can, I think, inspire others. |
Just this past week, I told the following story in my current Shift class on “Meister Eckhart and Cultivating Compassion in Spirituality.” It was in a response to a question (which I don't remember now). The story goes like this. In 1989, when I learned I was going to be |
Matthew Fox being interviewed for the book “Portraits in Faith” by Daniel Kalman Epstein. Taken from the website for the book. |
silenced by the Vatican, I called my sister in Boulder, where Mom had recently moved after the death of my father. I asked her, "This is happening, and it will be in the papers. Will Mom be able to handle it and can she keep a secret? My sister said, "she can handle it alright; but she can't keep a secret." |
Women protest being forced to carry—a policy driven by a faulty religious doctrine—by wearing “Handmaid’s Tale” costumes. Video by Inside Edition. | So I decided to fly out to tell Mom in person so she
wouldn't read it in the papers first. When I sat down with her, I asked this question: "Mom, how does it feel to be a mother of a somewhat controversial priest?" "Oh," she said, "I walk out of church whenever the priest preaches stupid things. Your father and I have an |
agreement that when the priest says something stupid, I get up and leave church and wait outside until Mass is finished. Then we drive home together and we don’t fight.” |
This was all news to me, so I asked, "When was the last time you did that?" Answer: "Three months before your father died." "But wasn't that when you had your hip operation and had to walk with a walker?” "You bet it was. And as I exited church, I banged that walker as hard as I could—and the floor of the church was rocky, so it made lots of noise. The priest was talking such nonsense." I concluded that Mom would not be disturbed at all by the news of my silencing. |
|
She
taught me there are many ways to combat falsehood in religion’s name. Happy Birthday, Mom. |
See Matthew Fox, Confessions: The Making of a Postdenominational Priest, pp. 30f., 50-52, 185-227, 244-246, 404f. See also Fox, The Pope's War: Why Ratzinger's Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved.
Banner image: Beatrice Fox with her grown children, c. 1990. From Matthew Fox's personal collection.
|
|
|
| | 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. If you can't reach Matthew's video on the website, try his Vimeo channel HERE. |
|
|
|
|
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. |
Queries for Contemplation |
Did you find my mother’s story inspiring? Does it spark other stories of courage and conscience from your mentors or parents? |
Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised/Updated Edition)
Matthew Fox’s
stirring autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author’s continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in church, society and the environment.
“The unfolding story of
this irrepressible spiritual revolutionary enlivens the mind and emboldens the heart — must reading for anyone interested in courage, creativity, and the future of religion.”
—Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self |
|
The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved
The Pope’s War offers a provocative look at three decades of corruption in the
Catholic Church, focusing on Josef Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. The final section in the book focuses on birthing a truly catholic Christianity.
“This book should be read by everybody, not only for its ferocious courage, but also for its vision for what needs to be saved from the destructive forces that threaten authentic Christianity.” ~ Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope.
“In the gripping The Pope’s War, Matthew Fox takes an unwavering look at the layers of corruption in the Catholic Church, holding moral truth against power.” — Jason Berry, author of Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II |
|
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 |
|
UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
Join Matthew Fox in a new, live, 7-week video course hosted by the Shift Network, Cultivating Compassion in Spirituality: What Meister Eckhart & Other World Mystics Can Teach Us About Navigating Collective Turmoil. Tuesdays, May 7 – June 25, 5:00pm - 6:30pm PT. Register HERE. |
Join keynote speakers Matthew Fox and Brian Swimme at the 2024 Creation Spirituality Communities Gathering on “Reimagining Our Story, Hope for Humanity,” live at Cape Cod, MA and by livestream. Friday, May 31 – Sunday, June 2. Learn more and register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Matthew Fox speaks on "Preserving Things in the Good" at the Unity of Walnut Creek Earth Day worship service held on April 21, 2024. |
|
Inspired by this post? Share your insights on Universeodon, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox FOLLOW MATTHEW FOX: |
|
|
|
